Excerpt from Memorial Volume of the Evang, Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity, Lancaster, Pa: Discourses Delivered on the Occasion of the Centenary Jubilee When the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity at Lancaster, Pa. was renovated and rededicated, A, D. 1853 - 1854, the pastor and many members of the congregation, as they looked upon the two sandstone tablets in the front of the church, bearing the date 1761, the time of the Corner-stone laying of the venerable edifice, hoped that they might be spared to unite in the Centennial Celebration of that event, in the year 1861. Some of those who expressed this wish, venerable fathers and mothers of the congregation, "died without the sight;" but those who remained, determined, as the expected time drew near, to celebrate the interesting occasion, for the glory of God, and the edification of the Church. At a vestry meeting, on the 4th of March, 1861, the pastor suggested the propriety of making arrangements for such a celebration, on the 18th of May, the anniversary of the laying of the corner-stone; and Messrs, Horace Rathvon, Chas, A. Heinitsh, and Geo. D. Sprecher were appointed a Committee, to confer with the pastor, and make such arrangements. On the 18th of March they reported the following: "1. As Saturday, the 18th of May next, the day of the anniversary, will occur during the sessions of the General Synod (which is to meet in Lancaster it is proposed to invite that body to be present. 2. In order to afford all the members of the congregation an opportunity to be present, three discourses or addresses are proposed, viz: in the morning, a historical discourse by Rev. Prof Chas, F. Schaeffer, D. D. of Gettysburg; in the afternoon, an address to the children of the Sunday Schools, and their parents and friends, by Rev. Chas. A. Baer, A. M, of Norristown; and in the evening a festival discourse, by Rev. Prof, F. A. Muhlenberg, A. M. of Gettysburg, 3. Music, appropriate to the occasion, by the Choir, with such aid as can be had from the other choirs of the city, to be under the superintendence of the leader, Mr. W. E. Heinitsh, and the organist, Mr. A. Schmied. 4. The Church to be thoroughly cleansed, and appropriately decorated," This report was adopted, and the same committee charged with the execution of the plan. The pastor was requested to correspond with the brethren named above, and authorized to designate others, if they should decline the invitation of the vestry. On the 28th of March he was happy to be able to report, that the three gentlemen first designated, had kindly consented to take the parts assigned to them. Soon afterwards, however, the storm that had so long threatened our beloved country, burst forth, and the bombardment of Fort Sumpter inaugurated the civil war which is still upon us, and roused every loyal heart in the nation, not only to a full realization of the dangers that threatened our very existence, but also to a solemn and unalterable determination, to crush the monster rebellion, and to restore the Union and the Constitution. The whole nation was in a ferment, and communication between the North and South soon ceased. Under these circumstances, the pastors, and a number of the members of the Lutheran Churches of Lancaster, as well as other places, requested Dr. C. W. Schaeffer, of Germantown, President of the General Synod of the Lutheran Church, indefinitely to postpone the meeting of that body; and soon afterwards a notice of such postponement was published by him in the church papers. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com