Welcome to Trinity Lutheran Church. The church was built in 1937, renovated in 1960, expanded in 1991, and will celebrate its 150th anniversary in 2024.
Welcome – Trinity Lutheran Church is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year. The church, located at 204 2nd Street in Welcome, has been at that location since 1885, but the congregation itself was founded in 1874.
“The church itself was started by a missionary pastor,” said John Saxton, a lifelong member and current president. “We didn’t have a physical church, we just met in people’s homes.”
Missionary ministers ministered only when possible, so in 1876 the first resident minister, Rev. E. Giesel, was hired.
The church was originally called the Evangelical Lutheran Congregation of Fox Lake, Manyasca, Fraser, and Rolling Green. It is unclear when Saxton changed its name to Trinity Lutheran Church, but the church’s current name is listed in the 75th anniversary booklet.
“They obviously had land northwest of town,” Saxton said, adding that the exact location was not yet known because it was before the city was incorporated.
A parsonage was built there as a place of worship, followed by the first church building in 1885.
“That’s the situation right now,” Saxton said.
A new church was built on the same site in 1937. What is important to note is that this church was built by layman Henry Rose. Rose is originally from Germany, but he immigrated to the area in the 1920s and settled in Welcome. He founded Rose & Sons Contractors and Builders with his sons and also built a new parsonage for the church in 1950. He is also known for producing many grandfather and grandmother clocks locally and around the country. Rose died in 2005 at the age of 103.
Although the church is no longer owned, the parsonage still stands. In 1960 the church was renovated and an educational unit was added for Sunday school and Bible classes. An all-electric heating system was installed at that time, and an elevator was added to the entrance in 1991. In 1997, a new heating system replaced the electric heating system. The church also has a cemetery, and members are paid a maintenance fee, but the church lawn is maintained by volunteers.
In 2001, the church became affiliated with St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Ceylon. Committees were then formed in eight different churches, all of which were struggling to find and retain pastors. As a result of this meeting, Circle of Faith Parish was established in 2014. The parish includes St. Peter’s Church in Ceylon, Trinity Lutheran Church in Welcome, Waverly Lutheran Church in rural Trimont, and First Lutheran Church in Trimont.
“The goal was to extend the life of a small church in town,” Saxton said.
Since then, services have been rotated bi-monthly between Ceylon and Welcome, Trimont and Waverley. For the past three years, Kelly France has been serving as interim pastor at the church.
Trinity Lutheran Church has a large membership. The current number of baptized members is 443, but like many other churches, attendance each Sunday is low.
But Saxton expects a large crowd to attend the church’s anniversary celebration this Sunday.
A joint service for all members of Circle of Faith Parish will be held on Sunday, May 19th at 10:30 a.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church in Welcome.
“We have four churches and if guests come, we’ll get a decent attendance,” Saxton said.
A light lunch will be served after the service. We welcome the participation of the larger community.
When asked why he thinks it’s important to recognize the 150th anniversary, Saxton proudly says without hesitation: We are still members of the community. ”
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