As summer at The Lutheran Heritage Center draws to a close, we are humbled and grateful for the many blessings that we have enjoyed during the summer months. These blessings include record numbers of visitors, world-acclaimed collections, many tours, and the generous giving of friends from around the country and beyond.

Just in the last couple of weeks we have enjoyed visitors from Germany, a group from a St. Louis senior living community, a group of campers that gathered for the weekend and wanted to tour our site, a group from central Missouri who were touring Lutheran history sites, a group that won a tour of Lutheran sites at an auction in St. Louis and many others that just dropped by for a visit! All of this is in addition to the overwhelming response we had to a Missouri Humanities speaker, Greg Work, who gifted us with an in-depth look at Ulysses S. Grant and Grant’s role in history in our area and Missouri. As you can see, our visitors come from a vast variety of backgrounds and interests. The fun thing is, every day is a different day for our staff and volunteers!

This fall will continue to bring exciting times to the Museum. We currently are featuring an exhibit of oil paintings in the South Gallery. This exhibit features the work of Dr. Robert Ward III, DDS, a retired maxillofacial specialist from Cape Girardeau. “Painting Nature’s Beauty” is a beautiful collection of landscapes. We are very excited that Dr. Ward is offering a demonstration of painting on October 9 in the South Gallery. This event will give you the opportunity to watch Dr. Ward paint and hear how the process of painting a landscape is developed and executed. Please join us at 2:00pm for this educational event!

Also in October, we will be holding our biannual Historical Society Meeting. You do not have to be a member to attend, however, membership will be available for those choosing to join the Perry County Lutheran Historical Society. The Perry County Lutheran Historical Society was founded in 1910 for one main purpose…to preserve the Log Cabin Seminary, commonly known as the Log Cabin College. The main purpose of our Society continues to be to preserve, interpret and promote the history of the 1839 German Lutheran immigration to Perry County. However, today, we also recognize and value the history of our entire area of East Perry County. Membership does not mean you have to volunteer at the Museum or even be Lutheran, but to be willing to join in the ministry of preserving, interpreting and promoting the history of our area. At our meeting on October 23, we will hold election of officers and be joined by Mark Gerler of Cross Rivers Financial – Thrivent, who will present on estate planning and the importance of having a plan for your estate and putting your wishes into action for the future. This will not be sales meeting for investments, but rather a conversation of the importance of the steps to be taken to make your wishes come to fruition. Please join us on October 23 at 4:00pm in the South Gallery for this valuable time of discussion and planning.

The East Perry Fair is just around the corner and we are excited to once again witness history in the making. We are supporters of the “Best Little Fair in the Land” and welcome you to visit us at the Museum from 10-12pm on Friday and from 10am – 4pm on Saturday. Make plans to stop by The Lutheran Heritage Center as you visit the Fair!

We believe that history is something we learn from and we here at The Lutheran Heritage Center take our history into our thoughts as we plan for the future. We value the sacrifices of so many that gave so physically and spiritually so that we could have freedoms. We value those that gave generously so that we could build and maintain buildings to house our archives and exhibits. We value the Word that is our foundation for our ministry at The Lutheran Heritage Center. Please join us as we continue to maintain our facilities and plan for the future of The Lutheran Heritage Center. We covet your prayers for guidance and safety as we reach out with the message through our ministry at The Lutheran Heritage Center. We look forward to having you visit us in person here in beautiful East Perry County! Till then…to God be the Glory!