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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) on
October 22 under the leadership of the Reverend Christian Sans
1855
1855
03 01 A New Church
The
German Evangelical Lutheran Society of this city, under the ministerial charge
of Rev. Christian Sans, have taken all the initiatory steps towards putting up,
during the coming season, a good substantial church, which shall be an ornament
to the city and a credit to themselves.
They have purchased a lot directly north of and adjoining Daniel Hall’s
beautiful location, in the eastern part of the city, upon which to build and it
is claimed that a pleasanter location is not to be found on the east side of
the river.
The
lot is 108 by 80 feet, and was purchased of Mayor Prentiss for $200. The building is to be in length 80 feet, in
width 40, and 22 "between joints" in height, with a gallery of good
dimensions. The cost of the house
according to the plan drawn is estimated at $4000.
The
timber is already being drawn in from the country. The steeple is to be constructed, not only as
an ornament, but for the purpose of accommodating a town clock, should such a
useful piece of machinery ever fall to the lot of our city to own.--WD
1856 Church completed
1858
12
02 Donation visit to Rev. Christian
Sans WD
1859
03
17 Plans
for building a school house WD
11
17 Thanksgiving 1859 WD
1860
02
09 Rev.
Christian Sans and portion of the Germans, quarrel between WD
08 02 The German
Lutheran Church of this city have extended an invitation to Rev. John Bading to become their pastor, in place of Rev. C. Sans,
which has been accepted. Mr. Bading will at once enter on his pastoral duties. He comes here well recommended as a clergyman
of ability and sincerity, and under his ministrations we have no doubt this
society will become influential and prosperous.
He will meet with a warm and cordial reception, and all his efforts be
cheerfully seconded by his people. WD
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
07 10 &
11 20 Decorated by A. Liebarg
& Co., electric lights placed and two water fonts; Theodore Dobbratz injured in fall
WG
1909
07 02 Lutheran Home Corner Stone Laid; St Mark’s
participation WG
1910
02 25 Young People’s Society program WG
12 09 Children of Lutheran Home for Feeble Minded,
Christmas service for WG
1916 Forming
of Trinity English Lutheran Congregation by members of Saint Mark's who were
interested in having English services
1919 Confirmation Class
1928 Establishing a second pastoral position at
Saint Mark's
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
1983
08 28 Rev.
and Mrs. Henry Paustian honored WDT
1987 Building of the church's parish center
1995 Establish fourth and fifth part-time /
semi-retired pastoral positions at Saint Mark's
1997 Restoration of
church building
10 31 Members of St. Mark’s Evangelical Lutheran
Church, 215 N. Sixth St., will hold five special services this weekend to
praise God for the restoration of their church building. Since April 1, members have been worshiping
in their parish center as the entire church building was worked on. The membership had the church restored to the
beauty it had at the turn of the century while adding technologically
state-of-the-art lighting, sound, audio, heating and air conditioning
systems. The exterior brick was cleaned
and sealed. All stained glass was releaded, repaired and cleaned. Stained glass windows behind the altar were
uncovered and restored. A new concrete
tile roof was added. WDT
1998
10 27 Farewell to Rev. Donald
Sutton; served congregation for
the past 13 years WDT
2006
11 18 Church Choir Celebrates 115
Years
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)
2008
03 26 Professor/Rev. Cyril Spaude, 1930-2008.
Upon retirement from Northwestern
College served in WELS ministries including St. Mark's WDT
June $4.3 million school building addition
and renovation project started in June 2008.
2009
02 20 Dedication of new and renovated school
building and music center; Prof Emeritus Daniel Deutschlander
guest speaker WDT
08 22 Ronald Paynter
installed as part-time Christian counselor WDT
2010
03 29 German tradition
continues; worship in German
WDT
2012
