Christ Lutheran Worship Schedule
Traditional Worship – 8:15 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.- Christ Lutheran sanctuary
Contemporary Worship Service – First Sunday of each Month at 5:00 p.m.
Live-Stream Worship will continue and the worship videos are at the bottom of this page. Please visit our Facebook or subscribe to our Christ Lutheran Gettysburg YouTube Channel and share our worship videos with a friend, family member, neighbor, colleague, classmate, teammate, etc. Thank you
If you are having difficulty accessing Christ Lutheran Gettysburg’s online worship service and need assistance, please contact the church office.
Next Steps
We Gather Every Sunday
Get involved in worship!
We invite congregation members, visitors, and community members to get involved in our worship services.
Plan Your Visit
Holy Communion is offered each Sunday. Join us in our handicap accessible, second floor sancuary.
Parking
Our parking can be accessed from the alley off North Washington Street.
Christian Education
Children of all ages will love our Christian Education programs.
Baptism
Baptism is considered by the Lutheran church to be a holy sacrament that welcomes the person being baptized into God’s family. It is God’s promise to His followers, not the follower’s promise to God. If you are considering having your child baptized at Christ Lutheran Gettyburg or if you are interested in being baptized, contact us to learn more about this sacrament.
First Communion
Classes will be offered for all interested in receiving First Communion throughout the year. It is our practice at Christ that children receive first communion at the desire of their parents. These classes will be for parents and the students preparing to receive communion.
Classes are typically held at the church on three consecutive occasions. Classes include instruction on a Lutheran understanding of Holy Communion. During classes children learn by presentation, discussion, baking bread, watching videos that support teaching, tasting of the bread and wine, practicing communion table manners, and having the opportunity to ask questions. Families are then invited to worship at a church service the weekend following class to participate in the celebration of communion together.
If a child is curious about and asking to take communion, we invite you to listen to that cue and consider enrolling in the communion class. Pastor Herr and Pastor Eckman always welcome a conversation if you have questions about your child’s readiness for Holy Communion.
Confirmation
Confirmation is a major milestone in the Christian faith journey. In baptism, we are washed clean of our sin through Christ’s death, raised to new life through his resurrection, claimed by God as his children, and receive the gift of faith through the Holy Spirit. When parents bring their children to be baptized, they promise to live with them among God’s people, bring them to worship at God’s house, share the Word of God with them, and teach them the foundations of the Christian faith so that their children may come to love, trust, and serve God and God’s world. After their childhood years are spent learning the stories of the Bible, experiencing the grace of the Sacraments, and becoming familiar with the congregation as a community of faith, it is time for them to claim the life of faith as their own. Confirmation is a process by which young persons, having been nurtured in the Christian life and teaching, prepare to profess their trust in the promises of God Christ Jesus made at baptism on their behalf, continuing the journey of faith toward spiritual maturity in Christ.
“Share Your Gift
Music
From Cantor, Cathy Elkiss…
“Having been raised in the Lutheran Church (my home church being First Lutheran in Ellicott City, MD), as well as presently serving as the Organist and Music Director at the Gettysburg campus of the United Lutheran Seminary since 2017, I have had many prior years of training and experience as an organist, pianist, accompanist and choral director, in working with musicians of all ages and skill levels, and working in settings from the private music studio, to church music ministry, to the college level courses. Yet with my involvement in all of these musical venues, I have become convinced that the most personal satisfaction and fulfillment for me comes from working within the sacred setting of an active parish church.
Finally, when I’m not involved in my musical activities, I operate, along with my husband, violinist Dale Elkiss, the Tossed and Found Cat Sanctuary of Gettysburg, a shelter for approximately 30 homeless, abused, and/or neglected cats in the area.”
Of the Lands and Seasons Band…Four times a year, at both Sunday morning services, instrumentalists are welcome to accompany and lead “Of the Land and Seasons,” our folk-song based liturgy used once each season of the year: winter, spring, summer and fall. All instrumentalists are welcome. Advanced beginners and up are welcome.
Jazz at Christ Church…Four times a year, The Buzz Jones Quintet leads the 10:30 Sunday morning service. Jazz liturgies have been developed around topics such as Black History Month, Earth Day, Epiphany, The International Day of Peace, All Saints Day, and Advent. Enjoy America’s indigenous music and join in on hymns that swing.
Please contact us at [email protected].
F.A.Q.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are your worship times?
We worship Sundays at 8:15 and 10:30 a.m., with Christian Education for all ages at 9:15.
During the summer, we participate in a joint worship service at the Gettysburg National Military Park with the Gettysburg Ministerium composed of different Christian denominations.
What is the style of worship?
Our services use traditional Lutheran liturgies, and provide organ, piano and/or instrument music and hymns from Evangelical Lutheran Worship. All of our worship services feature singing, Bible readings, a sermon, prayers, Holy Communion, and special music. We embrace our Lutheran liturgical framework while at the same time featuring unique offerings that include but are not limited to, “Of Land and Seasons” and Jazz Liturgies. “Of Land and Seasons” is a quarterly service drawing from life on the farm and orchard of Adam’s county. Our Jazz liturgy is an audible expression of life in community. It declares human dignity, sophistication, and soulfulness in the face of oppression. Bringing jazz into the worship setting connects the life of the Church, through Jesus’ resurrection and message of liberation and justice, with the lives of the oppressed, past and present.
We celebrate Holy Communion at all services. The pastors include “time with children” at each service to share with them a message of God’s love.
Am I invited to take Communion?
Absolutely! We understand Communion to be the family meal of the Body of Christ, and take Jesus very seriously when he told us he wants to celebrate it with everybody. All baptized Christians are welcome at the Lord’s table; children are welcome to take Communion with the permission of their parents (and the pastors will have a special blessing for them if they choose not to partake).
Distribution of Holy Communion is by pouring chalice. When receiving communion, a piece of bread or host will be placed in your hand, eat the bread/host immediately after receiving. Step to the chalice, the minister with the cup will pour carefully into a small glass., and then consume them. For those unable to consume wine, grape juice is available. Please follow the direction of the ushers. Stations will be made for each pew section of the sanctuary, please go to whichever station is available.
Those who are unable to physically come forward for communion, a minister will bring elements to them with the assistance from an usher.
All those who do not commune are invited to come forward with their hands folded to receive a blessing.
Are children welcome in worship?
Absolutely! We know that God’s people come in all shapes and sizes – it is a gift to the whole community when the smallest of us are present! Sitting with parents and learning to treasure times of worship is the foundation for helping build a growing faith in a child’s life. There’s some noise and movement that we expect from little ones – feel free to make use of the activity bags, doodle pads, and nursery as needed. We like to say that “God put the wiggle in them” — and we’re all about celebrating what God is up to!
Is there a nursery available?
Once OPENED – Our fully equipped and staffed Nursery is available for infants and toddlers up to five years old during the 10:30 service. The Nursery is located west of our gathering area, just off the sanctuary. Note that activity bags, drawing pads, and more are also available for all young people in the worship space itself.
What should I wear?
Our focus is never on what people wear; we’re just glad to be together. As a general rule, you’ll see most people wearing jeans to business casual. Some will wear suits.
What are the logistics of the church (parking, handicapped accessibility)?
The church building is handicapped accessible via ramps from the front and rear of the church building. The entrance for the elevator is underneath the bridge through the single door on the Christian Ed building. Take the elevator to the second floor to the sanctuary. Limited parking is available at the rear of the church building including a handicapped space. Our lot can be accessed from the alley off of North Washington Street. On street parking is free on Sundays until 1:00 p.m. and additional parking is available at the M&T Bank lot on Sunday mornings only. There are a few bagged parking meters in front of the church for drop off and pick up of those needing easy access to the handicapped ramp.
What is the process and timeline for joining?
If you are interested in joining the congregation or just want to learn more about our ministries, contact the church office, [email protected]. We hold New Member Orientations 3 or 4 times a year. These one session orientations introduce you to the many ministries of the church and prepare you to be received as a member. After you attend one orientation, you and the pastors will decide on a Sunday for you to be received.
