St. Paul Lutheran Church

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about St. Paul Lutheran Church in Wallis, Texas. Now, some churches ease into existence nice and slow — a few families, a meetin' in somebody's parlor, maybe a potluck that runs a little long.

St. Paul Lutheran Church in Wallis did not get that kind of start. This congregation came into the world fighting, and what it fought through would have finished off a lesser community.

It was the German-speaking Lutheran community of Wallis that founded St. Paul Lutheran Church right at the turn of the twentieth century. They held their very first service in July of 1900.

And right away, before the sawdust had even settled on the idea, they started making plans that fall to build a permanent church. They had momentum. They had vision.

What they also had, though they didn't know it yet, was a hurricane bearing down on them. September of 1900. If you know anything about Texas coastal history, you feel that date in your bones.

The unforeseen hurricane of September 1900 came through, and the congregation postponed construction. Just like that. Plans on hold, community shaken, but not gone — not even close to gone.

They kept organizing. They kept worshiping. And in October they gained official recognition under the full name: St.

Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church of Wallis, Texas. Then, from 1903 to 1906, the congregation hired its first pastor and erected a permanent structure for worship. The parish began to flourish in 1909, and it must have felt, finally, like smooth road ahead.

But 1916 brought a new ordination — a new pastor — and with him, a divide within the congregation. And then the world itself cracked open. The onset of World War I increased the tensions already simmering inside the parish, and the pressure eventually caused the congregation to discontinue the use of German in their services.

For a community that was founded as a German-speaking congregation, that was no small thing. That was identity, relinquished under the weight of the times. And then — and I want you to brace for this one — tragedy struck the community in October.

Lightning hit the church. And it killed a child. The marker doesn't say more than that, and it doesn't need to.

Some sentences just stand there and ask you to be still for a moment. After all of that — the hurricane, the division, the war, the loss — this congregation did something remarkable. They rallied.

By 1918, St. Paul Lutheran Church became self-supporting. They also established a missionary organization for women, known then as the Ladies Aid, and known today as the Lutheran Women's Missionary League.

In 1922, a new pastor came in and reinstated the use of German in services. The congregation used it again until 1943, when they discontinued it once more — a quiet closing of that particular chapter. The parish built its current facility in 1966, and in the year 2000, the congregation celebrated its one hundredth anniversary.

Three years after that, in 2003, a new education building and fellowship hall were dedicated. A hurricane. A world war.

Lightning from a clear sky. A congregation that discontinued and reinstated and discontinued and built and rebuilt — and is still standing. The presence of St.

Paul Lutheran Church, that marker says, exemplifies the longstanding legacy of the Lutheran community in Wallis. I'd say it exemplifies something a good deal harder to name than that. Call it stubbornness.

Call it faith. Out here in Texas, sometimes those are the very same thing.

What the marker says

The Lutheran German-speaking community of Wallis founded St. Paul Lutheran Church at the turn of the 20th century. The congregation held its first service in July of 1900, and made plans to build the church that fall. Due to the unforeseen hurricane of September 1900, the congregation postponed construction. The church gained official recognition in October under the name "St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church of Wallis, Tx." from 1903-1906, the congregation hired its first pastor and erected a permanent structure for worship. The parish began to flourish in 1909. The ordination of a new pastor in 1916, however, created a divide within the congregation. The onset of World War I increased tensions within the parish, which caused the congregation to discontinue the use of German in services. In October, tragedy befell the community when lighting stuck the church, killing a child. After this period of turbulence, the church rallied and became self-supporting in 1918. Later, it established a missionary organization for women, formerly known as the Ladies Aid (presently the Lutheran Women's Missionary League). In 1922, a new pastor reinstated the use of German in services, which the congregation later discontinued in 1943. The parish built its current facility in 1966. In 2000, the congregation celebrated its 100th anniversary. A new education building and fellowship hall were dedicated in 2003. The presence of St. Paul Lutheran Church exemplifies the longstanding legacy of the Lutheran community in Wallis. (2015)