Trinity Lutheran Church

Duane's take

The official marker for Trinity Lutheran Church in Floyd County tells it this way, and I'm going to tell it to you the same way. Out on the Texas Plains, in a community called Providence, a need was growing. Lutherans in that area reached out to the Mission Board of the First Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Texas, asking for a missionary, someone to bring spiritual guidance to a part of the state where it was in short supply.

The Mission Board had just the man. Pastor F.A. Bracher answered the call.

On June 11, 1911, he held the first service. The setting was humble, a one-room Providence school, the kind of place that had to be many things to many people. But something took root that day.

Shortly after that first service, the congregation organized itself as the Evangelical Trinity Lutheran Church, adopted a constitution, and put their names to it. E. Rohloff, F.

Lindemann, H. Sammann, J.H. Ratien, K.

Sammann, C. Koenig, F. Boedeker, L.H.

Sammann, and F. Meyer. Nine signatures.

Nine people saying, we are here, and we intend to stay. They didn't wait long to act on that intention. Later that same year, the congregation decided to build a church.

And here's where a settler named Henry Quebe enters the story. Quebe, out of McGregor, offered five acres of land for a new church and parsonage. On June 2, 1912, that building was dedicated.

Now, a congregation becoming self-supporting on the Texas Plains in those early years was no small thing. For the next several years, that's exactly what Trinity Lutheran worked toward, all while making improvements to the building along the way. Then came the late 1940s.

Providence was growing, and the congregation decided the time had come to expand. A larger structure was dedicated on February 26, 1950. More additions followed in 1963, to both the church and the parsonage.

But here's the detail that sticks with you. During that 1963 construction, the original church bell was stored away. Tucked aside while the work went on.

It sat there for more than two decades. Then, in 1985, using memorial funds and contributions from the congregation, that bell was erected again, this time in a tower of steel. The bell itself is brass, cast all the way back in 1879, and it had been serving the church since 1912.

A bell that old has rung through a lot of Texas mornings. In 1987, Trinity Lutheran united with other congregations to form the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. What the marker leaves you with is this: nine signatures in a one-room schoolhouse, five acres offered by a neighbor, a brass bell cast in 1879 still hanging in a steel tower.

The vision and dedication of the pastors and members, the marker says, have allowed the church to continue to carry out the Lord's commission. Out on the Plains of Floyd County, that's not a small thing to say.

What the marker says

Lutherans in the Providence community requested a missionary from the Mission Board of the First Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Texas to fill the need for spiritual guidance in the Plains area of Texas. Pastor F.A. Bracher answered the call and began services on June 11, 1911. Shortly following the first service in the one-room providence school, the Evangelical Trinity Lutheran Church was organized and a constitution adopted with signatures from the following community members: E. Rohloff, F. Lindemann, H. Sammann, J.H. Ratien, K. Sammann, C. Koenig, F. Boedeker, L.H. Sammann, and F. Meyer. Later in the year, the congregation decided to build a church. Henry Quebe, a settler of Mcgregor, offered five acres of land for a new church and parsonage, and the building was dedicated on june 2, 1912. For the next several years, the congregation reached a goal of becoming self-supporting while making several improvements to the church building. In the late 1940s, the Providence community began to grow and the congregation decided to expand its facilities. A larger structure was dedicated on february 26, 1950, and several additions to the church and parsonage were made in 1963. The original church bell, stored in 1963 during the church construction, was erected in 1985 from memorial funds and contributions from the congregation. The tower of steel holds the brass bell, cast in 1879, which has served the church since 1912. In 1987, the church united with other congregations to form the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The vision and dedication of the pastors and members have allowed the church to continue to carry out the Lord’s commission.