Five years ago, in the midst of the COVID pandemic, the attached post was published on May 11th, the date on which the first permanent church for Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg was dedicated in 1845. That was the 175th anniversary of the dedication of that church sanctuary. Actually, the records for that event state that it occurred on Pentecost Sunday in 1845, and that happened on May 11th that year. Today is Pentecost Sunday for 2025, and I am choosing to republish that post again, this time to celebrate the 180th anniversary of that event.
That building now serves as a gallery for historic artifacts that help tell the story of the German Lutheran legacy in East Perry County. It is part of the Lutheran Heritage Center & Museum.
I am going to add a few things to the previous post. First of all, in my book, Mama Buenger: Mother of a Synod, Chapter 92 is my meager effort to describe some of the conversation that may have taken place on that day in 1845 as people arrived at their new church for its dedication. I am sharing that chapter here. I confess that I could not resist inserting my Joachim Schmidt family into this piece of historic fiction.
92
Altenburg
Sunday, May 11, 1845
It was going to be a day of celebration in Altenburg for a variety of reasons. First, it was an occasion to celebrate the Day of Pentecost. Second, it was the day to dedicate the first permanent church building in the Altenburg settlement. The weather was beautiful, and spring flowers were plentiful.
“What a beautiful day!” exclaimed Wilhelmina Loeber as she walked away from her home on the way to the newly built church. “It certainly is strange for us to have to walk to church instead of having the congregation walk to us.”
Christoph said, “I’m sure the women of the congregation are going to be happy that they will not have to stay after the service to clean up our house.”
“You are right about that, Christoph,” said his mother. “There won’t be any dirt falling through the cracks upstairs onto our furniture any more. Although I’m sure that you and Martha and Gotthilf will still make sure I have to clean up the house on occasion.”
They all laughed.
Pastor Loeber had left for church much earlier to make preparations for the special service. He was joined by several other members of the congregation there who had special responsibilities as well. Everyone who was there early had gathered outside to hear the church bell to ring for the first time. It was rung an hour before the service and it was to alert the members within earshot that they should be getting ready to go to church.
As it had turned out, the Altenburg church had only been able to attain the smallest of the four church bells which had been brought from Germany to America. All of them had been put into storage at the wharf in St. Louis, but the congregation could only muster enough money to pay the fee to get one bell out of storage. Regardless of that disappointment, the members still rejoiced to hear the church bell ring on that Pentecost Sunday.
Pastor Loeber had finished all his preparations for worship. The Communion ware, including the precious chalice that had been given the Gesellschaft by an elderly Polish woman who sympathized with the immigration, was ready for the sacrament. The crucifix on the temporary altar was centered and straightened. The Lutheran Agenda was now opened to the correct page for this particular Sunday. As a result, Pastor Loeber was now able to stand at the church door as he had hoped to welcome his congregation members when they entered their new church for the first time. Smiles were as plentiful as the spring flowers.
“Guten morgan,” greeted the pastor. “It’s a great day for worship, isn’t it?”
“It certainly is,” answered Gottlob Kramer. “And I’m also thankful that I don’t have to push wheelbarrows full of rocks up the hill anymore.”
“Those rocks do look good now, don’t they?” commented Pastor Loeber.
“No doubt about that, Pastor.”
The Joachim Schmidt family approached the church door next. “Are you going to preach your sermon in English this morning in honor of Pentecost Sunday, Pastor?” asked Joachim.
Pastor Loeber laughed and answered, “No, I think not. I think I’ll stick to the German. Then I have a chance that the congregation will understand my sermon.”
Ten year old Gottwerth shook the pastor’s hand and said, “I’ve been told to be on my best behavior this morning.”
“Now that sounds like a good idea, young man, but I think you should do that every day,” responded Rev. Loeber.
As Pastor Loeber looked around at the arriving folks, he came to realize that this morning’s service was going to be packed. Not everything was completed at the church yet. They hadn’t even gotten pews yet, so most of the congregation was going to have to stand. A few benches had been set up for some of the older members, but the sanctuary was quickly becoming quite crowded with people standing shoulder to shoulder. It was going to be similar to the crowd that gathered at the original Pentecost as recorded in the Book of Acts.
I worked as a docent at our museum yesterday, and am scheduled to do the same today. I took a few photos of the interior of the 1845 church while I was there. Some changes have been made in the past 5 years. That gallery mostly attempts to tell the story of the past worship, music, and education traditions in our community.
Also included inside the 1845 church is this hymn board that came from St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Wittenberg after it closed in 1987. I was told that this board was removed from that church just as it is seen in the photo below. It contains the German terms, Christfest, which means Christmas, and Pfingstfest, which means Pentecost.
So, on this Pfingsfest Sunday, we celebrate this building which has served as a church, a school, and now as a museum gallery. 180 years ago, it was dedicated to be used in God’s service, and it is still carrying out that mission to this day.
Really great post today. One of my favorites.