The History of Trinity Lutheran Church
— At the Close of the Century
By the time of its Golden Anniversary, Trinity had been led by four more pastors. Rev. C.F. Drews served for two years. His writings and his subsequent position on the Synod’s Executive Board of Colored Missions influenced Trinity’s interest in African-American missions. [ in his Yellow Fever Diary, Pastor Sieck is on his way to Little Rock to preach at the dedication service of a new church with an African-American congregation ] During the two years that Rev. C. Burkhart served, a parsonage was built next to the church, Pastor Louis Buchheimer, a gifted speaker and author, stayed for six years, and it was while he was here that the ladies of Trinity organized the von Bora Society (in existence today), taking the maiden name of Martin Luther’s wife Katy.
After Pastor Buchheimer’s wife died in 1902, he accepted a call to St. Louis. Rev. C.J. Broders, a former missionary to Brazil, served Trinity for four years. He was pastor at the time of the golden Anniversary, when gas chandeliers were installed and a new altar was purchased. His experience in Brazil enabled him to further develop the congregation’s interest in mission causes.
Trinity was undergoing many changes about this time. Most of the original members were of German stock, from Hanover, Frankfort, Baden, Berlin, with names like Ringwaldt, Schultz, Bauman. All records were in German until after the turn of the century. Though the people were listed as shopkeepers and craftsmen, with few from German nobility, they were proud of their heritage and tried to preserve the language and customs so important in the homeland. It was for this reason that Trinity had always maintained a school. By the fiftieth year, however, quite a few non-German names appeared on the church roster, and there was pressure to change from German to English services “for the sake of the young people.”
After several interim arrangements, 1910 marked the beginning of worship services in English, with German reserved for Christmas, Lent, and Vespers. Records also changed to English that year. The school existed but two years more.
This was a time of great unrest in Europe. By 1914, World War I had begun. The United States was officially neutral, and in the beginning, some members of Trinity openly supported Germany, but as the war progressed, support for Germany disappeared. Trinity saw many of its sons enlist in the Armed Forces to fight against the Kiser and some lost their lives. It's understandable that by the end of World War I in 1918, all official usage of the German language was discontinued at Trinity. Later, in the early twenties, German usage was revived occasionally “for the sake of the elderly.”
Although a church is directed by pastors and strong lay leaders, one has only to read the minutes of the ladies’ organization to realize that the mainstream direction of a congregation comes from a collective base. With no official voting voice, women often instigated new policies and saw to the preservation and improvement of the facilities, many times arranging for the financing themselves.
The church was administered in those days by a Council of the men of the church, meeting regularly, with officers elected yearly, generally with few changes for long periods. Only in September of 1972 was the constitution changed to make all communicant members over 18 years old eligible as voting members. The work of the church is now carried on by an elected thirteen-member council. The voting membership at the quarterly meetings has greatly increased, and women are now represented on most of the boards.
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