Caledonia Argus

St. Lukeís to celebrate 140 years

Posted: 8/19/03

The congregation of St. Lukeís Church in Eitzen invites the public to celebrate with it the 140th anniversary of the founding of the church. Al Townsendís Jazz Band will be leading the service which begins at 9:30 a.m. Sunday, August 24. The service will be followed by a potluck dinner and program. Former pastors Rev. Tom Laufer of Melbourne, Iowa, and Rev. Lloyd Fried of West Salem will participate in the service. St. Lukeís currently has an interim pastor, Rev. Wayne Laura of La Crosse.

All former members of St. Lukeís are invited to be a part of a large group picture that will be taken following the service.

In 1863, a group of 34 German settlers from both sides of the Minnesota-Iowa border met to organize the St. Johnís Evangelical congregation and applied for membership in what was then the Northwest Synod.

In 1892, the original St. Johnís merged with the Immanuel Lutheran Church, a parallel congregation formed in 1866. An early pastor, the Rev. Adolph Niedergesaess, had been called to served Immanuel in 1881 and began to serve St. Johnís three years later. He is credited with the uniting of these churches as one, which was then named St. Lukeís Evangelical Church. In 1934, St. Lukeís became a member of the Evangelical and Reformed Church. In 1957, after a merger with the Congregational Christian Churches of America, the name was changed to St. Lukeís United Church of Christ.

In the first St. Johnís church, the minister lived upstairs. That building became a home for the church custodian after a new church was built in 1874. The original Immanuel Church building was used for religious instruction.

The new church was struck by lightning on June 23, 1917, and was totally destroyed. The present St. Lukeís brick church was built to replace it and was dedicated August 11, 1918. It was decorated in 1930, and redecorated in 1982. In 2001, a new front entrance was built with a gift from the Alma Burmester estate. It was dedicated November 9, 2001.

St. Lukeís currently has about 384 members. As part of its celebration Sunday, it will be honoring members 80 years and older.

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