Chicago Lutheran History: Gethsemane Lutheran Church–1888
In 1896, the German 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 translation to share this history with you. Follow me to get updates about the rest of this work.
Since Gethsemane closed long ago, I do not know much about its history after 1896. The south side of Chicago changed as the millions of black southerners moved north to escape Jim Crow laws and the risk of death for small or even imagined infractions. By the 1940’s, the area around Gethsemane had begun to integrate if not change over completely. Andrew Schulze was a Lutheran pastor who worked in black ministry, and he was a civil rights activist within the church. In his book, Race Against Time (pgs 49–51), he writes that he moved into Gethsemane’s run-down parsonage. The congregation hoped that he would start a segregated black ministry alongside the white congregation’s.
Schulze had experience with segregated ministries like this in Cleveland. He knew that such a history of segregation would be so stigmatized by the residents (rightly so) that the church would always be seen as a white church even after all the white members were gone.
My records have no information about the church after the after this time.
Evangelical Lutheran Gethsemane Congregation
The Evangelical Gethsemane Congregation was founded by a number of former members of St. Peter Congregation on the 10th of June, 1889. At first, they bought three plots on 46th Street between Princeton Avenue and Atlantic Street, and on it they built a schoolhouse, in which two classrooms are located in the lower rooms, but the divine service of the congregation was held in the upper rooms until such time as the building of their new church. On December 1st, 1889, The congregation called Pastor J. G. Nützel as their pastor, who was installed by Pastor W. Uffenbeck on the fourth Sunday of Advent, 1889. Shortly after the installation of the pastor, the congregation called two teachers for their school, namely Mr. G. Garbisch for the first class and Mr C. Martini for the second class.
The successor of the first is Mr. C. H. M. Wagner, who taught in the first class since April 1893. The successor of Teacher Martini (who is no longer in the teaching office) is Teacher O. Dammköhler, who has been in the second class since September 1895.
Although the number of members was only 39 at the founding of the congregation, the congregation grew so much that a new church became necessary only two years after the building project. Because of this, the congregation bought a plot on Dearborn near 49th for the sum of $4,500, and, on the 2nd of August, 1891, they decided to build a church, with three bells and an organ, which cost $9,185. The founding stone of the new church was laid in September of the same year, and the festival dedication took place on the 4th Sunday of Advent, 1891. The festival sermons at this celebration were preached by Pastors A. Schüßler, A. Wagner, and L. Hölter. The new organ of this church, bought in St. Louis, cost $2,100, and it was dedicated in April, 1892.
At this time, 134 voting members and 562 communicant members belong to the congregation. 160 children are in the two classrooms.
