USA > Washington DC > History of St. Paul's English Lutheran Church : and of the work of the church and Sunday school for the semi-centennial year, including additional reports to June 30, 1893, with a synopsis of the semi-centennial services of the church and Sunday school, April 16 and 17, 1893 > Part 3
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HISTORY OF ST. PAUL'S
He was followed by the Rev. Dr. Benjamin Kurtz, of . Baltimore, who after some very interesting prefatory remarks, proceeded to enumerate the articles, docu- ments, etc., which were to be deposited in the corner- stone. These were-
Ist. A parchment scroll containing the following an- nouncement :
"St. Paul's Lutheran Church. The corner-stone was laid in the City of Washington, District of Columbia, on the 12th day of June, in the year of our Lord 1844, and of the Independence of the United States of North Amer- ica the sixty-eighth (6Sth), John Tyler being President of the same; W. P. Mangum, President of the Senate ; J. W. Jones, Speaker of the House of Representatives; and W. W. Seaton, Mayor of the city. Officers of St. Paul's Church : Rev. A. A. Muller, D. D., Pastor ; church council, Andrew Noerr, Cornelius Andrae, John C. Roemmele, Nicholas Funk, and Albert Heitmüller; John Sessford, Secretary. The mission under which this congregation was organized was, on motion of the Rev. Benjamin Kurtz, D. D., unanimously established by the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Maryland, held at Frederick, October 15th, 1842. Officers of the Gen- eral Synod of the Lutheran Church in the United States : Rev. John G. Morris, D. D., of Baltimore, President ; Rev. Charles A. Smith, Secretary ; Dr. D. Gilbert, Treasurer. Officers of the Maryland Synod for 1844 : Rev. Ezra Keller, President ; Rev. S. Sentman, Secretary ; Rev. J. P. Cline, Treasurer ; J. G. Bruff, Scripsit."
2d. A copy of Luther's Bible in the German lan- guage. A copy of the Bible in the English language. Copies of Luther's smaller Catechism in English and in German. Lutheran Almanac for 1843, containing a list of the names of the several Lutheran Ministers in the United States. Proceedings of the 42d convention of the General Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the United States. Copies of the journals
A
OLD CHURCH.
-
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ENGLISH LUTHERAN CHURCH.
of the annual session of the Lutheran Synod of Mary- land for the years 1842 and 1843. The following reli- gious newspapers connected with the Lutheran Church: The Observer, published at Baltimore; Lutheran Stand- ard, published at New Philadelphia, Ohio. News- papers of the city of Washington: The National Intelli- gencer, Globe, Whig, Standard, Spectator, Madisonian, and the National Zeitung. The Alte and New Welt, published in Philadelphia.
3d. Coins: The American dollar, half dollar, twenty- five cent piece, ten-cent, five-cent, and one-cent. Prus- sian coins: Prussian dollar, 1764, Frederick William; other Prussian small copper coins, etc.
4th. A silver plate bearing the following inscription :
"Martin Luther, benefactor of the christain world; born November 10th, 1483, at Eisleben, in Upper Sax- ony ; died at the same place on the 18th of February, 1546, aged 63 years. Upwards of twenty-seven mill- ions of christians at this period of the world bear his name and profess the faith and doctrines of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world. Here I stand; I can not do otherwise. God help me, Amen!"
On the marble slab which covered the recess of the corner-stone was the following inscription, prepared by the church council:
"J. P. Van Ness consecrates this site to the worship of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, June, 1844.",
The stone was laid with the assistance of the cere- monies of the Masonic ritual, a neat and appropriate address was made by the Most Worshipful Grand Mas- ter, the doxology was announced and read by the Rev. Dr. Samson, pastor of the Third Baptist Church, and the benediction was pronounced by the Rev. Dr. Tustin, of the Presbyterian Church.
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HISTORY OF ST. PAUL'S
The general interest shown at the laying of the cor- ner-stone was a matter of great encouragement to the people, who were so anxious to have a temple for Eng- lish Lutheran services ; but for want of means the com- pletion of the structure was compelled to wait for several years. As soon as possible the basement of the church was finished in modest style and occupied by the Sunday school, and used for preaching services ; but it required alinost a year from the time of the laying of the corner- stone until the basement was ready for occupancy. On the 15th of March, 1845, the first service was held. A collection of $65 is put to the credit of the opening ser- vices of that date. No formal opening ceremonies seem to have marked the day, only the transfer of worship from the old hall to the new place, and sermon by the Pastor.
As showing the stress and toil amid which the small congregation were pressing forward, and the struggle which marked every step of the way, the pastor, Dr. Muller, announced to the church council at a meeting two days after they had their first service in the basement, that he intended to visit the North and East about the Ist of July for the purpose of soliciting further aid for the church. That he fulfilled this announcement sub- sequent reports established, but what the degree of suc- cess that attended his efforts we have been unable to ascertain from the meager records at hand. That a heavy debt rested on them when they entered the base- ment of the church is very clear, and it became pain- fully manifest in the experience of the subsequent pastor, under whose administration the erection of the building was carried forward to completion.
At the meeting of the Maryland Synod in October, 1843, Dr. Muller reported II accessions and a total of 40 communicants ; Sunday School, 6 teachers and 61 schol- ars. This, therefore, would indicate very nearly the
.
JOHN E. GRAEFF,
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strength of the congregation at the laying of the corner- stone in the following June. The pastoral services of Dr. Muller terminated abruptly in June, 1846, two years after the corner-stone of the church was laid, and a little more than one year after the first service was held in the basement. Of the ministerial acts of the first pastorate a record is given of 38 infant baptisins, 22 marriages, and 13 deaths. No record of accessions, ex- cept that which is found in the synodical minutes. By a sad forfeiture of the confidence of the young church, just starting into life, Dr. Muller closed his pastorate in gloom. His subsequent career passed into the silence of the years. Whether still living, or long since dead, 110 one has been found who could tell us the story.
Rev. J. E. Graeff, Second Pastor. X ...
November 23, 1846-July 2, 1849.
The Rev. J. E. Graeff, a young man who had just completed his course at the Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, was called to the pastorate of St. Paul's o11 the 23d of November, 1846. The church council, at whose instance he became pastor, and whose sterling qualities and heroic devotion to the church at this critical period the young preacher soon discovered, and by whose helpful and self-sacrificing efforts the work of restoring confidence among the people, and of completing the church edifice, which was in use in its unattractive and only half-finished condition, consisted of the following persons: A Noerr, John Roemmele, John Myers, Paul Kinchy, Nicholas Snyder, and John Moore. Mr. Graeff entered upon his work with all the energy and enthusiasm of his fervent young manhood. But he found the difficulties and discouragements which confronted him in the sharp crisis of the new enterprise
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HISTORY OF ST. PAUL'S
many and great. Only a small band of loyal souls remained; the reputation of the church had sustained serious damage in consequence of recent occurrences; a sinall salary, which compelled the greatest possible economy on the part of the pastor; a heavy debt on the church, with a people financially too feeble to carry it, or to cancel it; and thus confronted and environed, Mr. Graeff began his ministry in Washington.
Mr. Graeff and his church council had, first of all, to look after the debts that were hanging over them, and to provide for the current expenses of the church. The settees in the church had not even been paid for, and to avoid having them sold by the sheriff the mein- bers of the council not only made themselves per- sonally responsible for the amount, but subsequently paid the debt themselves. The Maryland Synod appro- priated $150 toward the support of the missionary pastor, but even with this sun added to the small revenues of the congregation, the pastor's support was distressingly meager. There was also presented the imperative ne- cessity for the completion of the audience room and upper part of the church building. Not much pros- perity could be expected-not much enlargement, 10 position of much influence in the city-without a com- pleted church building, and such accommodations as were so absolutely necessary. What was to be done ?
On the 12th of April, 1847, a committee was appointed to report at the next ineeting the estimated cost to finish the interior of the upper room; and at the same time a resolution was passed that the council proceed as speedily as possible to raise funds in the church and the community at large for the completion of the church, "subscriptions to be paid in one year in quar- terly installments." Money enough for this under- taking, however, could not be raised at home ; and realizing the importance and necessity of having the
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church finished throughout, it was determined to have the pulpit supplied for such time as inight be necessary, and that the pastor become the collecting agent for the congregation in churches abroad. To this self-denying and toilsome work he gave himself for weary months among the country churches of Maryland and Penn- sylvania. His patient and earnest work was crowned with great success; a success very remarkable, indeed, when considered in relation to the times and circum- stances under which the brave endeavor was made; a success which demonstrated, at the same time, the ability, fidelity, industry, and popularity of the young pastor of the inission church in Washington. He succeeded in collecting about $2,000 toward the building fund. Diligently and perseveringly the work was car- ried forward until the hopes and prayers and exertions of years came into joyous fruition.
On Sunday, October 1, 1848, St. Paul's English Lutheran Church, of Washington, was dedicated to the service of the Lord and Saviour, Jesus the Christ. There were present on the occasion Rev. Messrs. J. G. Morris, of Baltimore; F. W. Conrad, of Hagerstown; C. P. Krauth, of Winchester; Rev. Mr. Finckle, of the Concordia Church ; and Rev. Mr. Biewend, of the Georgetown Lutheran Church. Five or six ministers of other denominations were also present, and manifested a lively and brotherly interest in the solemnities. The Lutheran Observer of that date gives the following account. Drs. Morris, Conrad, and Krauth were the officiating ministers:
"Although the weather was unfavorable, yet the house was thronged with people, showing that a deep interest is felt in the enterprise by the inhabitants of Washing- ton. About $1, 100 were collected, which is said to be the largest collection ever taken up on a similar occasion in the District of Columbia. Jaines K. Polk, the Presi-
.
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HISTORY OF ST. PAUL'S
dent of the United States, with his wife and household; Mr. Buchanan, the Secretary of State, and many other high officers of the State, War, and Navy Departments, were present. The exercises were rendered interesting and impressive by the performance of a well-trained choir, which during the day rendered six of the finest anthems. The church is finished in beautiful style. The ceiling and sides are ornamented with fresco paint- ing corresponding with the Gothic style of architecture, and the pulpit end is almost entirely occupied with a grand perspective view of the interior of a Gothic church, which is admirably executed. From the door the illusion is perfect, and the spectator can hardly convince himself that he is not entering a church five times as large as this is, for he seems to be look- ing down a long-drawn aisle, extending far beyond the pulpit. For the satisfaction of the numerous friends of this enterprise so strangely begum, for a while so inauspiciously conducted, and at one time apparently so ingloriously given up, I would state that we can thank God and take courage. Clouds and darkness rested upon it, but by God's blessing they have been dispelled. All apprehensions are removed, and the present pastor, Rev. Mr. Graeff, sees a promising future before him. The members of the church deserve much credit for persevering in their undertaking amid the distressing discouragements which encompassed them before Mr. Graeff took charge of the church. All things now look well, and we may consider the enter- prise as no longer an experiment, but an established fact.
"Many of our people have long felt concerned about having an English Lutheran Church in the metropolis of the land, and will be glad to hear that their wishes have been gratified, and that their contributions to Mr. Graeff for the benefit of the church have been faithfully and economically applied. The dedication was a day long to be remembered by the congregation. New life has been infused into them-a new impulse has been given them. They now see that they have more friends than they before knew, and they have been sent on their way rejoicing by the liberal contributions cheerfully given."
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The pastorate of Rev. Mr. Graeff, now so hopefully advancing, was destined to a speedy termination after the achievement of the completion of the church. Overwork, with anxiety and care, to bring about the result which culminated so gloriously on the day of dedication, broke down his health, and he was com- pelled to resign the pastorate on the 2d of July, 1849. He became himself the sacrifice on the altar of the church that she might live. It was his first and only charge. Regretfully and sadly the council ac- cepted the resignation of their faithful and popular young pastor, just when they saw before them the open door of coming prosperity and growth. Strange and wonderful are the methods of Divine grace and wisdom. We are led in ways that can not be known in advance. For a period of nearly fifty years afterward Mr. Graeff has been permitted to give his consecrated life to the uses of the Lord's Kingdom along other lines of activ- ity; and at the jubilee of the church to which he had given the morning of his young manhood, he is again seen and heard, to the delight of a multitude which gathered in celebration of the work at whose founda- tions he had toiled so bravely and so blessedly. Not quite three years in the pastoral work ! and yet what infinite distances of good and of power start from those three intensive years of prayer and toil !
""Tis not a case of small import The pastor's care demands ; But what might fill an angel's lieart, And fill'd a Saviour's hands."
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HISTORY OF ST. PAUL'S
Rev. J. G. Butler, Third Pastor. 1849-1873.
On the 2d of July, 1849, the resignation of Mr. Graeff was accepted at a regular meeting of the church coun- cil; and at this same meeting the name of J. G. Butler, a student at the seminary, was presented as a suitable candidate to succeed the retiring pastor. Mr. Graeff was instructed to write at once to Mr. Butler and invite him to visit the congregation with a view to the pastor- ate. The election of Mr. Butler by a unanimous vote of the council took place on the 16th of July, 1849. The secretary was instructed to notify him of his elec- tion, and that he should have a salary of $400, with the promise of a larger salary "in case the congregation should increase." Mr. Butler accepted the call with its stipulations, and soon entered on the discharge of min- isterial and pastoral work in St. Paul's, where he con- tinted in faithful and successful labors for the period of almost 24 years.
The first communion and confirmation services held by Mr. Butler bear the date of November 25th, 1849. First baptismn, same date; first marriage, February 28th, 1850 ; first funeral, August 29th, 1850. Another debt problem was also among the first facts of the new pas- torate. A balance of $1, 500 remained after the dedica- tion. An early effort was made to provide for its liqui- dation in some way, or to change its forin. To cancel immediately was impossible. To negotiate a loan was next in order. But fifty years ago money was not so readily obtained in loans as now. Accordingly, the church council note a discouraging failure in the effort made in this direction. At their session October 3d, 1849, they place on record the following statement: " The notes which were drawn for the purpose of procur-
J. G. BUTLER.
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ENGLISH LUTHERAN CHURCH.
ing money to pay the old debts of this church were re- turned and destroyed after finding it impossible to procure the money." But by the extension of credits, judicious management, and diligent efforts in collections, the debt was not allowed to hinder the onward movement of the church under the ministry of the young man who had just entered his first pastorate. Still it was a trying time for all concerned. A series of misfortunes which had left the church seriously in debt, with but a "handful" of people to meet the financial questions of self-support and the liquidation of impending liabili- ties, presented an unpromising situation in the new departure. For a number of years there was a struggle for life. Life gained the victory at last.
Rev. J. G. Butler was licensed by the Maryland Synod in October, 1849, after he had already commenced his labors in Washington. His continuous pastorate of so many years afterward is the proof of his ability and success in grappling with the difficulties which encon- passed the church in those early days. During the pas- torate of Dr. Butler the congregation gradually advanced to strength and influence from year to year. Prominent men in official life, and especially during the war for the Union, gathered around the pastor, and worshiped with the Lutheran people. His unambiguous position and utterances on the great questions which entered into the stern arbitrament of that great conflict as a decided Union man, brought many strangers to his services and gained many friends to the church. Hon. Schuyler Colfax, Vice-President of the United States, General Ekin and other officers of the Army, as well as meill- bers of Congress, attended services, and encouraged the pastor and church with their presence and favor. Many excellent men and women constituted the growing membership ; various improvements were inade in the church ; a three-story brick parsonage was built by the
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HISTORY OF ST. PAUL'S
side of the church, and the general benevolence of the congregation greatly improved.
Rev. Mr. Butler served as pastor of St. Paul's until April Ist, 1873, his resignation having been made ef- fective at this date with pay until July Ist, 1873. His pastorate consequently covered a period of almost twenty-four years. Some seven years before his pastor- ate in St. Paul's closed, and in the nineteenth year of his pastorate, the movement for the establishment of another church, the Memorial, was inaugurated. In March, 1866, the lot on which that church was after- ward built was purchased by the people of St. Paul's for $8,000. A memorial chapel was erected presently, and, to a great extent, by the people of St. Paul's, which was dedicated on Sunday, July 5th, 1863. The following Sabbath a school was organized under a corps of officers and teachers, largely from St. Paul's Church, with an enrollment of 258. Preaching services were soon com- menced in the new chapel, and from 1868 to the organi- zation of the memorial congregation in 1873, with the aid of associate Pastors, Dr. Butler had charge of both the old and new organizations. When the corner-stone of the Memorial Church was laid, October 31st, 1870, the Pastor reported that "the cash-book shows that nearly $30,000 have been paid into our treasury, largely from the people of St. Paul's Church, but embracing contributions from all parts of the country."
Seventeen years, therefore, Dr. Butler was pastor of St. Paul's exclusively, and then seven years more in conjunction with the incipient movements which led to the final organization of the Memorial Church, having in the meantime three associate Pastors successively, and thus making his whole pastorate at St. Paul's, in- cluding the seven years of preparatory work at Memo- rial, about 24 years. During Dr. Butler's pastorate there were added to the church 327 members ; infant
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ENGLISH LUTHERAN CHURCH.
baptismns, 234 ; marriages, 244; and funerals, 31. Amount of money collected and disbursed for church debts, improvements, and the building of Memorial, probably about $50,000. The associate pastors from 1868 to the close of Dr. Butler's pastorate in St. Paul's were the Revs. H. S. Cook, H. C. Grossman, W. E. Parson, and H. B. Beliner. The last became his suc- cessor in St. Paul's.
The Church of the Reformation, on Capitol Hill, was started during Dr. Butler's pastorate, about a year after the Memorial Chapel began its Sunday school and preaching services. From the National Republican of January IIth, 1869, the following item is taken: "Some unoccupied barracks on Capitol Hill have been pur- chased by the English Lutheran Church, Rev. Mr. Butler, pastor, for the purpose of building a Missionary chapel." The same paper of April 25th, 1869, says: " The chapel to be occupied by a new Lutheran mis- sion has been established by the congregation of St. Paul's Lutheran Church. They expect to occupy the new place of worship about the first week of May." This enterprise started in the parlor Sunday school of Mrs. Morrell, then a member of St. Paul's. The congrega- tion is now large and flourishing, under the pastorate of Rev. W. E. Parson, D. D., who was at the time of its origin associate pastor with Dr. Butler at St. Paul's.
Rev. H. B. Belmer, Fourth Pastor. January Ist, 1873-October Ist, 1874.
Rev. H. B. Belmer was invited by Dr. Butler to be- come associate pastor in December, 1872, to assist in carrying forward the work that was to be done in two localities in the old church and also in the Memorial chapel which had already been built. Rev. Mr. Belmer
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HISTORY OF ST. PAUL'S
had been in a mission field in Kansas, and his experi- ence and service as a missionary in the West brought him to the attention and favor of the pastor of St. Paul's, whose double duties now demanded an efficient co- worker with him. Mr. Belmer labored as an associate pastor with Dr. Butler until January Ist, 1873, when he was chosen the regular pastor of St. Paul's, successor of Dr. Butler, who resigned in order to take complete and exclusive charge of the Memorial Church. During Mr. Belmer's pastorate the final separation took place, the Memorial colony going out from St. Paul's to establish the new organization which had been in forma- tive processes from 1868, when preaching services and the Sunday school had been started in the chapel.
Rev. Mr. Belmer's paper is submitted as giving a very suggestive representation of this period, and the crisis through which St. Paul's had to pass, when the Memo- rial Church was passing onward into establishment.
Rev. S. Domer, D. D., Fifth Pastor. November, 1874.
Rev. Mr. Belmer was followed by the present pastor, in November, 1874, the fifth in the succession of pastors since the church was organized, fifty years ago. Of the five pastors who have served this congregation only one has yet been numbered with the dead-the first one. The second and the fifth, in aggregate services, have filled 43 years of the 50 which have gone into the life and history of the congregation-Dr. Butler 24 years, and the present pastor almost 19 years. Of the four pastors still living, Revs. Graeff and Butler were students of the Gettysburg College and Seminary; Revs. Beliner and Domer, of Wittenberg College, Ohio. The latter, however, after his graduation at Wittenberg, entered
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ENGLISH LUTHERAN CHURCH.
the theological seminary at Gettysburg, and studied in that institution when Dr. S. S. Schnucker and Dr. C. P. Krauth were still professors there, distinguished and honored in life, their names held in honor through- out the churches since they have passed away.
Rev. Mr. Domer came to Washington from Trinity Church, Shamokin, Pa , having previously served in the pastorate of the English Lutheran Church of Selinsgrove, Pa. and St. Matthew's, of Reading, Pa. He lias not lost a Sunday on account of ill health for twenty years, and has not missed a communion season nor anniversary occasion of any sort since he came to Washington. His personal review will be found fur- ther on.
An Outline of Church Expansion and Extension
is submitted-an evolution and growth which neces- sarily connect themselves with the history of Dr. Domer's pastorate at the close of this semi-centennial period.
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