Church of the Abiding Presence - Gettysburg, PA - Lutheran Churches on Waymarking.com

This is a beautiful church built with classical and modern characteristics. Noticeable right away is the strong Greek-like pediment resting over a huge entablature with four huge underlying columns supporting the whole structure. Yet, the 125 foot spire and octagonal bell tower with a open gazebo like porch sandwiched between is more colonial than Classical. The contrast of the two plus the brick construction and the white trim all make this a very beautiful and unique building. To the right or south of the building is a statue of Martin Luther.

There is a massive cornerstone shoved into the brick locate at the lower front right of the building or the northeast corner of the building from a bird's eye view; the building faces the west. The stone has two sides. The side facing the left or north bears the date 1940, and the side facing the front or west bears the following inscription: EPHESIANS IV:11, 12. Both inscriptions are deeply incised in the white stone. The Ephesian reference translated is: 11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.

The Seminary page has a entry or listing for every building on campus. The following is their narrative for the seminary chapel: The Church of the Abiding Presence, the Seminary chapel, was built during the early 1940's. Ground was broken on August 1, 1940 and the dedication service was May 13, 1942. It is significant that this is the first building erected on campus that faces west, toward the Seminary Ridge road. This was done largely because the government road (built in 1895) through campus was bringing everybody to the Seminary's back doors! SOURCE