St. Mark's Lutheran

by PAM RIPLEY

I’m delighted to tell you a little about the history and a few details about our beautiful church and its people.  My information comes from Wolf Leid’s publication, A History of The Lutherans in and around Washington, with emphasis on St. Mark’s.  I also referred to a 2-page article in the September 17, 1912 edition of the Washington News.  You can see an old yellowed copy of this newspaper article hanging on the wall in the Library at St. Mark’s.  Also, thank you to Pastor John Bates and Dr. Francis Johnson for their valuable input.

St. Mark’s Evangelical Lutheran Church of Washington is 125 years old this year, formed in April 1875, with 19 founders and charter members.  Their names are listed on a plaque in the east entranceway to the sanctuary.

For the first two years - 1875-1877 - St. Mark’s rented the Baptist Church in Washington, but when rent was raised from $8 to $12.50 a month, church officers decided to look around for property to build on.  A lot on the northwest corner of Walnut and Elm was purchased (next to where the Library is now) and subsequently the church was built and dedicated in August 1877.  For the next 35 years, Washington area Lutherans worshipped in this location.  Over the years, growth of the City and its churches continued and it became clear that St. Mark’s building would be of inadequate size.  At a June 1910 church meeting, Henry Denhart stepped forward to offer property.  This was his proposition:

       “I believe the time has come for our church to erect a new building, not only large enough for our present needs, but with a view toward the future.  I am therefore willing to donate a 277’ x 245’ lot, known as the Lumber Yard, north of my residence and $20,000 in cash, provided the congregation of St. Mark’s would raise $10,000.  And I will further give two dollars for every one dollar given by the members in excess of $10,000.”

The Church Council accepted his generous offer unanimously.  Groundbreaking for our present location was on April 8, 1911, and the cornerstone was laid June 4, 1911.  Notice it as you leave today.  It’s on the northeast corner of the building, next to the Main Street entrance into the sanctuary.  Placed in the cornerstone were a Bible, official Lutheran publications at the time, Sunday’s bulletin, a list of members as of June 4, 1911, names of church officers, a picture of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Denhart, and the pen with which Mr. Denhart signed the contract with the builder.

Construction was completed after 17 months, and the dedication of St. Mark’s was held Sunday, September 15, 1912.  The church was designed to hold 300 worshipers.  Many years later, in 1959, the education building on the south was completed, and houses the church office, Pastor’s studies, Sunday School rooms, kitchen/dining area, and so on.

The stained glass certainly does much to contribute to the beauty of this building.  Much of the stained glass windows were in place when the church was built back in 1912.  The stained glass to the east depicts Christ’s victorious Asension into Heaven, while the rear window to the north shows Jesus blessing the children.   It is estimated that these 16 x 20’ windows contain over 13,000 individual pieces of glass.  They were made by a leading manufacturer here in the United States.  The narthex, Beckwith Hall, was dedicated in September 1995.  The stained glass windows in Beckwith Hall were made possible thanks to several memorials.  They were made and installed by a local gentleman from East Peoria.  He patterned these windows to match as closely as possible the original stained glass windows on the north - in the back of the sanctuary. 

The beautiful hand-carved scene behind the altar was created by Aloysius Lange of Oberammergau, Germany.  Aloysius was not only a very talented wood carver - he also acted the part of Jesus in the world-famous Passion Plays of that city.  

So take time to really look around the church - in the sanctuary, at its beautiful stained glass windows, photographs through the ages, plaques and memorabilia.  We certainly have beauty all around us!

But we also need to remember the congregation - the people of St. Mark’s.  We’re so grateful for the people of St. Mark’s -- from our humble beginnings of 19 charter members, to well over 1,000 members today.  Over the years people have come here to worship our Lord God and join together in Christian fellowship, just as we do today.  

And we have seen much growth throughout the years.  St. Mark’s is dedicated to serving people from the cradle to the grave, in so many ways.  And it serves the community at large through the Senior Center and the Child Care Program, and by making facilities available for various community-wide events.  

We can certainly be proud of our heritage and of what we stand for today!