St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church: Serving the Lord for 128 Years

On January 6, 1878, nineteen residents of the Richland community, a small German community east of Pflugerville and north of Manor, covenanted to form the St. Johannes Evangelische Lutheran Kirche bei Manor. For 125 years, this little congregation has brought Christian ministry and worship to the rural countryside community.

The first congregation met to worship with circuit riding ministers in the home of Mr. Franz Schmidt. Recognizing the importance of education, the first building the congregation erected was a school house where their children could be taught. This school house was used also as a sanctuary for Sunday worship.

The community was initially founded by and composed of immigrants from Prussia, (Germany), and from what was known at that time as the “Evangelical Union of Prussia,” a uniting of the Lutheran Church and the Reformed Church in Prussia by the King Fredrich William III. However, the congregation was served largely by Lutheran ministers for nearly a decade and a half, before becoming a part of the Evangelical Synod of North America in 1892. Its first official pastor was Rev. G. Haehnelt.

In 1884, the congregation built a single steepled sanctuary, constructed from the lumber of an old ranch house in the area. This structure would serve as the place of worship for some 40 years. The congregation established a cemetery in 1886, one that has served the congregation and community for 117 years. Six years later the first Sunday school program was organized under the leadership of Rev. J. Horstmann.

By the early 1900s, several fellowships had been formed within the congregation: the “Jungend Verein” (youth fellowship), the Frauenverein (women’s guild), and the Men’s Choir. Each of these fellowships continue as current ministries at St. John: the Saints of St. John (youth group), the St. John Women’s Guild, and the Choir.

In the early 20s, a storm and tornado ripped through the community. The church building was taken off its foundations by the storm, which left it in dire need of repair. The congregation determined that a larger structure would be better suited for its growing numbers, so the old church was taken down piece by piece. The new structure incorporated some of the materials from the first structure. Completed and dedicated in 1925, the present sanctuary still houses the congregation’s worship each Sunday morning.

In 1928, under the leadership of their newly arrived pastor, Rev. Julius J. Kasiske, an orchestra was formed. This group of musicians would perform regular concerts in the community as well as it surrounding communities for two decades. Musicians traveled to the Synod sponsored nursing home in New Braunfels for concerts and were known to play for weddings as well.

For the first 65 years, worship services, Sunday school classes, and confirmations at St. John were conducted in German. With the entry of the United States into World War II, the congregation underwent difficult yet needed changes, fazing out the German language services and instruction. By 1955, the congregation had converted entirely to English. Today, all services and lessons are given in English, though at the Christmastime candlelight service, one can hear the echo of ancestors in the voices of members singing “Stille Nacht” as a backdrop to the congregation’s foot-pump organ accompanied “Silent Night.”

In 1934, the Evangelical Synod of North America merged with the Reformed Synod of North America to create the denomination known as the Evangelical and Reformed Church of America. St. John was invited to be a part of that merger but chose not to and for over two decades was known as an independent church. In 1955, upon the retirement of Rev. Kasiske, the congregation entered the E&R denomination. They would be an E&R Church for only a short time however. For in 1957, the Evangelical & Reformed Church merged with the Congregational Christian Church to create the current denomination, the United Church of Christ. St. John officially joined the United Church of Christ in the fall of 1960.

The Congregation celebrated its 100^th anniversary in 1978, a memorable occasion. The year 1978 also marked the first word of an airport to be constructed in the community near St. John. Austin voters chose not to move Mueller airport into the Richland community, preserving the rural countryside and the homes of the membership. This would be short lived, for barely a decade later, in 1987, moving the Austin airport to a site visible from the cemetery back fence was considered. The community rallied against it, St. John serving as a central support for the efforts to dissuade such a move. Not long after the referendum passed by Austin voters, the United States military determined to close Bergstrom Air force Base. This drew the attention of the airport planners who subsequently moved their focus to the south and created “Bergstrom International Airport.” Once again, the rural community of Richland had escaped an unwanted airport . . . for only a short time.

In 1999, lured by the promise of economic gain, the Pflugerville City Council entertained the construction of an airport in the Richland Community, on a location that would have put the end of the runway barely a quarter of a mile away from the church. Again, the Richland Community rose to block the building of a 7,000 foot runway and airport, the little country church the gathering ground for those who worked diligently to challenge the effort. The work was successful and the airport plan was abandoned in early 2000, allowing all in the community to heave a sigh of relief.

Barely settled from airport issues, an old nemesis returned to the Church grounds in August of 2000. A severe storm ripped off the roof of the newly remodeled Parish Hall and tossed it up against the side of the sanctuary facility. The damage was considerable and most of the renovations that had been done the previous year had to be redone. With the help of denominational insurance and many donations from friends (including St. Elizabeth’s Catholic Church, Pflugerville), the roof was replaced and the remodeling patched and repaired. But in a strange twist of de-ja-vu, another storm hit the grounds in May of 2001, tearing a quarter of the roof of the Parish Hall off, half the roof of the old Church Sanctuary facility and sections of the parsonage roof. This was barely a month after damages from the earlier storm had been repaired. Once again, St. John staggered under the blow of mother nature but the congregation set to work to replace, repair and refurbish.

In 2003, St. John Church celebrated its 125^th year in grand style. A worship service sporting well over 400 individuals celebrated the century and a quarter of ministry, followed by a dinner under a circus sized tent. In 2004, the steeple roofs were stripped of their old wood shingles and replaced with copper, endeavoring to stop years of leaking and prevent further damage.

The steeples of St. John still stand tall and proud against the country backdrop of grazing cattle, maize and corn fields, and rolling hills. The roofs now securely on, the congregation shares and celebrates its history of faith together. The trials and challenges met head on give the simple structures and worship a sense of integrity rooted deeply in the courage of those immigrant settlers who began the work of Christ a century and a quarter ago and in the lives and hearts of those who compose the congregation today.