Festschrift zum Fünfzig-jahrigen Jubiläum, 1868-1918

Fiftieth Anniversary Festival Book for St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church

Member Portraits, page 6

Mrs. and Mr. C. Schnur	Mrs. and Mr. Hy Warkenthien and son, Louis	Mr. and Mrs. J. Jarmuth
Mrs. and Mr. G. Schroeder	Fred Stielow	Mr. and Mrs. F. Scheuber

Member Portraits, page 7

Mr. and Mrs. W. Ruesch	Mrs. H. Harms	Mr. and Mrs. J. Kindt
Mr. and Mrs. R. Wagner	Mrs. A. Siegel	Mr. and Mrs. A. Ross

Preliminaries to the Foundation and
Independence of the Congregation

When, a long time ago, King David planned to build a worthy temple for the Lord, but since the right time for it had not come, he collected the necessary material for it. The necessary living building blocks for this congregation were brought together by the settling in this area of people of strong will who worked hard, who were Christians, who, coming from different areas in Germany, had settled here. That was at the time when the city of Chicago with its many skyscrapers of today consisted of only a few houses of bricks. The tasks of these first settlers were to fell trees in the virgin forest first of all, to earn the daily bread, and to found a modest home. In order to make possible not only a new settlement but a Christian congregation as well, a common spiritual home had to be found. One had to follow the word of the Lord (Matth. 6, 33), "But see ye first the kingdom of God in his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." Many an old father and mother had their first little children baptized here and there by traveling preachers in private log houses, attended services in the German Church in Nile (sic) or were served spiritually from Chicago.

Around 1857, a group of people got together and held their services in the English school which was located half a mile south of what is now Niles Center. On Sunday afternoons, the Pastor from the Evangelical Lutheran Matthew Congregation of the West Prairie of Town Main preached. Pastor P. H. Warnke from 1857 to 1858 and Pastor Stumpf from 1858 to 1865.

Actual Organization
and Further Development of the Congregation

Now the congregation entered a new stage in its development. Starting in 1865, they were served by Pastor E. Keuchen who at that time was the pastor of the evangelical congregation in Northfield (Schermerville). From that point on, the congregation had its own church book. Listeners were now so numerous that the schoolhouse was no longer large enough and the building of a church had to be considered.

But this was a time of small things. Not only was there not enough money to build a church but, at that time already there were people who held back. When, at that time, two women asked for gifts in East Prairie for the building of a church, they got the answer in one house, "I won't give anything for a church but if you were collecting for a school house I would give something." There were at that time already cowards who knew how to make excuses.

Nevertheless, as the report on the building of the church shows, next to many little gifts, even pretty big ones were given considering the time; sums of $50, $100, yes even $200, so that the building could be started. Because of a bad harvest, the building had to stop for a while and could be finished only in 1868 and the church was dedicated to the service of the Lord on the 18th of July of that year.

The first church was constructed on what was then Harms Avenue, now Oakton Street, on the same lot on which the church stands today, a lot that the congregation had bought from Peter Blameuser for $50. The first church was also built of brick. It was the only brick church in the village for a long time and is still referred to as "Brikkerk" (Brick Church) by older residents. Its dimensions were 32 x 50 feet. On the lower floor, school was held and the quarters for the pastor were located. Even a small steeple with a bell was not lacking. Construction was directed by the respected George C. Klehm who is still among us. He and other bricklayers and carpenters worked for nothing or very little salary and members of the congregation helped so that the entire building, according to a report written by the director of construction, cost only $2,788.25. Before construction was finished on May 5, 1867, the congregation organized as the Evangelical Lutheran Congregation of St. Peter, Niles Center, Cook County, Illinois. The first elders were John Jarmuth, Joachim Ladwig and Andreas Ross.

The congregation had now become so strong, that it could now stand on its own feet. Pastor Keuchen having worked with the congregation for three years and led it to independence, he retired on October 25, 1868, so that the congregation could call its own pastor who would be able to dedicate his entire time and strength to them. Such a person was found in Pastor E. Werner. He started working on the 22nd of November, 1868. Under his active direction and the continuing increase of new members, the congregation swelled.

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