This file part of www.watertownhistory.org website
St. Mark’s Lutheran Church
Founded in 1854
St. Mark’s
Lutheran Church Website
1854 Founding
of "Die Deutsche Evangelische Lutherische Gemeinde (The German Evangelical
Lutheran Church) of Watertown on October 22 under the leadership of the
Reverend Christian Sans
1863 Traveling
by Pastor (and Synod President) Johannes Bading to Germany and Russia to gather
funds for the establishing of Northwestern
College
1888 Dedication of St. Mark’s New Lutheran
Church 09 14
WG Building of the present church
structure for slightly over twenty-three thousand dollars, and changing of name
to "Die Evangelische Lutherische Sankt Markus Gemeinde (The Evangelical
Lutheran Saint Mark's Congregation) of Watertown, Wisconsin"
1893 Commissioning
of our synod's first missionaries to work among the Apache Indians in Arizona
in a service at Saint Mark's
1904-1944 The Rev.
Julius Klingmann, 78, pastor of St. Mark’s Church, died in Neenah of a
heart ailment from which he had suffered for some time. May 03
1906 The
finishing touches are being put on the new St. Mark's church parsonage, which
will be ready for occupancy in a few days and into which Rev. Julius Klingmann,
the pastor, and his family will move after Christmas. The building is a credit
to the congregation of St. Mark's and to the city and has been erected on
For
appearance and convenience, it is one of the best residences in the city. It is
a commodious twelve-room house with all the modern conveniences, including
steam heat, gas and electric lights, hot and cold water, baths and a beautiful
fire place. Down stairs there are six rooms as follows: Pastor's reading rooms,
library room, alcove, setting room, dining room and kitchen. The rooms are all
finished in white oak and make a striking appearance. The dining room is
especially pretty, being finished in painted work with burlap background.
Charles
Huenfeld, the contractor, certainly did an excellent job and one that has given
general satisfaction. Theodore Dobbratz has likewise shown his excellent
workmanship in the interior and exterior decorations. Every room is a model of
neatness and reflects much credit upon Mr. Dobbratz. The mason work was done by
John Diehl and is in keeping with the balance of the work. Dec 11
1908 Decorated
by A. Liebarg & Co., electric lights placed and two water fonts. 07 10 WG
1916 Forming
of Trinity English Lutheran Congregation by members of Saint Mark's who were
interested in having English services
1928 Establishing
a second pastoral position at Saint Mark's
1956 The building
committee of St. Mark's Lutheran Church today called for bids for the new
parochial school the congregation will construct this summer. Bids will be received up to 4 p.m. on May 7
and are to be sent to or delivered to the residence of the pastor, the Rev.
Gerhard Redlin, 610 Madison Street. Theodore Guse is chairman of the
committee. Bids will be received for the
general work and there will also be separate bids for the following, either
separately or any combination of bids: heating and ventilating, plumbing and
drainage, and electrical work. May 11
1956 At a
meeting held last night, St. Mark's Lutheran Church gave the “go ahead” signal
for the construction of a new parish school to be erected on its property
fronting on Cady Street. Final approval
of the plan was voted. It was also
disclosed that the Maas Bros. Construction Co. of Watertown has been awarded
the general contract and that the plumbing and heating contract will go to the
Otto Biefeld Co. while Arthur Ruesch will do the electrical work. Plans now call for construction to begin this
summer. The architects are Edgar A.
Stuebenrausch and Associates, Sheboygan.
The new school will be one story high, with full basement and will be
designed to allow future expansion when the present St. Mark's School is
abandoned. May 09
1956 St.
Mark's Lutheran congregation turned out in large numbers Sunday afternoon for
the cornerstone laying ceremonies held at the parish school which is now under
construction. A beautiful fall day marked
the occasion. St. Mark's Church, where a brief service was held prior to the
ceremony itself, was filled to capacity.
The program opened with a hymn and this was followed by the pastor, the
Rev. Gerhard Redlin, reading from the scriptures. The choir sang an anthem and the address of
the afternoon followed. It was delivered by the Rev. K. A. Timmel of Trinity
Lutheran Church. Sept 25
1971 Building
of the church narthex
1981 Establishing
a third pastoral position at Saint Mark's
1987 Building
of the church's parish center
1995 Establish
fourth and fifth part-time / semi-retired pastoral positions at Saint Mark's
2006 Church Choir Celebrates 115 Years 11 18 2006
St.
Mark's has had musical groups in its midst since the very early days in the
1850s. For many years, the male chorus provided music for regular worship
services as well as for special occasions.
In
1891 a group of individuals received permission of the minister at the time to form
a chorus of mixed voices. It was a new concept for the congregation because at
that time men's and women's groups were separated in almost every avenue of
church work.
The
first organizational meeting of the choir was held on Oct. 31, 1891, 115 years
ago. Later that year, on Christmas Eve, the choir made its first public
appearance. They sang “Ihr Kinderlein
kommet” (”Oh Come Little Children”) during the children's Christmas
service.
Since
its inception, the choir has weathered depressions, wars, changes in church
life and many other things associated with the past century. (WHS_005_542)
