The Historic Letterkenny Chapel and Franklin County Veterans and 9/11 Memorial Park Committee and the United Churches of the Chambersburg Area (UCCA) will conduct a Veterans Day Memorial Service at the Historic Letterkenny Chapel.
The Chapel Service will be held on Sunday, November 10, 2019, at 2:00 p.m., 2171 Carbaugh Avenue, Letterkenny Army Depot, Chambersburg, PA 17201.
The Keynote Speaker will be the 50th Commander of Letterkenny Army Depot, Colonel Gregory K. Gibbons, for a Veterans Day Message.
Musical accompaniment will be presented by Marcel Coates, on the Piano, throughout the Program, and he will direct special musical selections by the Chambersburg Community Chorus.
The Chapel Service will conclude with a rifle salute and the playing of Taps by the Charles Nitterhouse VFW Post 1599 Honor Guard, as final tribute to those Veterans who have, and continue to Go Daily In Harms Way, and those whose lives were lost in service to our nation.
The United Churches of the Chambersburg Area will sponsor this year’s Annual Christmas Eve Service at the Historic Letterkenny Chapel on Monday, December 24, 2018 at 6 pm at the Chapel, located at the Letterkenny Army Depot, 2171 Carbaugh Avenue, Chambersburg.
The service will be patterned after the traditional Christmas Eve services held from 1960-1995 when the Chapel served an area wide congregation as a military and community chapel.
The speaker will be the Rev. Dr. Paul B. Baker, Pastor Emeritus of King Street Church in Chambersburg. He is a graduate of Huntington University in Indiana, and received his Master of Divinity Degree from Lutheran Theological Seminary in Gettysburg, PA. He was awarded an honorary Doctors Degree by Huntington University in recognition of his personal witness and outstanding contributions to his church and his community.
He and his wife, June, reside in Chambersburg and are the parents of one son, Jeff.
John Brink will be the soloist for the service, and Stephanie Salisbury will be the pianist.
The United Churches of the Chambersburg Area oversees the ministries of the Letterkenny Chapel in conjunction with the Franklin County Veterans and 9/11 Memorial Park.
For further information, please contact Paul Cullinane 717-263-2838
Approaching Letterkenny Chapel, the bell tower, the quoin- brickwork, and the curved arches draws the eye because it is a different. It is not typical for the Cumberland Valley. With a second look, it is easy to see the Italian inspiration in the design, but how and why is a church of Italian architecture here? It is an amazing piece of Franklin County and American history.
Before America entered World War II, the U.S. military sought locations for ordinance depots. Letterkenny Township in Franklin County PA was selected because of its proximity to the Atlantic seaboard and Washington DC. The depot displaced about 1000 of the 70,000 county residents, and took 21,000 acres of farmland. U.S. Secretary of War Henry Stinson issued the directive to establish Letterkenny Ordinance Depot on December 18, 1941, just days after the attack on Pearl Harbor. By September 1942, the depot was in operation.
After Italy surrendered in September 1943, 1250 repatriated Italian prisoners of war came to Letterkenny Depot. These men missed their home and loved ones. They turned to their faith and sought support of the clergy, who suggested channeling their energy into something positive. Using materials from the farmhouses and barns removed from the land to build the depot, the repatriated Italian POWs built Letterkenny Chapel, inspired by the churches of their homeland.
Today, the Italian-style chapel stands as a reminder of something very good that came out of a very difficult time in the world. It links two places, once enemies, to a shared history and memories.
Letterkenny Chapel is maintained by the United Churches of Chambersburg and is adjoined by the Franklin County Veterans and 9/11 Memorial Park, which are the launching point of the Franklin County Military Trail of History. Each year, four services are held at Letterkenny Chapel—Armed Forces and POW/MIA Day Service in May, the 9/11 Remembrance Service in September, Veterans Day Service in November, and Christmas Eve Service in December.
The United Churches of the Chambersburg Area will sponsor this year’s Annual Christmas Eve Service at the Historic Letterkenny Chapel on Sunday, December 24, 2017 at 6 pm at the Chapel, located at the Letterkenny Army Depot, 2171 Carbaugh Avenue, Chambersburg.
The service will be patterned after the traditional Christmas Eve services held from 1960-1995 when the Chapel served its congregation as a military chapel.
Letterkenny Chapel has been an important focal point for spiritual nurture and support since it was built in 1945. The chapel was built during WWII by Italian prisoners-of-war.
The speaker will be the Rev. Dr. Ronnie B Tucker, Sr., a certified Dean in the National Baptist Congress of Christian Education. A native of Arkansas, he holds B.A. and Masters Degrees in Political Science and Public Administration from the University of Arkansas; a PhD in Public Administration from Mississippi State University; and a Doctorate in Theology from New World Bible Institute. Formerly an Associate Professor of Political Science at Shippensburg University, he is the Academic Coach/Counselor at Penn State University. He is the author of a book and numerous articles on Affirmative Action and a specialist on the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
He and his wife Lenore are the parents of two children and have three grandchildren.
John Brink will be the soloist for the service, and Stephanie Salisbury will be the pianist.
The United Churches of the Chambersburg Area oversees the ministries of the Letterkenny Chapel in conjunction with the Franklin County Veterans and 9/11 Memorial Park.