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Saint John's Evangelical
Lutheran Church
was organized on August 28, 1921 by Rev. Stephen Tuhy
of Wilkes-Barre, who shared the pastoral
duties with Rev. Paul Rafaj of Dickson City, Pa.
In 1922, the congregation called its first pastor, Rev. Michael Estok, who was installed on June 25, 1922. Under his
leadership the present land site was acquired in October of 1922. For the
next 40 years St. John's
was blessed with the able and dedicated leadership of this servant of God.
The year 1923 saw the first Confirmation Class
of 11 young adults. In January of the following year a building committee was
selected and in July of 1925 the cornerstone of the present building was
laid. Building progressed rapidly and the congregation had its first worship
service in the Sunday school rooms in November of the same year. Until this
time they had been worshipping in the Union Hall on the corner of Wyoming and Green streets in Hazleton. On May 30, 1926 the church was
dedicated to the service of God by many joyous members and friends.
It wasn't until 1937 that English services
would be conducted on a regular basis. Prior to this, services were conducted
completely in Slovak. Also, until that time, the women always sat separately
on the church's pulpit side. Have you ever seen the men's hat clips on the
pews, lectern side? Slovak services were not phased out until 1970.
In 1962, the Rev. Michael Estok
was called home by our heavenly Father. Rev. Robert Matej
was ordained and installed as Pastor of St. John's in July of 1962. In this
year the Christian and American flags were dedicated for use in the
sanctuary. In 1963 the Couples Club was formed which complemented the Women's
and Men's clubs. In 1964 a debt liquidation banquet was held with the
ceremonial burning of the mortgage. October of 1964 Rev. Matej
accepted a call to Stamford, Connecticut
and St. John's
was vacant.
In 1966 the Rev. David Daniel, while working on
a second master's degree, accepted a part-time pastorate with St. John's under Pastor Visoky's direction. In 1967 Pastor Daniel was called and
installed as full-time pastor. The parsonage, extensively remodeled, was
rededicated in August.
In 1969 Rev. Daniel left to pursue his doctoral
studies in Europe. The Rev. Alfred Trinklein then filled the pulpit as vacancy pastor. St. John's counted 161
baptized members, 125 of them confirmed communicants. Worship attendance
averaged 83 saints. Contributions totaled $16,691,
August, 1970 rejoiced at the Rev. Kenneth Fuehler's pastoral installation. The following year the
SELC became a district of the Lutheran Church- Missouri Synod, the far larger
national body that had always been the SELC's
partner.
In September 1973, Rev. Fuehler
accepted a call to Buffalo,
NY. This vacancy lasted only 2
months. The Rev. Edwin Gorts, the only one of St. John's pastors who
had previously shepherded other churches, was installed on November 25. His
wife Virginia fondly recalls, Those were our happiest days in the ministry.
All the people at St. John's
were so beautiful and sweet.
The 1978 building committee addressed several
areas of concern: the deterioration and constant repair of the church front
steps, the need for more Sunday school rooms, and the antiquated condition of
the restrooms. The following year launched the four-phase Faith Forward
remodeling project. Total construction costs for the four phases were
estimated at $120,000. Phase I, in which the bell
tower was lowered 6 feet, the bricks re-pointed, and the roof replaced with a
positive pitch turn metal roof, was completed in July of 1980. April of 1981
saw Pastor Gorts retire.
The Rev. Michael Maciupa
was installed on June 28, 1981. Fundraising continued for the Faith Forward
remodeling project, with attic treasure and rummage sales, St.
John's own street festivals, and a food booth at Hazleton's Funfests. The
"new" hymnal Lutheran Worship
added new song.
In 1982, President Chladon
started after-worship coffee fellowship. Over 3 million served?! Women's
suffrage was approved unanimously at November's voter's meeting. The
remodeling Phase II dedicated the new entrance with enclosed stairway,
conference room, and front Sunday school room on December 5.
The church videotape system was dedicated in
July, 1983, and on December 2 of that year, Pastor Maciupa
accepted a call to Akron Ohio. St. John's interim lasted 8 months. St. John's now counted
183 baptized members, 124 of them confirmed communicants. Worship attendance
averaged 73 saints. Contributions totaled $44,369.
The Rev. Stephen Gaulke
was ordained and installed on August 4, 1985 as St. John's seventh pastor. In 1987, St. John's became
handicapped friendly when the chairlift was installed and the fellowship hall
restrooms were remodeled. Two road signs began pointing the way to St. John's. Good News
visits by pastor and volunteers knocked on the doors of the people new to the
community. From 1987 until 1997, 20,000 door-knob flyers have invited
neighbors to Vacation
Bible School,
Sunday school, Christmas and Easter worship.
In 1989, members contributed $23,000 to build
four classrooms on the church's north side. Children, also from the
neighborhood, filled the Sunday school.
In her 1921 constitution, St. John's founders declared "So that
the Word of God may richly dwell and spread among us, we uphold the office of
preaching and teaching." May, 1995's congregational meeting approved the
birth of All God's Children Preschool, a ministry of St. John's "to help
children grow strong and full of wisdom, as God's grace blesses them (Luke
2:52)."
On August 18, 1996 candidate Rachel Wanagat was called and installed as St. John's
commissioned teacher. Opened on September 4 with four separate classes, the
preschool gave Christ's welcome to 41 three- and four-year olds. As Jesus'
little ones grow in his love, the congregation invites the families to
worship if they are looking for a church home.
In May 1998, Rachel left and then St. John's was blessed
to hire Mrs. Gertie Ann Mandak
who had previously worked at Helping Hands for 15 years. She was installed in
August of 1998 and was vital to the success of the preschool program.
Pastor Gaulke
received a call to start a mission congregation in Georgia and left on 8-31-99.
After 15 years of faithful dedication, St.
John's became vacant for less than a year.
On July 15, 2000 Rev. Scott Kruse was installed
as St. John's 8th pastor after graduating from Concordia Seminary in St.
Louis, MO. Together, Pastor Kruse and the members of St. John's continued to
move forward in our faithfulness to God's Word and to the proclamation of the
'Good News' of Jesus Christ to Hazleton and the surrounding area.
One significant step for St. John's was the purchase of ½ a double
house next door in December 2000. After a lot of cleaning and preparation,
the house was used for extra Sunday School classrooms, Youth group nights, Vacation Bible School,
and Small Group Bible Studies. This blessing was increased with the purchase
of the other half of the Parish House in December 2003. Currently, both sides
of the parish house are rented to tenants.
Pastor Kruse received and accepted a call to
Antigo, WI in February of 2004. St.
John's was only vacant for a few months. On June 26th
the Rev. Joseph Weatherell was installed as the 9th pastor of St. John's following his graduation from Concordia
Seminary in St. Louis.
In November of
2004, the Pastor’s Study was moved from the parsonage to the Church building
and now occupies the Junas Room in the front of the
church, adjacent to the library.
After 7 years
as preschool teacher, Mrs. Gertie Ann Mandak retired in June of 2005. After a diligent search and much prayer,
the preschool board hired Miss Christin Prehotsky as the third teacher of All God's Children
Preschool. Mrs. Mandak then took over the position
of preschool coordinator. In the spring of 2008, Miss Prehotsky
resigned as teacher to pursue her teaching career.
In July of
2008, Pastor Weatherell accepted a call to Bound Brook, NJ. His last worship service at St. John’s was
Sunday, August 10th. Also
in 2008, the voter’s assembly voted to suspend All God’s Children Preschool
because of low enrollment due to a state sponsored free preschool program.
The school board will be considering other options for a Christian
educational outreach to the community.
St. John's is a member of the Lutheran Church-
Missouri Synod, an American church body of 2,600,000 people in over 6,000
congregations. The founders' God-given vision still drives St. John's. The congregation gives thanks
to Jesus with joyful worship, Christ-like outreach, Biblical nurture,
generous service, and family fellowship.
St.
John's current Mission Statement is "Faith
Growing Followers of Christ, Reaching Out to Others in Response to God's
Love." We'd love for you to worship with us on Sunday mornings at 9:00
am. If you are looking for a church family and church home where you will grow
in your faith and be able to use your God given gifts to the betterment of
His Kingdom, then come!
Portions taken from the text of St. John's Evangelical Lutheran
Church 50 and 75 anniversary
booklets (1971 & 1996.) Also from the service of Dedication of the remodeled
Facilities 1982
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