DUANE
Get the App
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and here's how I'm gonna tell it to you. Way out in Austin County, Lutheran clergy were already making their rounds through this part of Texas as early as 1886. But a congregation, an actual, official congregation, that took a little longer to take shape.
It wasn't until 1890 that Saint Paul Lutheran Church came into being in its own right. And when the time came for that first worship service, there was no grand building waiting. The doors that opened were the doors of Mr. and Mrs.
John Stern's home. That's where it began. Somebody's living room, somebody's hospitality, and a community deciding it was ready.
Then Henry Stern deeded land, set aside ground for a church and for a cemetery, so the congregation would have a place to gather and a place to rest. The Reverend Renatus Fiedler took on the role of first pastor, and before that year was out, a proper church building had been dedicated. October 12, 1890.
They didn't waste time. The congregation also ran a day school for a stretch, tending to more than just the Sunday hours. And for decades, some of those worship services were conducted in the German language.
That carried on until the 1940s, a living thread of the community's heritage woven right into the liturgy. The original sanctuary stood until 1965, when it was replaced. But the story, the one that started in a family's home back in 1890, that one kept right on going.
What the marker says
Lutheran clergy served people in this area as early as 1886, but this congregation did not officially begin until 1890. The first worship service was held in the home of Mr. and Mrs. John Stern, and Henry Stern deeded land for a church and cemetery. The Rev. Renatus Fiedler served as first pastor, and a church building was dedicated on October 12, 1890. The congregation also operated a day school for a time. Some worship services were conducted in the German language until the 1940s. The original sanctuary was replaced in 1965. (1990)