Our History
Christ Ascension Lutheran Church is a merger of two Lutheran congregations. The merger occurred on September 1, 1993 between the Evangelical Lutheran Christ Church of Chestnut Hill, which was established on December 9, 1860, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Ascension, which was formally organized on July 26, 1893 on the campus of the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia in Mt. Airy. At the time of the merger Christ Ascension Church worshiped at two locations. One assembly gathered at the former Ascension Church, while the other gathered here in Chestnut Hill at the former Christ Church. After several years this experiment of a two-point parish proved to be unsuccessful. On November 14, 1999 the congregation began worshiping together here at the 8300 Germantown Avenue location in Chestnut Hill.
The ground-breaking service for the current church building took place on July 22, 1869 and the church was consecrated on June 22, 1871. Charles M. Burns (1838-1922) was the architect. In 1980 the church building was deemed historically significant by the City of Philadelphia. In 1983 the present slate roof of the church was restored using four different colors of slate. The intricate pattern of the roof is true to the original details as prescribed by Charles Burns, the architect of the church.
The central window in the chancel is dedicated to PPK, who was Paul P. Keller. Keller helped finance the building of the church. The window to the left, the hope window, is dedicated to MEH. These initials are short for Mrs. Jesse Hinkle who was the mother of the second pastor George Washington Fredrick. The window to the right of center, the faith window, is dedicated to EGSW. Mrs. C.W. Schaeffer gave this window in memory of her daughter Mrs. Wagnels. (Mrs. Schaeffer was the spouse of William Ashmead Schaeffer who was at that time pastor of St. Michael�s Church in Mt. Airy.) The bell came from Mower Army Hospital. The hospital was used during the Civil War and stood at the site of the Wyndmoor Station. The Joseph Bernhard Foundry located in Philadelphia cast the bell in 1861. In 1998 the Kranich Family restored the bell and the bell cot. The bell was named the Kranich Bell. The parsonage on Southampton Avenue was built in 1886. The stone used to construct the building came from a �troublesome� wall that at one time delineated the church property. The ground breaking for the Parish House (the educational and social center) was held on June 16, 1907. The architect for the Parish House was Pringle Borthwock. The main decorative window is dedicated to Ellen A. Finley, nee Miller, by her husband James G. Finley.
The continued story of the two churches throughout the twentieth century is available from the church office.
