Chicago Lutheran History: First St. John Lutheran Church
In 1896, the Lutheran churches of Chicago published Geschichte der Gründung und Ausbreitung der zur Synode von Missouri, Ohio und Andern Staaten gehörenden Evangelisch-Lutherischen Gemeinden U. A. C. zu Chicago, Illinois, a history of their growth in the city beginning with First St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, now located on LaSalle and Goethe streets in Chicago. As far as I know, there is no English translation of this document, so I offer this one to share this history with you. Follow me to get updates about the rest of this work.
The fourth church on the list is First St. John Lutheran Church. It began as a small school building on Noble and Cornell (now Fry) streets, and it moved around as the church grew. Just 10 years after the publication of this book, St. John moved south to Hoyne and Walton near Ukrainian Village. The church closed in the 1970’s, and it has been redeveloped into 9 condominiums with the original exteriors intact.
The Evangelical Lutheran St. John Congregation
This is the fourth congregation in Chicago by age. In the Northwest of the city, far away, German Lutherans had established themselves here and there for 16 years. And so St. Paul’s congregation decided to open a school in that area in the year 1863. A modest school building was erected at Noble and Cornell street, and Teacher Christian Lücke was called as teacher for the new branch school. The same began lessons with 30 children. It was very lonely out there. The school house stood in the middle of cornfields. There was no trace of roads and so-called “improvements.” Teacher Lücke reported regarding his first steps: “Corn still grew all around us, and I hesitantly unpacked my suitcase, because I had to live in this wilderness.” But the number of school children quickly increased beyond what was expected.
Every Thursday evening, Pastor Wunder preached in this school, and more and more hearers found themselves at the divine services. The residential buildings moved closer and closer to the lonely schoolhouse. After November 1864, Pastor Johannes Große, who was associate pastor at St. Paul’s Congregation at that time, preached in this school. In 1865, the same had to move his home there, because the increasing work in this neighborhood made it necessary. In the same year, the St. Paul Congregation made Teacher Lücke’s school into two classes, and they called Teacher Karl Köbel as the second teacher. The cornfields slowly disappeared until house lined up to house and street lined up to street. The time had now come, that this hitherto school district ought to become an independent congregation. And so, St. Paul’s Congregation dismissed 16 voting members, who constituted themselves as The Evangelical Lutheran St. John Congregation on the 28th of March 1867. The new congregation immediately called pastor Johannes Große as their pastor.
Four weeks after founding the congregation, the construction of a church was resolved, and a plot was purchased on the corner of Bickerdike (Translator’s Note: Now Bishop St.) and W. Superior street, the church was erected on it, and it was dedicated on the 13th of October 1867. Pastors Wunder and Bener and the now-dead Director Lindemann, of the teacher seminary in Adison, preached at this celebration. They had placed the old schoolhouse next to the church, and they set up a mission school on North Paulina Street near Milwaukee Avenue in the year 1868, at which Teacher Louis Appelt worked. The growth of the congregation went amazingly quickly in this initial time of their existence. Already two years after erecting the church, the same proved to be much too small, and it had to be enlarged by twice as much into a cross-shaped building. At the same time, the church retained their stately tower and a brick first floor, in which a school room was set up. The dedication of the thusly enlarged church happened on the 20th Sunday after Trinity, 1869. At this time, the congregation had four school classes, in which the teachers Lücke, Johnson, Rose, and Steinbach taught.
A second school became necessary in the southwest, therefore the congregation rented a plot on Fulton and Paulina Street, erected a school building on the same, and placed Teacher A. Rose at this new school. In the year 1875, this school building was moved to the plot acquired by the congregation on Oakley, near Fulton street, and later in the year 1888 both were given to the newly founded Emmaus Congregation. In the year 1873, A third school, a two-story building, was built on the corner of Wood and Cornelia street, in which the teachers Chr. Lücke and J. P. Johnson taught. The number of schoolchildren became still larger, so a new, beautiful, brick school building was built next to it on Cornelia and Wood street.
In the year 1875, Pastor Johannes Große was called to be a professor at the Teacher Seminary in Addison. The congregation called Pastor H. H. Succop out of Sebringville, Canada, as his successor. The same was installed on the 26th Sunday after Trinity of the same year by Pastor H. Wunder with the assistance of Pastors Lange and Reinke and Professor Große. The congregation also enjoyed a very blessed growth under Pastor Succop.
In the year 1886, the congregation renovated their church, and they put in a large organ, built by the organ builder Schülke in Milwaukee, WI. In the year 1890, the congregation built next to the church its beautiful three story school building, furnished with all modern facilities. In the first floor, a large hall is located in which the local Lutheran Slovaks currently hold their divine services under their pastor, Pastor Ladislaus Boor. At the dedication of the new school, Pastor Johannes Große took the holy sermon. In the year 1892, the congregation celebrated its 25th Jubilee. The pastors Johannes Große and August Reinke took the festival sermons.
Since the work at this congregation became too much for one pastor, and, from the year 1891 on, Pastor Succop also administered the difficult office of a president of the Illinois District of the Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States, so the congregation had diligently sought to bring relief to his work through hiring associate pastors. Associate pastors in St. John Congregation were the pastors: G. Johannes, Professor Th. Brohm of the teacher seminary in Adison, B. H. Succop, E. Pardieck, E. Zapf, H. Sauer. The current associate pastor is Pastor Paul Sauer, who was ordained and installed on the 18th Sunday after Trinity (the 26th of July) 1896 by President Succop.
The congregation currently numbers 301 voting members and 1700 communicant members. The teachers are: Senior teacher: L. Selle; Teacher at the school near the church: G. Guüttler (2nd class); A. Rofe (3rd class); A. Classen (4th class); N. Lange (5th class). School on wood street; P. Otto (2nd class); P. Johnson (3rd class); E. Müller (4th class); E. Dörr (5th class). These nine teachers teach 750 children.
