Chapter Eight
Saint John Evangelical Lutheran

By James Wudarczyk and Jude Wudarczyk

By 2002 it was obvious that one of Lawrenceville’s oldest congregations no longer had the population or the resources to sustain its church facilities; thus Saint John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church closed its doors.

Standing at the corner of Fortieth and Howley Streets, the members of Saint John’s Lutheran Church traced their history back to March 28, 1859, when a congregation was formed with thirty-two charter members. The charter members were Jacob Wollner, John Wall, Peter Lang, Jacob Koehler, George Hulpp, Peter Hofmeister, Gottlieb Faas, Adam Ziegler, Karl F. Meyer, Karl Unverzagt, Albert Rost, John Stark, Philip Burger, John Merkel, William Braun, Philip Nasser, Karl Reiher, Henry Asthhalther, George Nesselthaler, Jacob Weidler, Henry Kallenrur, John Richenbach, Henry Scharrer, A. Zoller, George Bauerschmidt, John Wollner, Peter Lunz, Jacon Daubenmeyer, Edward Mulzer, George Fuchs, Theodore Anders, and Andrew Eiffler. The original name of the church was the German United Protestant Congregation of Lawrenceville.

On May 23, 1869, the majority of the congregation supported J. G. Stirm’s motion to change the name of the church to the German United Protestant St. John’s Church, 17th Ward, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The church maintained this name until August 18, 1878, when the Reverend P. M. Reidenbach proposed a new charter and constitution, which renamed the church as The German Evangelical Lutheran St. John’s Congregation. Although the congregation was unanimously in favor of the motion, a lack of funds prevented the filing at court until December 31, 1878. The constitution was changed again in February 1929, with the name rearranged to The St. John’s German Evangelical Lutheran Church.

Services were conducted as early as 1857 in the Lawrenceville Academy on Fisk Street near Butler Street. The first church built by the newly formed congregation was a plain frame church building on Fortieth Street near the south end of the Washington Crossing Bridge. Later a Baptist congregation occupied the site.

In 1892 four lots on the corner of Fortieth and Howley Streets were purchased at a cost of $4,000.00. On February 2, 1896, a building committee was appointed, consisting of Reverend P. M. Reidenbach, Ed Kenngott, Julius Krause, Herman Ross, Sr., John Esherich, and Daniel Hartbauer. Total cost of construction was $24,000.00, with the congregation going into debt to the sum of $12,000.00. It was eleven years before the debt was cleared. Dedication services for the new church were conducted on April 25, 1897, with Reverend H. J. Schuh, D.D. and Reverend Rudolph Reidenbach delivering the dedicatory sermons.

A German Day School was organized in 1865, which offered classes five days a week from 9 to 12 in the morning and 1 to 3 in the afternoon. At first instructions were conducted only in German, but it was soon recognized that English instructions were also needed. Thus, changes in the structure of the school were made to allow three days a week for the expressed purpose of instructions in the German language, while two days a week were dedicated for instructions in English. For the first few years, teachers were appointed, but a lack of funds between 1871 and 1873 prompted the pastor to take over as teacher, in addition to his other responsibilities. Financial problems in 1876 required the pastor to once again assume the position of instructor until 1894, when the sixty-pupil school was discontinued.

In 1875 the parish built a parsonage at a cost of $1,700.00. Then in 1946 the church purchased a new parsonage on Kincaid Street for $8,000.00.

Pastors serving this congregation were Reverend Adolf Gerwig (1859-1865), Hartman (1860-1861), Baumgarten (1862-1865), Bolsterle (1865-1869), Schaefer (1869-1872), A. H. Seiple (1872-1876), Adolf Baur (1876-1878), Philip M. Reidenbach (1878-1910), John L Ernst (1910-1914), Otto Ebert (1915-1930), George Schuster (1930-1939), Otto C. Schuetze (1939-1945), Harmon W. Eibling (1945-1949), Hudson M. Clements (1949-1952), George H. Plamann (1953-1959), Harold L. Baum (1960-1969), William C. Larson (1970-1974), and Keith Grill (1975-2002).

It was under the pastorate of Reverend Philip M. Reidenbach that on November 2, 1903, an organ was purchased from the M. P. Moller Company of Hagerstown, Maryland, at a cost of $2,000.00, with Andrew Carnegie donating $1,000.00 toward this project.

The parish history sheds light upon the Luther League, an organization for the parish youth, which was formed on September 29, 1895. “Its meetings were conducted in the German language until 1907. This group underwent many name changes. They were, at times known as “Young Peoples Literary Society, Young Peoples Mission Society, Pleasure and Pastime Society and Young Peoples League.” The account further noted, “The object of the Luther League was well stated in the April, 1916, issue of the St. Johnannes Bote that the object of the Luther League shall, be under the guidance of the pastor, to co-operate in the up-building of our church at home and abroad to encourage the study of the Bible and the doctrine and history of the Lutheran Church, to invite to regular attendance at church and Sunday School and to godly life and works, to gather into our church such young people as have no church connection and to further Christian socialability (sic). These objects are well worth striving for by the entire congregation and should be used as a basis for all groups, just not the youth of the congregation.”

Reverend John L. Ernst was responsible for the reorganizing of the Sunday school. Under his pastorate the Sunday school grew from an enrollment of 120 to over 200 pupils. ”The graded Sunday School with classes according to age came to St. John’s in 1914. The Benevolence offering was initiated in 1919 and the duplex envelope system began in 1922. In 1933, the Sunday School was divided into three departments. The departments were the Cradle Roll, the Primary and the Senior. Each department had its own principals and officers. The main auditorium was divided into separate classrooms by the means of heavy curtains. Total enrollment of the Sunday School was 371 in 1934.” The parish history noted that in 1934 the primary department consisted of six classes with 82 pupils, 6 teachers, 10 assistant teachers, and 3 officers. Mrs. Mildred Bauer served as principal, with Mrs. Evaline Schuster as assistant principal and Miss Edna Weiman as secretary. The senior department consisted of 17 classes with 220 pupils, 17 teachers, and four officers. The 1934 officers of the senior department were Mr. F. Earl Grance, principal; Miss Louise Hartbauer, secretary; Mr. Bernard Weigold, treasurer; and Mr. Charles Yeager, assistant treasurer. Cradle roll showed 30 children enrolled with Mrs. Amelia Jarrat serving as principal. The 1984 history of the parish stated, “The Sunday School has continued its work in the past 50 years since the 75th Anniversary. In fact, the largest building project to date since the erection of the present church building in 1897 was the addition built for education in the parish, that was the addition of Plamann Hall in 1959. Today the membership has dwindled in numbers but not in enthusiasm and dedication.”

In 1929 in honor of the 50th anniversary as a Lutheran congregation, the church was renovated.

Presidents in the congregation’s history between 1864 and 1934 were John Groetsch (1864), Albrecht Rost (1866), George Hineman (1867), Sebastian Foster (1868), John Groetsch (1870), Peter Hofmeister (1871), George Frietzle (1872), George Heineman (1873), Albrecht Rost (1874), George Heninger (1875), George Frietzle (1876), C. F. Klopper and Louis Diefenbacher (1877), Louis Diefenbacher (1878-1881), Jacob Westphal (1882), Louis Diefenbacher (1883-1891), Herman Ross, Sr. (1892), Julius Krause (1893-1909), and Daniel Hartbauer (1910-1934).

In 1950 the parish tackled two major projects. First, as a memorial to those who served in the military during World War II, the parishioners rebuilt the organ. On January 21, 1951, at a special dedicatory service, Pastor Otto Schuetze preached the sermon. The second project of note was the erecting of a lighted cross on top of the church as a memorial to Reverend Harmon W. Eibling, who passed away while serving at Saint John’s. Cost of these two projects was approximately $4,500.00.

By November of 1983 it was realized that the congregation could no longer ignore the repairs needed for the facilities. Phase one of the works for the repair of windows, re-pointing of the church, insulation of the facility, installation of a ceiling fan, and repair to the cornice was to be implemented throughout 1984 at a cost of $65,000.00. Phases two and three required an additional $95,000.00 for improvements. Because of a shrinking congregation and limited resources, the parish decided to only implement the first phase.

Due to continued decline in congregation membership and inadequate financial support, the parish was absorbed by Saint Andrew’s Lutheran Church in Shadyside, and the edifice was sold to a private developer for use as condominiums.