Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd

Much of the following timeline was taken from the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd booklet "Building for Tomorrow: A Dedication" (1990).

12 Dec 1897	Formal organization of a Sunday School at 17 Clark Street, which became Advent Lutheran Church
6 Feb 1899	Church services were conducted at Clark Street location by The Rev. Charles E. Haupt of Grace Lutheran Church.
21 Oct 1899	Formal organization of the congregation under the name Advent Lutheran Church, with The Rev. John W. Hassler, D.D., who served as first pastor until 1901.
28 July 1900 28 Oct 1900	Groundbreaking and cornerstone laying, respectively, of Advent at 969 East Orange Street
20 Oct 1901	The Dauphin Terrace Sunday School opened with 37 persons. Organized by The Rev. Jacob Darmstaetter, who served as the first pastor until 1904.
27 Nov 1901	Dedication of Advent Lutheran Church, Orange Street.
9 June 1902 13 July 1902	Groundbreaking and cornerstone laying, respectively, at 545 Freiburg Street between Green and Dauphin Streets for first St. Mark's building
11 Sep 1902	Official organization of St. Mark's as a congregation.
5 Oct 1902	Dedication of St. Mark's Lutheran Church (Freiburg Street became Pershing Avenue after WWI).
3 Apr 1903	St. Mark's is admitted to the Ministerium of Pennsylvania.
13 July 1930 28 Sep 1930	Groundbreaking and cornerstone laying, respectively, of St. Mark's building at East End Avenue and South Ann Street
13 Jun 1931	Dedication of St. Mark's Lutheran Church
1958	The Rev. John. W. Kammerer is called as Pastor, St. Mark's.
1965	The Rev. Theodore F. Schneider, D.D., called as Pastor, Advent
Fall 1966	Meeting at Advent at the request of the Board of Home Missions to discuss the growth of eastern suburban Lancaster and the effectiveness of existing parishes in the ministry.
29 Jun 1969	Advent congregation approves site at Pitney and Hempstead Roads (now Greenfield Road).
Sep 1970	Pastor Kammerer (St. Mark's) accepts a call to Muddy Creek Lutheran Church, Adamstown, Pennsylvania, and Pastor Schneider supplies St. Mark's as Interim Pastor.
10 Jan 1971	The two congregations merge as Advent/St. Mark's Lutheran Church, effective 30 May 1971, with Pastor Schneider as Senior Pastor.
21 May 1972	The name "The Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd" (LCGS) was adopted by the merged congregation.
16 Jul 1972 Oct 1972	Groundbreaking service and construction begins, respectively.
Mar 1973	The Rev. Larry H. Louder is called as Assistant Pastor.
29 Apr 1973	Cornerstone laying of the LCGS
28 Oct 1973	LCGS building on Hempstead Road opens.
Apr 1974 12 Jun 1974	Sculptor Alois Lidauer arrives from Salzburg, Austria, commissioned to create a statue of Jesus, The Good Shepherd. The statue is completed and placed on a pedestal in front of LCGS, respectively.
13 Oct 1974	Dedication of the statue of the Good Shepherd.
31 Jul 1986	Pastors Schneider and Louder accept call to St. Luke's Lutheran Church, Silver Spring, Maryland
1 Mar 1987	The Rev. Gerald A. Spice is installed as LCGS's Senior Pastor.
1 Nov 1987	The Rev. Timothy Bettger is installed as Associate Pastor, serving until 1991.
8 Jan 1989	LCGS votes to enlarge church building
22 Feb 1989	LCGS Council votes to seek a full-time church musician to be responsible for all aspects of music in the parish, and on 1 Aug 1989 Mr. Scott Weidler begins service as Cantor.
6 May 1990	Dedication of enlarged LCGS building
Nov 1994	The Rev. Mark L. Russell begins his call as Associate Pastor. In 1997 the congregation called him as Pastor, and Pastor Spice and Pastor Russell served as co-pastors.
15 Aug 1996	Mr. Mark Mummert is named Cantor and serves until the end of June 1999.
Jun 1999	Pastor Spice accepts a call to Louisville, Kentucky, and Pastor Russell becomes Senior Pastor.
14 Jan 2001	The Rev. Dr. E. Gordon Ross is installed as Assistant Pastor, serving until December, 2005, and Donna Mull is installed as Director of Lay Ministries, serving until 2003.
20 Oct 2001	The Rev. Marilyn Witte is installed as Associate Pastor to serve as Cantor. Rev. Witte served until retirement in January 2018.
10 Feb 2002	Dedication of the Memorial Garden cross created by Mr. George Mummert, Millersville University. (Later he also created a matching processional cross.)
Nov 2003	One Vision, One Voice appeal begins, for new organ and renovations resulting in 15 years of capital appeals.
8 Mar 2004	Contract with Dobson Organ Builders signed.
1 Oct 2004	The Rev. Clifton D. Eshbach is installed as Associate Pastor, serving until April 2009.
27 Dec 2005 - 28 Apr 2006	Congregation worships in Fellowship Hall During Renovations.
29 Apr 2006	First service in renovated nave.
September 2006	Dobson Organ opus 83 dedicated
January 2010	The Rev. Win Devonshire begins serving as Assistant pastor, serving until May 2013.
April 2011	Malinda Clatterbuck fills the newly created position of Director of Family Ministries, serving until August 2013.
May 2013	A new vision statement is adopted: The Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd is committed to living out the unconditional love and radical hospitality of Jesus in our worship, in our service to the world and in our shared life.
Fall 2013	A complete renovation of the main bathrooms takes place
May 2015	The Shepherd’s Crook Café opens in the building
June 2015	A new governing structure is put in place, aligned with our vision statement.
16 Aug 2018	Mr. Christopher Prestia begins serving as Cantor, serving until March 2024.
1 Feb 2020	The Rev. Carla Christopher Wilson begins her call as the Associate Pastor for Faith Formation and Outreach, serving until February 2022.
15 Mar 2020	The COVID-19 pandemic necessitates the closing of the building and worship and other activities move online.
18 Jul 2020	The first of several outdoor worship services are held in the parking lot.
23 May 2021	We celebrate our 50th anniversary by way of mailing reminder gifts throughout the year.
1 Aug 2021	Following CDC guidelines, the church is once again opened for indoor services and other activities.
25 Jan 2023	After more than 28 years, Pastor Russell announces his plans to retire, with his last Sunday being July 23, 2023.
30 April 2023	Pastor Schneider returns to preach for a delayed 50th anniversary Day of Celebration.
23 July 2023	Pastor Russell retires.
20 August 2023	Pastor Strause begins his time as Intentional Interim Pastor as the congregation starts the call process for a new pastor.