Sacred Trust 2026

‘The Great Anniversary Festival’: A July 2nd Independence Celebration at Seminary Ridge
6:30-7 p.m. | Seminary Ridge Museum Lawn
Reading of The Declaration of Independence by Codie Eash
7:30-8:30 p.m. | Seminary Ridge Museum Lawn
Panel on Historical Legacy with Tom McMillan, Jake Wynn, Erin Pearce and Christopher Gwinn–Moderated by Judy Morley, Ph.D.
9-11 p.m. | Schmucker Grove or Hill Unger Performance Pavillion, near the intersection of Springs Avenue and Seminary Ridge
Screening of the episode Independence from the award-winning HBO miniseries John Adams
John Adams predicted, “The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America. I am apt to believe it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival.” Of course, Adams was off by two days regarding the date Americans associate with independence. But for the semiquincentennial of the United States, you are invited to honor the 250th anniversary of our nation’s birth on July 2, when a vote on the Declaration of Independence officially passed the Continental Congress.
Join Seminary Ridge Museum, Gettysburg National Military Park and Gettysburg Foundation for a memorable evening on Gettysburg’s historic United Lutheran Seminary Campus. The commemoration includes a reading of the Declaration of Independence, a panel discussion focused on the history and legacy of the occasion and an outdoor screening of the episode “Independence” from the award-winning HBO miniseries John Adams. This unique celebration honors the man whose name inspired Gettysburg to become the seat of Adams County, the nation that Adams and his fellow founders helped create and the lasting meaning of the Declaration of Independence throughout the past 250 years in Gettysburg and beyond.