The dedication of the Abiding Presence Lutheran Church’s original sanctuary and building in 1963.
Worshipers gather in the Abiding Presence Lutheran Church’s current sanctuary for Christmas services in 2012.
Council members and the mission pastor of APLC at Lanning School, Ewing in September 1963.
Church members proceed down Route 31 during a groundbreaking ceremony for new sanctuary/basement/narthex – in March 2000.
Throughout the 50 year history of Abiding Presence Lutheran Church, artistic expression has been a key part of the congregation’s worship and community outreach.
That creativity has been expressed mostly in the form of music, but the church is planning an art show this month to kick off its 50th anniversary celebration.
The show is scheduled to be held on Saturday, March 9, from 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. The event is free of charge and will feature art with religious and non-religious themes. The first two hours of the show will also include a display of art by children, the Rev. Dan Whitener said.
“We have a number of congregational members and friends of the congregation who are involved particularly in the visual arts,” Whitener said. “We’ve certainly done a lot with music over the years, but it just became apparent that we had never done anything like this and we wanted to highlight some of the talents of some of the members of the congregation.”
The art show will also serve as an open house. Visitors will be greeted at the door and will be able to walk through the church and visit various art stations.
Abiding Presence Lutheran Church was founded in 1963, and began meeting at its current location at 2220 Pennington Road in Ewing in 1968, when the first part of the building was dedicated. An education wing was added to the building in 1977. Most recently, the church built and dedicated a new sanctuary in 2001 and installed a solar grid in 2009.
The church is part of the New Jersey synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Its name was inspired by the name of the chapel at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Gettysburg, Pa., where the congregation’s first pastor attended seminary, Whitener said.
Whitener said the church still has some charter members who have belonged to the congregation since it was founded. The pastor describes the congregation as “outgoing” and “energetic.” It is a diverse group, made up of members who originated from different parts of the United States and also from different countries.
“That’s been a blessing. That’s been a part of the congregation’s history, particularly in recent years,” Whitener said.
Throughout the years, Abiding Presence Lutheran Church has been active in the local community. Several times each year, choral groups from the church perform at local nursing homes. The congregation has also helped refugees from other countries who have settled in the area, and has worked with organizations such as HomeFront to help local families. The church was also involved in the founding of Ewing Meals on Wheels in the 1970s, Whitener said.
Abiding Presence strives to continue this tradition of service.
“I think the congregation’s always looking to be more aware of what the needs are in the surrounding communities. We’ve always had a commitment to the greater Trenton area,” Whitener said.
Another constant throughout the church’s history has been its education program, which includes Sunday school, confirmation and resources for supporting faith in the home.
Abiding Presence will officially celebrate its 50th anniversary in September. The congregation plans to host events throughout the year leading up to that celebration.
The church has two pastors, Whitener and Pastor Rebecca Resch. In September, Whitener will mark his 20th year as a pastor at the church. He said he hopes to see the congregation continue to grow in the future.
“Growing in terms of reaching out to more people, but also growing in terms of the depth of our identity as Christians,” he said.
For more information about Abiding Presence Lutheran Church and its upcoming events, go online to aplcnj.org or call (609) 882-7759.
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