St. John Lutheran Church

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about St. John Lutheran Church out in Harris County. Settle in, because this one goes back a good ways.

It starts in 1848, when Lutheran settlers from Germany made their way to this part of Texas. They didn't have a church building right off. For the first few years, they gathered in family homes to worship, which, if you think about it, is about as close-knit as a congregation can get.

Then in 1853, they put up their first proper church building, and it pulled double duty, serving as a school as well. The 1860s came along, and with the Civil War behind them, the congregation built a second structure. They called it something that tells you exactly where they were: the Church in Cypress Settlement.

Plain and honest, like the people themselves. Now, it wasn't until 1872 that the congregation got its first minister. That was the Reverend Andreas Schmidt.

And right around that same time, church members began keeping a register. Baptisms, confirmations, weddings, and burials in the church cemetery. They were writing themselves into the record, making sure none of it got lost.

By 1877, the congregation had a new name, Little Cypress, and they called a new pastor: the Reverend August Hofius, their first from the Missouri Synod. Then in 1893, they sat down and wrote their first known constitution, and they did it in German script. The full name they gave themselves was, and I want you to hear this whole thing: the German Evangelical Lutheran St.

John's Congregation of the Unaltered Augsburg Confession at Little Cypress and Surrounding Areas. That is a name that means business. The membership kept growing, and by 1908 they built a new sanctuary.

Now here's the part worth slowing down for. In the tall steeple of that 1908 church, there hung a bell with two clangors. One large, one small.

The larger, louder one rang at the beginning and ending of each service. The smaller one was used during services themselves, and it also carried a message out to the surrounding area: the Sabbath, local events, and deaths. Two bells, doing very different work.

That bell, and the cornerstone from the 1908 church, they're both still with the congregation today. The 1940s brought more change. A ladies society was formed.

A new schoolhouse went up. And after generations of German-language services, the congregation discontinued the use of German in worship. In 1942, they joined the Missouri Synod.

In the decades that followed, the people of St. John kept growing and kept showing up for one another. Butcher clubs, quilting bees, barn raisings, picnics, mission festivals.

The kind of work and fellowship that doesn't make headlines but holds a community together year after year. From family homes in 1848 to a congregation still going strong, St. John Lutheran Church didn't just keep a register of its people.

It became one.

What the marker says

Lutheran settlers from Germany moved to this area in 1848. They met in family homes for worship and in 1853 constructed their first church building, which also served as a school. In the 1860s, following the Civil War, they constructed a second building for the church, which at the time was called "the Church in Cypress Settlement." The Rev. Andreas Schmidt became the congregation's first minister in 1872. During that time, church members began a register, listing baptisms, confirmations and weddings, as well as burials in the church cemetery. In 1877, the congregation, then known as "Little Cypress," called the Rev. August Hofius, its first pastor from the Missouri Synod. The congregation wrote, in German script, its first known constitution in 1893 as the "German Evangelical Lutheran St. John's Congregation of the Unaltered Augsburg Confession at Little Cypress and Surrounding Areas." The membership continued to grow, and a new sanctuary was built in 1908. In its tall steeple hung a bell with two clangors, one large and one small. The larger, louder one rang at the beginning and ending of each service. The smaller one was used during services and to communicate to area residents the Sabbath, local events and deaths. The bell and cornerstone from the 1908 church remain with the congregation. During the 1940s, St. John Lutheran Church underwent change and expansion, including the formation of a ladies society and the construction of a new schoolhouse. It also discontinued use of the German language in services and, in 1942, joined the Missouri Synod. During the next several decades, the congregation continued to grow; members worked and served together in butcher clubs, quilting bees, barn raisings, picnics, mission festivals and other activities. (2002)