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St. Mark’s Lutheran Church
Founded in 1854
St. Mark’s
Lutheran Church Website
1854 FOUNDING OF "DIE DEUTSCHE EVANGELISCHE LUTHERISCHE GEMEINDE”
(The German Evangelical Lutheran
Church) on October 22 under the leadership of the Reverend Christian Sans
Services
were begun by Rev. C. Sans, at first in homes, then at 915 N. 2nd Street.
915 N. 2ND STREET
c.1957 photo of 1854 location
Congregation was organized as the German Ev. Lutheran Church on Oct.
22nd; lots were purchased as first church site for $200.00.
August Gamm well known in Lutheran church circles, having been one the founders of St. Mark’s church in 1854 and
had continued an able elder of that church for many years.
1855
First church built; cost $4000.00.
First teacher called. Sunday School organized, classes in both
German and English.
03 01 A NEW CHURCH
The
German Evangelical Lutheran Society of this city, under the ministerial charge
of Rev. Christian Sans, have taken all the initiatory steps towards putting up,
during the coming season, a good substantial church, which shall be an ornament
to the city and a credit to themselves.
They have purchased a lot directly north of and adjoining Daniel Hall’s
beautiful location, in the eastern part of the city, upon which to build and it
is claimed that a pleasanter location is not to be found on the east side of
the river.
The
lot is 108 by 80 feet, and was purchased of Mayor Prentiss for $200. The building is to be in length 80 feet, in
width 40, and 22 "between joints" in height, with a gallery of good
dimensions. The cost of the house
according to the plan drawn is estimated at $4000.
The
timber is already being drawn in from the country. The steeple is to be constructed, not only as
an ornament, but for the purpose of accommodating a town clock, should such a
useful piece of machinery ever fall to the lot of our city to own.--WD
Cross Reference:
John Dornfeld said to be contractor.
1856 CHURCH COMPLETED
1857
First organ purchased at cost of $449.00.
1858
12
02 Donation visit to Rev. Christian
Sans WD
1859
03
17 Plans
for building a school house WD
11
17 Thanksgiving 1859 WD
1860
02 09 Rev. SANS
Rev. Christian Sans and portion of the
Germans, quarrel between WD
Rev. Sans accepted a call to serve St. Peter’s of Joliet, Illinois.
08 02 Rev. JOHN BADING, President of Synod, accepted
the call to serve St. Mark’s (1860 - 1868)
The German Lutheran Church of this city have extended
an invitation to Rev. John Bading to become their pastor, in place of Rev. C.
Sans, which has been accepted. Mr.
Bading will at once enter on his pastoral duties. He comes here well recommended as a clergyman
of ability and sincerity, and under his ministrations we have no doubt this
society will become influential and prosperous.
He will meet with a warm and cordial reception, and all his efforts be
cheerfully seconded by his people. WD
1861
St. Mark’s joined
the Wisconsin Synod
1863 Traveling by Pastor (and
Synod President) Johannes Bading to Germany and Russia to gather funds for the
establishing of Northwestern College
Rev. Bading left for Europe to gather funds for a proposed college in
Watertown, returned in Nov. of 1864 with about $13,000.00.
Seminary classes initiated in St. Mark’s School, later moving to 814 N.
4th St. (1863 -1865).
Students at first lived in the Bading parsonage during his absence in
Europe.
New school dedicated. First building dedicated at Northwestern
“University”.
1866
First parsonage built on Jones St., to be moved in 1914 to 606 Madison
St.
1868
Rev. Bading accepted a call to serve St. John’s in Milwaukee.
1869
Prof. Adolph Hoenecke accepted a call as St. Mark’s pastor, but served
only four months because of the press of his duties at Northwestern College.
Second classroom added in our school. Joint Reformation & Mission
Festival services initiated with St. John’s.
Rev. R. Adelberg installed as pastor (1869 - 1873).
1870
Pastor’s salary, $700, teachers’ salary $40 monthly, janitor’s $60 a
year.
Prof. Ernst called as assistant pastor (1870 - 1912). Served as second president of NWC for 50 yrs.
1871
Third class-room added in our school.
Special collection taken for victims of the great Chicago Fire.
1873
Rev. Adelberg left to serve St. Peter’s Milwaukee, succeeded by Rev.
Henrichs, who was relieved of his office in 1874.
1875
Rev. J. Brockmann was installed as pastor, serving until 1904.
1876
Male Chorus organized, as also the Ladies’ Aid Society.
1877
Controversy erupted throughout the Lutheran church on the Doctrine of
Election by Grace.
A small group left St. Mark’s to form St. Paul’s, which joined the Ohio
synod, building a church at 309 S. 6th which existed from 1883 to 1930, when
the group disbanded.
1887
Two lots purchased for present church for $1575.00, cornerstone laid on
Pentecost Sunday.
1888
DEDICATION OF ST. MARK’S NEW LUTHERAN CHURCH
New church dedicated on Sept. 9, 1888; cost-$23, 074.77. (Architect’s
fees, $91.60; bell, $844.24; altar and pulpit, $830.00.)
Building
of the present church structure for slightly over twenty-three thousand
dollars, and changing of name to "Die Evangelische Lutherische Sankt
Markus Gemeinde (The Evangelical Lutheran Saint Mark's Congregation) of
Watertown, Wisconsin"
09 14 St.
Mark’s new Lutheran Church in the 2d ward was dedicated last Sunday according
to the usual Lutheran ceremonies. Fully
700 strangers were here from Milwaukee, Jefferson, Columbus, Oconomowoc, Ft.
Atkinson, Lowell and Juneau to take part in the services. In the morning the opening services were held
in the old church presided over by Rev. J. H. Brockmann, the pastor, the
dedication sermon being preached by Rev. John Bading, of Milwaukee, delivered
the sermon, and in the evening, Rev. Philip von Rohr, of Winona, preached. A very large attendance was present on each
occasion, and all were deeply interested in the proceedings. WG
1890
06 25 WISCONSIN SYNOD OF THE LUTHERAN CHURCH
The
Wisconsin Synod of the Lutheran church opened here in St. Mark's church
Thursday last. There was in attendance
160 ministers, 50 teachers and 70 delegates, all portions of the synod being
represented. The opening sermon was
preached by the president, Rev. P. von Rohr, Winona, Minn. The subject chosen was “Education," the
position being taken that the chief object of education was to bring up
children within the limits of the baptismal covenant. Eighteen new ministers with probably
twenty-five new congregations were reported.
A large portion of the proceedings was taken up by discussions on the
question of parochial schools, based upon the different thesis presented as
follows:
Martin
Luther is to be considered the founder of, particularly, the Christian
parochial school. In it the children are
taught the pure word of God, and this is made the means of their education. The duty to maintain such schools evolves
from the Scripture, and their purpose is to educate the children to be true
Christians and good citizens. Christian
and believing teachers are necessary for the work, and parents must work in
conjunction with the teachers. Christian
parents, therefore, must see that their children attend parochial schools. Their organization and maintenance, for this
reason, is the duty of the congregations.
1891
-- -- MIXED CHOIR ORGANIZED. Synod built seminary in Milwaukee.
03 18 DEATH OF Rev. CHRISTIAN SANS
Rev.
Christian Sans died recently at Joliet, Ill., at the age of 79 years. He was formerly pastor of the
Evangelical-Lutheran church of this city, now St. Mark's church, which he
established in 1853. He encountered some
difficulties in his pastorate here, chiefly from being rather outspoken on the
temperance question, and in 1860 he left this field for Joliet, where he
established two churches. Rev. Mr. Sans
came to the United States from Germany in 1832, and built churches in New
Orleans, in several towns in New York and also in Pennsylvania. He was a man of strongly marked
characteristics and possessed fine ability. WR
1892
Fourth classroom added.
1893
FIRST
ENGLISH SERVICE CONDUCTED.
Commissioning of synod's first missionaries to work among the Apache
Indians in Arizona in a service at Saint Mark's, by Rev.
Ernst, then serving as the president of the Synod.
1895
05 29 NEW BELL DONATED TO NORTHWESTERN
The
300-pound bell which occupies the belfry in the new Northwestern University building was
dedicated last Wednesday afternoon, President A. F. Ernst, Prof. Notz and Rev.
J. H. Brockmann leading in the ceremonies.
In the evening the festivities terminated with a banquet for the
students in the university dining hall.
The bell was donated by the ladies’ society of St. Mark's church. It is expected that the university will soon
enjoy a complete electric bell system, the same to be a gift from Prof. Weimar,
of the faculty.
1896
06 19 PICNICKING ON ISLAND
St. Mark’s
Lutheran congregation are enjoying themselves today picnicking at Concordia
Island. WG
1897
ST. MARK’S INTRODUCED THE NEW SYNOD HYMNAL.
NAME OF CONGREGATION CHANGED TO “ST. MARK’S”.
1898
08 31 St. Mark's Lutheran Church will resume
the regular English services next Sunday evening at 7:30. As formerly, they will be conducted by Prof.
Julius Gamm. WR
1900
01 23 The ministers belonging to the Central
Conference of the Wisconsin Lutheran Synod held a meeting in this city last
Wednesday and Thursday for the discussion of doctrinal and secular matters and
missionary work. Sessions were held both
morning and afternoon, and Wednesday evening religious services were held at
St. Mark’s church, Rev. J. Geigert of Newville, preaching the sermon. WR
1903
04 11 CONFIRMATION CLASS
Palm Sunday
at St. Mark’s Lutheran church was fittingly observed with an interesting sermon
delivered by their pastor, Rev. J. H. Brockmann. The floral decorations were both numerous and
beautiful. A large number of children
were confirmed. The pastor in his sermon
spoke highly of the good work that had been achieved in the parochial school
during the past year, the children being such faithful little workers and
admonishing them to maintain their zeal in the good cause of Christ in the
future as they had in the past.
The
following named persons were confirmed.
August Kerl, Albert Zautner, Walter Schlueter, Ludwig Bergmann, Emil
Stueber, Franz Kube, Benjamin Wittnebel, Arthur Wilde, August Tietz, Robert
Schmidt, Zeno Brueger, Oscar Hofs, Will Abela, Leonard Arndt, Edward Kuckkahn,
Emil Buedler, Carl Hub, Bernard Lenius, Willie Maron, Franz Nowack, Herbert
Jaeger, Oscar Hayer, _?_ Mattke, Carl Hoppe, Oscar Ebert, Hermann Hellwig,
Bernard Bartz, Theodore Eggert, Emil Schmidt, Leona Eickel, Adele Scherer,
Amelie Mueller, Emma Seidel, Bertha Gloede, Martha Tripke, Minnie Muernberg,
Anna Mutzel, Anna Schoppe, Clara Schwierski, Margeret Fisck, Elsa
Buerger, Ella Buntrock, Adelia Braeger, Adele Krueger, Minnie Rehbaum, Clara
Krueger, Louise Baldt and Ella Kube.
1904
Rev. J. KLINGMANN (1904 - 1944).
Rev. Brockmann died suddenly on Jan. 20th, having served for 29 years.
Rev. J. Klingmann accepted call (1904 - 1944).
St. Mark’s observed its 50th anniversary, with Rev. Bading as speaker.
There were 285 families.
1904-44
05 03 Rev. JULIUS KLINGMANN, Pastor
1944 The Rev. Julius
Klingmann, died of a heart ailment from which he had suffered for some
time. May 03
1906
02 26 BETHESDA MOVES TO MILWAUKEE
Prof. and Mrs. W. K. Weissbrodt,
superintendent and matron of the home for feeble minded and
epileptic children and Prof. and Mrs. E. M. Kirch,
teachers in the institution, leave today for Milwaukee, to which city their
household goods were shipped yesterday, where they will get things in readiness
for the coming of the children . . . the congregations of both St. Marks and St. Johns churches having provided the necessary
bedding and furniture for their comfort while they remain.
12 11 NEW
PARSONAGE
The
finishing touches are being put on the new St. Mark's church parsonage, which
will be ready for occupancy in a few days and into which Rev. Julius Klingmann,
the pastor, and his family will move after Christmas. The building is a credit to the congregation
of St. Mark's and to the city and has been erected on
For
appearance and convenience, it is one of the best residences in the city. It is a commodious twelve-room house with all
the modern conveniences, including steam heat, gas and electric lights, hot and
cold water, baths and a beautiful fire place.
Downstairs there are six rooms as follows: Pastor's reading rooms, library room, alcove,
setting room, dining room and kitchen.
The rooms are all finished in white oak and make a striking
appearance. The dining room is
especially pretty, being finished in painted work with burlap background.
Charles
Huenfeld, the contractor, certainly did an excellent job and one that has given
general satisfaction. Theodore Dobbratz
has likewise shown his excellent workmanship in the interior and exterior
decorations. Every room is a model of
neatness and reflects much credit upon Mr. Dobbratz. The mason work was done by John Diehl and is
in keeping with the balance of the work.
1907
St.
Mark’s church used by St. John’s during its building program.
New
parsonage built for $10,000 at 610 Madison; the first parsonage was moved from
Jones Street to 606 Madison.
1908
07 10 &
11 20 DECORATED BY A.
LIEBIG & Co.
Electric lights placed and two water fonts;
Theodore Dobbratz injured in fall WG
10 30 THEODORE DOBBRATZ
FALLS WHILE DECORATING ST. MARK’S
Theodore Dobbratz,
the well-known painter, met with a serious accident at St. Mark’s Lutheran
church this morning while he was at work decorating the interior of the
edifice. He was at work on a scaffold
about twenty feet high when it gave way, precipitating Mr. Dobbratz to the
floor below.
As soon as possible
he was removed to his residence, 117 North Fourth Street, where physicians
examined his injures. It was found that
he sustained a fracture of the back bone.
The spinal cord is intact but there is a fracture and dislocation of the
vertebrae. Hopes of recovery are
entertained, provided that no pressure symptoms develop.
Aside from this
injury he also sustained a fracture of the left forearm. While in a critical condition the physicians
have hopes of his recovery. Mr. Dobbratz
has been employed for some time on the interior decorations of the church as
his services as a decorator are much sought after, and the news of this
unfortunate occurrence will be learned with sorrow by all and it is to be hoped
that he will be fully restored to health. Weekly Watertown Leader, October 30, 1908
11 27 RENOVATED
ST.
MARK’S CHURCH DEDICATED
With impressive
ceremony St. Mark’s Lutheran church [renovated, lights installed] was formally
dedicated yesterday in the presence of a large congregation which filled the
church edifice.
At 10 o’clock the
trustees of the church turned the church property over for dedication to Prof.
J. Schaller of the Wauwatosa seminary, who delivered the dedicatory
sermon. Prof. Schaller is one of the
most able speakers in the synod and his words were very impressive and were
listened to very attentively by the large congregation.
Prof. Schaller was
assisted during the day by the Rev. A. Keibel of Kirchhagen [Germany], who spoke at 2 o'clock in the
afternoon, and by the Rev. A. C. Stock of Hartland, who spoke in English in the
evening.
The singing of the
choir was especially good and was a pleasing feature of the dedicatory
services.
The parish was
organized in 1854 with the Rev. Christian Sans as its pastor. The Rev. Julius Klingmann
has been pastor of the church since 1904 and has about 1650 communicants.
The church is in a
strong and flourishing condition.
Following is
the board of trustees of the church:
President—William Gorder, Sr. Secretary—Fred W. Gamm, Treasurer —Charles
Piper; Ferdinand Volkmann, August Tanck, Jr., Ferdinand Krueger, August
Zimmermann, William Rohde, F. C. Jaeger.
-- -- BAPTISMAL FONT
Albert Kringel carved the baptismal font at St.
Mark's Lutheran church in Watertown and after some sort of falling out with the
church elders he packed up and moved to Milwaukee. He left behind a legacy of fine stone
carving: the font and the lovely
bas-relief of his wife on her tombstone at Oak Hill cemetery. Bill Jannke note
1909
07 02 Lutheran Home Corner Stone Laid; St Mark’s
participation WG
02 25 Young People’s Society program WG
12 09 Children of Lutheran Home for Feeble Minded,
Christmas service for WG
1912
10 31 PASSING OF FRED
LEHMANN
His
funeral took place from St. Mark's Lutheran church, of which congregation he
was president for 25 years until he retired on account of old age. Obituary
1913
03 16 St. MARK’S LUTHERAN
print
only contains date; Rev. Julius Klingmann, pastor of St. Mark’s, in center
1914
02 12 NEW
$20,000 SCHOOL
6-room
school built for $20,000.00. Served until 1973.
St. Mark’s congregation has decided to build a new $20,000 school the
coming summer at the corner of Jones and North Eighth streets. The new school will be 72x80 feet, two
stories high, of Watertown’s brick, trimmed with Bedford stone. The school will be equipped with everything
modern, and will also contain a vacuum system for cleaning. WG
7th
class-room added.
04 30 CONTRACTS
FOR NEW SCHOOL BUILDING
Contracts
for building the new St. Mark’s School have been let to William Hoefs, mason
work; George Gruel, carpenter work; Charles David, painting and wood finishing;
Charles Wittchow, heating and tin work.
WG
10 15 60th
ANNIVERSARY
The
60th anniversary of St. Mark’s Lutheran Church was celebrated last Sunday. Rev. Benjamin Schlueter of Markeson, formerly
of this city, preached an English sermon at the evening service, in which he
dwelt on the possibilities and duties of the future work of the
congregation. Rev. G. E. Bergmann of
Fond du Lac, president of the Missouri synod, preached the sermon at the
morning services. WG
12 03 NEW
SCHOOL DEDICATED
Special
services in the church and at the school building will make Sunday next, the
dedication day for the new parochial school of St. Mark’s church, a day long to
be remembered by the members of the congregation and the public generally. Two visiting pastors, Prof. John Schaller of
Wauwatosa seminary and the Rev. Henry Gieschen of Milwaukee, will be here to
assist in the services. Prof. Schallen
will preach at the morning service to be held at the church at 10 o’clock, and
the Rev. Gieschen will preach at the afternoon service which will begin at
2:30.
Following
the morning service, the congregation will repair to the new school, where the
dedicatory exercises, in charge of the Rev. Julius Klingmann, pastor of St.
Mark’s, will begin at about 11:15 o’clock.
The afternoon service will be held in the church and at its close, the
new school will be opened for the inspection of the members of the congregation
and the public.
The
Northwestern College band will render several sacred selections at both the
morning and afternoon services and will accompany the congregational
singing. The church choir and other
organizations, including the school children’s chorus, will have a part in
program. WG
1915
01 14 OFFICERS
OF ST. MARK’S
The board of trustees of St. Mark’s
congregation met Friday evening in the board room of the new school and elected
the following church officers to serve for the coming year:
President — William Gorder, Sr.
Vice President — Herman Zimmermann.
Secretary — Fred Siegler.
Treasurer — Richard Biefeld.
School board — Herman Marquardt, Emil
Kaercher, Gerhard Rippe.
Relief committee — Richard Biefeld,
Herman Bublitz, Frank Zastrow.
1916
TRINITY ENGLISH LUTHERAN CONGREGATION FORMED by
members of Saint Mark's who were interested in having English services
Trinity
Church was organized to provide English services, held church in St. Mark’s
auditorium for almost three years.
School
expanded to include all 8 grades.
06 27 PARTICIPATE IN PICNIC AT BETHESDA
A Milwaukee contingent of 350 Lutherans
of twenty-eight churches took two special trains on the electric road and added
to the 6,000 that had already gathered from this city, Jefferson and Fort
Atkinson. The party was escorted to the
Bethesda home by the St. John’s band and the morning
service in German which followed immediately was led by the Rev. Clarence
Sheuer of Lowell, Mass. The afternoon
program was in English being featured by a sermon by the Rev. H. C. Jans and a
talk to the children by Prof. Theodore Schlueter of the Northwestern college.
Dinner and supper were served in one of
the buildings by the ladies of St.
Mark’s church. Choir numbers were
given by the Watertown members on the lawns surrounding the buildings which
were specially decorated for the occasion.
WL
1917
WEEKLY ENVELOPE SYSTEM, quarterly statements introduced.
1918
FLU EPIDEMIC
School
closed for 6 weeks during epidemic.
05 12 OLD
GERMAN LUTHERAN CHURCH
It is
now used as a school and for meetings, etc.
Here I went to confirmation school in the winter of 1904 &
1905. Julius Klingmann
teacher <> W. C. Streblow
05 20 THE
NEW GERMAN LUTHERAN CHURCH
Of
this church we were members 13 years ago.
Here I was confirmed April 16, 1905.
Taken May 20, 1918. Julius
Klingman, pastor <> W. C. Streblow, No.4A/73. Right, 216 North Sixth Street (removed)
1919
05 09 CONFIRMATION
CLASS
October ST.
MARK’S SCHOOL
School pic
1920
Annual
budget of $14,000 adopted.
A
piano recital was given in St. Mark's school hall. The recital will be rendered under the
direction of Miss Elizabeth Ernst by pupils of her class. . . . Those
participating will be Gertrude Wendland, Severa Gamm, Eugenia Meyer, Marion
Brandt, Margaret Neumann, Bernadine Archie, Margaret Bruegger, Margaret Jaeger,
Paul King, Vanita Dornfeld, Esther Kuhlow, Werner Franzmann, Norma Conrad, T.
Uelzmann, A. Dornfeld, Eleanore Kuhlow, Edgar Groth, Stella Kurzweg, Elsie
Splitgerber, Isabella Fisher, Cornelia Groth, Adela Doering.
1921
German/English
Catechism introduced, also English services.
Men’s
Club organized.
1922
St. Mark’s
commitment to Synod budget was $2348.19, the highest of any congregation that
year.
1923
BOWLING ALLEYS PROPOSED FOR ST. MARK’S / Watertown, WI
Lack of approval led to
formation of the Wethonkitha club
1923
BOWLING ALLEYS PROPOSED
FOR ST. MARK’S / Watertown, WI
Lack of approval led to FORMATION OF THE WETHONKITHA
CLUB
Maas Bros.
Building Contractors, Albert W. Maas, draftsman
The St. Mark’s Men’s Society was organized in 1921 “to
establish a social center for the members of the church, to give them the
recreation desired, which, however, shall not conflict with the rules of our
church, and to give aid and support to church and synod whenever found necessary.”
. . . The club
flourished for the first two years of its existence, showing a membership of
well over one hundred.
Then, however, it
approached the congregation in 1923 for permission to
install some bowling alleys at their own expense in the basement of the
building [lower level of the old church], the request was received with some
apprehension. A committee was appointed
by the congregation to determine whether bowling in its midst could be
“reconciled with our doctrine and church life.”
The committee headed by
Pastor Klingmann returned an unfavorable report and recommended that the club’s
request be denied because a precedent would thereby be established which might
at a later date prove dangerous to the sound growth of the congregation. The club did not receive approval to install
its bowling alleys, even thought it had purchased them in anticipation of a
favorable decision.
All this was discouraging
to the young club and contributed much to the formation of another men’s
society in Watertown, the Wethonkitha
club, where members of Wisconsin and Missouri Synod Lutheran church members
in and about Wisconsin would have their clubrooms and bowling alleys.
After this “set back”
membership in St. Mark’s Men’s Society diminished until it was disbanded nine
years later in 1932. St. Mark’s 1854-1979
booklet
1924
NEW AUSTIN ORGAN installed,
at cost of $12,000. Old organ given to Bethesda.
1928
Rev. William Eggert was installed as first Associate Pastor. Prof. Huth of NWC had served for 17 years in
a part-time capacity. At that time
membership stood at 2000 souls.
Established a second pastoral position
at Saint Mark's
c.1937
GRADE SCHOOL PIC
1941
KURT OSWALD came as
principal. The Choir observed its 50th
anniversary.
-- -- ST.
MARK’S SCHOOL, GRADES 4 & 5
1943
-- -- ST. MARK’S SCHOOL, GRADES 7 & 8
Arthur Schmidt, Louis Kuckkahn, Theodore
Neverman, Gene Cowen, Marvin Borth, Donald Wilke, Richard Timmel, Victor
Zoellick, Arnold Schumann, Gilmer Christian, Paul Westerhouse, Earl Zastrow,
Rose Storbeck, Alice Ebert, Irene Kuckkahn, Norma Fischer, Lucille Schmidt, Mr.
Kurt Oswald, principal, Hazel Stark, Irene Schliebe, Ruth Maron (Marone),
Audrey Borth, Shirley Kohls, LaVerne Marks, Lois Feder, Betty Loader, Irene
Englebrecht, Florence Larson, Marianne Itzman, Elaine Ebert, Maves Seifert
(Seyfert), Carol Zastrow, Vivian Bowen, Robert Osward, Ellerd Schmidt, Herbert
Hafemeister, John Huggett, Robert Rogers, David Cox, Robert Strehlow, Robert
Bergemann (Bergaman), Stanley Nelson, Robert Gruenewald, James Eickmann
(Eikman).
-- -- A WAR-TIME CHRISTMAS
Note
the special banner left of the Christmas tree.
Each star on banner on left represented a person from the congregation
who was serving our country
1944
Rev. J. Klingmann died on May 3rd at the age of 78 years.
1948
Rev. Gerhard Redlin was installed as Associate Pastor (1948-1957).
1949
Second parsonage purchased, at 1025 Main (sold in 1968).
1950
Rededication of remodeled and renovated church, with new entrance,
heating system, lighting. Cost,
$54,237.69.
c.1950
SCHOOL TEACHERS
1951
School extensively remodeled at cost of $15,796.91.
c.1952
-- -- ORIGINAL
ST. MARK’S CHURCH, PARSONAGE
Viewed from E. Madison and
N. Seventh streets
Former St. Mark’s parsonage at 610 E. Madison (removed)
Rear of original St. Mark’s, which fronted on Jones
Street and was located behind a new St. Mark’s church built in 1888.
1953
Rev. Eggert died of a heart-attack at 69 years of age. Rev. Willard
Kehrbert was installed as Associate Pastor on Oct. 4 (1953 - 1955)
1954
St. Mark’s celebrated its Centennial with year-long activities. There were at that time 1685 confirmed
members, 2200 souls, 2 pastors and 8 teachers, with 300 pupils in school.
1955 PLAN
TO ERECT NEW SCHOOL BUILDING
09 28 Plans for the construction of a new unit
to St. Mark’s Christian Day School were announced today. Initial steps for the new school plans were
taken about a year ago when St. Mark’s congregation purchased a property and
since then two more, located between North Sixth and North Eighth Streets,
facing north on Cady Street. These sites
will be utilized as part of the general building plan. On the acquired property St. Mark’s intends
to erect the first unit of a new school building. The planned unit is to have a gymnasium, four
classrooms, a principal’s office and other rooms. It is planned at present to have a complete
basement underneath the four classrooms and office space. This basement space is to be used for a
lunchroom, kitchen, boiler-room, locker rooms, etc.
Rev. Kehrberg accepted a call to Minneapolis.
05 09 At a
meeting held last night, St. Mark's Lutheran Church gave the “go ahead” signal
for the construction of a new parish school to be erected on its property
fronting on Cady Street. Final approval
of the plan was voted. It was also
disclosed that the Maas Bros. Construction Co. of
Watertown has been awarded the general contract and that the plumbing and
heating contract will go to the Otto Biefeld Co. while Arthur Ruesch will do
the electrical work. Plans now call for
construction to begin this summer. The
architects are Edgar A. Stuebenrausch and Associates, Sheboygan. The new school will be one story high, with
full basement and will be designed to allow future expansion when the present
St. Mark's School is abandoned.
05 11 The building committee of St. Mark's
Lutheran Church today called for bids for the new parochial school the
congregation will construct this summer.
Bids will be received up to 4 p.m. on May 7 and are to be sent to or
delivered to the residence of the pastor, the Rev. Gerhard Redlin, 610 Madison
Street. Theodore Guse is chairman of the
committee. Bids will be received for the
general work and there will also be separate bids for the following, either
separately or any combination of bids: heating and ventilating, plumbing and
drainage, and electrical work.
09 25 St.
Mark's Lutheran congregation turned out in large numbers Sunday afternoon for
the cornerstone laying ceremonies held at the parish school which is now under
construction. A beautiful fall day
marked the occasion. St. Mark's Church, where a brief service was held prior to
the ceremony itself, was filled to capacity.
The program opened with a hymn and this was followed by the pastor, the
Rev. Gerhard Redlin, reading from the scriptures. The choir sang an anthem and the address of
the afternoon followed. It was delivered by the Rev. K. A. Timmel of Trinity
Lutheran Church.
Rev. James Fricke arrived as Associate Pastor, installed on Oct. 21st.
1957
St. Mark’s observed Rev. Redlin’s 25th anniversary.
New School dedicated; cost about $381,000.00.
Rev. Redlin died suddenly of a heart attack on Dec 1st. at the age of
52.
1958
Rev. Harold Wicke was installed on April 20 (1958-1969).
Lakeside Lutheran High School opened its doors at Fort Atkinson.
1961
Our Synod severed its relationship with the Missouri Synod.
1962
Rev. James Fricke accepted a call to serve in Benton Harbor, Michigan.
1962-63
St. MARK’S SCHOOL, GRADE 1
Rev. Henry Paustian was installed as Associate Pastor on Feb. 3rd.
1964
10 01 FACULTY MEMBERS HONORED
St. Mark’s Lutheran Church has completed plans to honor four of the
faculty members of St. Mark’s School in recognition of their long years of
service which they have given as Christian Day School teachers. There will be a special service in the
morning and a reception in the evening.
Both events will be held Sunday, Oct. 4.
Henry F. Krenz, principal of St. Mark’s School, is rounding out 25 years
as a Christian Day School teacher. Nine
of these were spent at St. Mark’s. Miss Ruby Reich has been a member of St.
Mark’s faculty for 38 years. Miss Louise
Fenske came to St. Mark’s 34 years ago and Miss Ada Sievert has a record of 33
years, interrupted by teaching elsewhere.
10 29 WISCONSIN LUTHERAN CHAPEL AND STUDENT
CENTER AT MADISON
The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod which numbers St. Mark’s and
Trinity Lutheran Churches in Watertown among its members and of which St.
Luke’s Lutheran Church is an associate has made plans for the construction of
the Wisconsin Lutheran chapel and student center at Madison. The Rev. Henry E. Paustian, one of the
pastors of St. Mark’s Church, who serves as mission’s chairman of the synod’s
western district, first made the plans known several months ago and the
purchase of property for the construction has now been completed.
1966
Henry Krentz left to serve in New Ulm, Quentin Albrecht was installed as
new principal. Home purchased at 904 6th
Street.
1969
St. MARK’S SCHOOL, GRADE 7
Third English service introduced, with German Services moved to the
Parish Hall.
Rev. Wicke accepted the call as Editor of the Publishing House in
Milwaukee, preaching his farewell sermon on June 29th.
Rev. Myron Kell was installed as Associate Pastor on Oct. 26th.
1970
St. MARK’S SCHOOL, GRADES 7 & 8
c.June PREPARING FOR NARTHEX ADDITION
1971 BUILDING OF THE CHURCH NARTHEX
Dedication of renovated church on May 2nd. New narthex, toilet facilities and stairs,
parents’ room, basement room, ramp. Cost
of $172,000 was met in two years.
St. Mark’s observed Pastor Paustian’s 25th anniversary of ordination.
1974
Dedication of new school addition with 10 classrooms, church office,
janitorial and storage rooms, faculty lounge, book-store. Cost $350,000.00. School enrollment, about 460.
1975
Trinity Church moved into its new school in Jan. with 95 pupils and 3
teachers; St. Mark’s added a 12th teacher, along with a 13th part-time teacher
for the new Kindergarten Room.
1977
A teacherage was purchased at 610 Cady St.
1979
Membership - 2000 communicants. 2600 souls.
1980
Pastor Kell’s 25th year in the ministry was observed by St. Mark’s.
1981 THIRD
PASTORAL POSITION ESTABLISHED
Rev. James Werner was installed on Nov. 29th as the 3rd Associate
Pastor,
A home was rented at 313 S. Monroe to serve as a parsonage.
1982
St. Mark’s commitment to the Synod, $105,000.00. Total budget: $514,293.00.
1983
08 28 Rev.
and Mrs. Henry Paustian honored WDT
Recognition Dinner observing Pastor Paustian’s
20 years of service at St. Mark’s Aug. 21st.
1987
04 01 CONSTRUCTION OF PARISH CENTER STARTED
1988
04 30 PARISH
CENTER DEDICATED
Dedication of new
parish center on Sunday at 2 p.m. An
open house will follow from 3 to 5 p.m.
Architect for the $550,000 project is Douglas J. McNamee, Fort Atkinson. General contractor is K&K Masonry of
Watertown. Construction was started
April 1, 1987, on the 13,400-square-foot addition which includes two levels. The center has a large modern kitchen and a
40-by-59 foot dining area to serve the needs of the congregation; two pastors’
offices for study and counseling; a 30-by-40 foot choir room and storage area;
and rest rooms on both levels. WDT
08 28 FIRST
NON-TEACHING ADMINISTRATOR/PRINCIPAL
Owen Dorn, a native of Hendricks,
Minn., will be installed as the first non-teaching administrator/principal of
St. Mark’s Christian School Sunday during the 10:45 a.m. worship service. Dorn attended school at Northwestern Lutheran
Academy in Mobridge, S.D., and Dr. Martin Luther College in New Ulm, Minn.,
where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in education. He received a master’s degree in curriculum
and instruction from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. WDT
1995 Establish fourth and fifth part-time /
semi-retired pastoral positions at Saint Mark's.
1997
03 28 RESTORATION OF CHURCH BUILDING
St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church has
begun a $965,000 project to completely renovate the over 100-year-old church,
located at Sixth and Jones streets. Don
Frost, restoration committee chairman, said, "We will be touching every
square inch of the building."
Worship services will be held in the parish center during the
restoration process, which is expected to take six months. Preliminary work under way this week includes
removing the pews which will be refinished and cushions will be added. Other items from the church are being placed
in storage until the project is completed.
WDT
10 31 PRAISE GOD FOR RESTORATION
Members of St. Mark’s Evangelical Lutheran
Church, 215 N. Sixth St., will hold five special services this weekend to
praise God for the restoration of their church building. Since April 1, members have been worshiping
in their parish center as the entire church building was worked on. The membership had the
church restored to the beauty it had at the turn of the century while adding
technologically state-of-the-art lighting, sound, audio, heating and air
conditioning systems. The exterior brick
was cleaned and sealed. All stained
glass was releaded, repaired and cleaned.
Stained glass windows behind the altar were uncovered and restored. A new concrete tile roof was added. WDT
10 29 WDTimes
1998
10 27 Farewell to Rev. Donald
Sutton; served congregation for
the past 13 years WDT
1999
-- -- 145th ANNIVERSARY
2005
03 18 GERMAN HERITAGE
The
German descent that is rooted deep within the heritage of the people in the
Watertown area is not as noticeable in everyday life, but those who attend
church at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church see it every Sunday and hear it twice a
year. “The church didn’t begin to hold
worship services in English until the 1920s and before that German was the only
language used,” the Rev. Karl Walther, who inherited preaching the German
services and has been doing so for the past 10 years, said. The church keeps that historical tradition
alive twice a year with a service spoken in German on Christmas Eve and on Good
Friday.
2006
11 18 CHURCH CHOIR CELEBRATES 115 YEARS
St.
Mark's has had musical groups in its midst since the very early days in the
1850s. For many years, the male chorus provided music for regular worship
services as well as for special occasions.
In
1891 a group of individuals received permission of the minister at the time to
form a chorus of mixed voices. It was a new concept for the congregation
because at that time men's and women's groups were separated in almost every
avenue of church work.
The
first organizational meeting of the choir was held on Oct. 31, 1891, 115 years
ago. Later that year, on Christmas Eve, the choir made its first public
appearance. They sang “Ihr Kinderlein
kommet” (”Oh Come Little Children”) during the children's Christmas
service.
Since
its inception, the choir has weathered depressions, wars, changes in church life
and many other things associated with the past century. (WHS_005_542)
2007
06 23 BILL BIRSCHING RETIREMENT
St.
Mark’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, 215 N. Sixth St., will hold a special song
and music communion service on Sunday at 9 a.m.
This service will mark the retirement of minister of music Bill
Birsching. Professor Birsching came to
St. Mark’s from Martin Luther College in New Ulm, Minn., in 1998 and has served
as a part-time minister of music for the congregation. He and former minister of music John Jenswold
developed a strong music ministry at St. Mark’s. Under the leadership of these
two men, the church went from one choir to four choirs. Under Birsching’s guidance, a bell choir was
added and a number of instrumental groups also served the congregation in
worship.
08 22 FREDERICK UTTECH, SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR
Frederick
Uttech will be installed as the new administrator of St. Mark’s Evangelical
Lutheran School on Sunday during the 9 a.m. service. Uttech will head a school of 260 students
along with a staff of 13 teachers and eight support staff. He comes to St. Mark’s after having been a
teacher and principal at Bethany Lutheran School in Manitowoc for the past 14
years. Uttech is a native of Watertown
and graduated from St. John’s Lutheran School, the former Northwestern Prep
School, Wisconsin Lutheran College in Milwaukee and Dr. Martin Luther College
in New Ulm, Minn. He is completing his
master’s program in leadership from Silver Lake College in Manitowoc.
2008
03 26 PROFESSOR/REV. CYRIL SPAUDE, 1930-2008.
Upon retirement from Northwestern College served in WELS
ministries including St. Mark's WDT
05 22 LAST CLASS IN OLD SCHOOL
Students
at St. Mark’s Lutheran School spent their last days of class taking down
chalkboards and carrying desks out of the building in preparation for
construction and renovation to take place this summer at the school. “It’s been exciting,” Carol Pagels,
kindergarten teacher, said. “The
students have been adjusting really well and having the older ones help has
given them a sense of ownership to the school.
They’re looking forward to the new changes just as much as everyone
else.” Plans for updating the school
have been in the process for a number of years.
St. Mark’s Lutheran School is supported by St. Mark’s Evangelical
Lutheran Church and is affiliated with the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran
Synod. The current enrollment at the
school is about 260 students in prekindergarten through eighth grade. Earlier this spring congregation members
approved the approximately $4 million project that will be done by Maas
Brothers Construction and funded through donations from the congregation.
05 30 SCHOOL ADDITION
The
Watertown Plan Commission Tuesday granted a conditional use permit to St.
Mark’s Lutheran School on East Cady Street for an approximately $4 million
addition and renovation project. St.
Mark’s is looking to construct a 24,600-squarefoot addition that will consist
of more classrooms, a gymnasium, administrative offices, a music center, rest
rooms, a kitchen and a commons area.
About half of the school will be demolished, including the current
gymnasium, kitchen, two classrooms, several offices and the dining hall.
June $4.3 million school building addition
and renovation project started in June 2008.
2009
02 20 Dedication of new and renovated school
building and music center; Prof Emeritus Daniel Deutschlander guest
speaker WDT
08 22 RONALD PAYNTER,
CHRISTIAN COUNSELOR
St.
Mark’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, 215 N. Sixth St., will install another
member to its ministry team on Sunday.
Ronald Paynter will be installed as a part-time Christian counselor for
St. Mark’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, 215 N. Sixth St. This new program is self-funded. Members who make use of this service will pay
for the services offered. Insurances will be accepted.
Paynter
is a native of Bozeman, Mont. He received
his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Michigan Technological
University in Houghton, Mich., and his master’s degree in clinical counseling
from Montana State University in Bozeman.
He has served as a counselor for 25 years. Paynter specializes in family, AODA and grief
counseling.
2010
03 29 German tradition continues; worship in German
WDT
2012
08 25 40TH
ANNIVERSARY OF FRED UTTECH, St. Mark's Christian School administrator
A
special service will be held to honor Uttech.
Guest speaker will be the Rev. Bruce McKenney of St. Paul's Lutheran
Church in Lake Mills. Following the
service a reception will be held in the St. Mark's School Commons.
Fred
Uttech was born and raised in Watertown.
He is a graduate of St. John's Lutheran School and the former Northwestern Prep School in
Watertown. He graduated from Wisconsin
Lutheran College in Milwaukee and Dr. Martin Luther College in New Ulm,
Minn. He received Wisconsin licensure
and reading license from Silver Lake College in Manitowoc. In 2010, he received a master in educational
leadership from Silver Lake College.
During
his 40 years of ministry he has served as a tutor and instructor at
Northwestern College in Watertown. He
was a teacher, youth director and pastoral assistant at Bloomington Lutheran
Church in Bloomington, Minn. In 1980, he
was called to be the principal and teacher at Bethany Lutheran Church in
Manitowoc, where he served for 27 years.
Since 2007 he has served as the school administrator for St. Mark's in
Watertown. He is also serving as
chairman for the program committee for the Wisconsin State Teachers' Conference
and the district school coordinator for the Western Wisconsin District of the
WELS.
Mr.
Uttech is married to Peggy (Holzer).
They have four children and eight grandchildren. WDT
12 18 GERMAN SERVICE
FOR CHRISTMAS
More
than 150 years of Christmas celebration in the German language will continue
this month at St. Mark's at 10 a.m. Monday.
This will serve as the setting for this year's German Christmas Eve
service. The sermon will ask, 'Wer ist
das Kind, was heute geboren ist?' ('Who Is This Child Born Today?') on the
basis of John 1:14-18. German liturgy
and German hymns will accompany the day's worship. The Rev. Karl Walther will
officiate. WDT
2015
01 30 WINTER MISSION FESTIVAL
St.
Mark’s Watertown will be celebrating its Winter Mission Festival during
services this weekend. For the festival,
the church will be hosting the Rev. Timothy Dolan, the dean of students at
Luther Preparatory School. The theme of
Dolan’s message is “You have an important task.” He will highlight the mission of the prep
school and how it helps prepare its students to share the Gospel while
providing them with a top-notch education.
Luther Prep School was founded 150 years ago in Watertown when it began
as the prep department of Northwestern College.
In 1995 the college was moved but the preparatory school remained and
was combined with Martin Luther Preparatory School of Prairie du Chien.
07 24 REV. JAMES WERNER RETIREMENT
St. Mark’s Lutheran
Church will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Rev. James Werner’s
ordination into the pastoral ministry on Sunday during the 9 a.m. service. This service will also serve as a farewell
and retirement celebration for Werner, who retires at the end of July following
34 years of ministry at St. Mark’s.
Werner was born on
April 17,1948, in Wausau, to Edward and Ruth (Ahrens) Werner. On May 2 of that same year he was received as
a child of God through the Sacrament of Holy Baptism at St. Peter’s Evangelical
Lutheran Church, Schofield. In Schofield
James had the joy of sharing his childhood home with his brother, David, and
sister, Joan (Alliet).
From his very first
day of kindergarten, Werner went to school with his future wife, Stephanie
“Stevie” Braatz, the two of them celebrating the rite of confirmation together
on March 26, 1961, and then graduating together from D.C. Everest High School
in the spring of 1966. On June 10, 1972,
they were united in Christian marriage at their home congregation.
In 1981 Werner was
called to serve as associate and youth pastor at St. Mark’s, marking the first
time the congregation would have a third full-time pastor. In 1985 his focus became outreach and for the
past 20 years he has served as the congregation’s coordinating pastor. In addition to his service at St. Mark’s, he
has served the greater community through work on various groups including the
board for Crossroads House and the Watertown Cable Committee.
The Werners have two
children and three grandchildren.
___________________
WHAT
HAVE I DONE TO DESERVE ALL THIS? ___________________
Dear Members and
Friends of St. Mark’s,
My wife, Stevie, and
I along with our children, Heather and Matt, were overwhelmed with the show of
appreciation and thanks that you showed to us as I celebrated my 40th
anniversary in the ministry and my retirement from my call at St. Mark’s. We wish to thank you from the bottom of our
hearts for the kindness, gifts and words of thanks that you have given to us on
this occasion.
It has been a
privilege and joy to serve the saints at St. Mark’s for the past 34 years with
the good news of Jesus our Savior. I
thank my Savior Jesus for the opportunity he gave me to serve you here. I also thank you for being patient,
understanding and supportive of me.
I pray that the Lord
will continue to bless our congregation as we continue to carry on the mission
that Jesus has given to each of us, his chosen saints, to be his witnesses in
this dark world and to help one another to grow in our faith life.
Your servant in
Christ,
Pastor Jim Werner
08
06 REV.
JAMES BACKUS INSTALLED
Backus will service as the school and
youth pastor.
Backus
and his family moved to Watertown from Adrian, Mich. He and his wife, Jessica,
have seven children, Abel, 12; Annemarie, 11; Elizabeth, 9; Mary, 8; Micaiah,
6; Judah, 4 and Justus, 2. They are also expecting another child in late
January. Backus and his wife consider their children to be a blessing second
only to Christ himself.
Backus
was born to Rev. Andrew and Dee (Rusch) Backus on April 14, 1976, in
Stillwater, Minn. On May 2, 1976, he was
received as a child of God through the Sacrament of Holy Baptism at St. John’s
Lutheran Church, Stillwater. With a change of ministry for his father, he spent
his grade school years studying God’s Word at Trinity Lutheran Church and
School, Johnson, Minn. and on May 19, 1991, confessed his spirit-given faith in
Christ in the Rite of Confirmation.
In May
of 1995, he graduated from Martin Luther High School, Prairie du Chien. Backus and his wife, Jessica (Schmidt) met
and married during their college years. They were united in Christ on Aug. 6,
2000, at Jessica’s home congregation, St. Matthew’s Lutheran in Oconomowoc. In
May 2001 he graduated from Martin Luther College, New Ulm, Minn. and later
served his pastoral internship at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, Brookings, S.D.
Graduating from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary of Mequon on May 26, 2006, he received
his first pastoral assignment to St. John’s Lutheran Church, Florence, where he
served until October of 2010. S
ince
2010 he has served as associate pastor at St. Stephen Lutheran Church in
Adrian. In April of this year, Backus
accepted Christ’s call to serve at St. Mark’s. In addition to his general
pastoral duties of preaching, teaching and visitation, he will serve as the
congregation’s education and youth pastor. In his educational role he will
serve the children, parents and faculty of St. Mark’s School. As youth pastor
he will serve as an adviser to the congregation’s numerous youth ministry.
09
25 REV. CHARLES ILES, 40th ANNIVERSARY
St. Mark’s Lutheran Church of Watertown will celebrate the 40th
anniversary of the ministry of the Rev. Charles Iles. The service will include the fifth- and
sixth-graders of St. Mark’s School singing “I Will Serve the Lord” by Janine
Swain.
Iles was born to Elton and Lela (Crouch) Iles on Nov. 1, 1948, in Rock Island,
Ill., and was baptized 13 days later at Immanuel Lutheran Church of Rock
Island. Following a move to Michigan, he
attended grade school in rural Gratiot County, Vestaburg, Mich., and Merrill,
Mich. Having grown in his knowledge and
trust of Christ, he publicly confessed his faith in the Rite of Confirmation on
April 7, 1963, at Zion Lutheran Church, St. Louis, Mich. Iles is a 1966 high school graduate of
Michigan Lutheran Seminary, Saginaw, Mich.
He is a 1970 graduate of Northwestern
College of Watertown and a 1975 graduate of Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary of
Mequon. He served his pastoral internship from 1974-75 at St. John Lutheran
Church of Westland, Mich. Upon
graduation from the seminary, Iles was assigned to serve two congregations in
South Dakota, Zion Lutheran Church of Colome and Faith of Platte. In 1980 he
accepted a call to serve Mt. Olive of Tulsa, Okla. From 1983 to 1985 he served
Peace Lutheran of Cape Girardeau, Mo. He
then moved to Wisconsin where he served St. John Lutheran of rural Waterloo and
Immanuel of rural Marshall for the 15 fifteen years. During this time he also
served as a part-time instructor at Lakeside Lutheran High School of Lake
Mills. In May of 2000 Iles accepted a call to serve as a chaplain with
Wisconsin Lutheran Institutional Ministries where he currently works with
prison inmates. Since joining St. Mark’s
in 2000 he has also has served the congregation as a Bible study instructor,
adviser to a care group, chairman of our Board of Pastoral Ministry and
congregational chairman.
2017
06 04 CHURCH PICNIC AND WORSHIP SERVICE
(Pentecost Sunday / The seventh Sunday
after Easter) / Riverside Park
06 04 ORGAN NOTES
Our Buzard Company contractors are test-fitting our pipe organ in their
shop. Over just the next few weeks, they
will completely assemble our instrument to make sure everything is looking
good; that's the last major step before they bring it home to St. Mark's. Reinstallation is expected to begin in
mid-June.
God has richly blessed this project at every turn. Between April 1st and
May 14th, our members joyfully gave in excess of $50,000 to the Organ Fund,
which enabled St. Mark's to receive the full anticipated $50,000 anonymous
matching gift early. We expect that just
$16,000 is still needed to fully pay off the $535,000 total project cost.
06 04 GRADUATES
ST. MARK’S 8th GRADE GRADUATES (June 2, 2017):
Abel Backus, Allen Bockhorst-Miller, Kaelyn Braatz, Emilee Feder, Owen
Hildebrand, AnaCristina Iglesias, Benjamin Krueger', Emma Messerschmidt, Cesar
Moreno, My a Owens, Zair Palacios, Samantha Ritschke, Aubrey Schmutzler, Emma
Strohm, Shelby Webber, Alexander Zache, & Jackson Zietlow.
WATERTOWN HIGH SCHOOL
GRADUATES of the parish: (June 10,
2017):
Hayden Buske, Turner Buske, Jacob Butler, Lucas Chesmore, Derek Doerr,
Daniel Dowd, Leilany Emilio—Miguel, Emilio Enriquez, Gabriella Genz, Hannah
Hanson, Noah Haseleu, Samantha Higgins, Skylar Jannke, Dominique Miller, Dawson
Nickels, Bryce Olson, Elizabeth Oswald, Paige Schmutzler, Bryce Schuett,
Anthony Sell, Madison Sell, Peyton Wolter, Evan Yanick, and Alexis Zietlow.
09 28 LUTHERAN HERITAGE CELEBRATION
500th ANNIVERSARY OF THE
LUTHERAN REFORMATION
St. Mark’s will celebrate its Lutheran heritage and the 500th
anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation during October. This week’s worship highlights “Sola
Scriptura,” or that people are saved by Scripture alone because it proclaims
Jesus Christ as Savior. Saturday’s
service will feature a sacred concert with church members Susan Lueneburg and
Josh and Sarah Mose following the sermon. All services on Sunday will feature a
sermon, congregational participation and Lakeside Lutheran High School’s A
Capella Choir.
The Lutheran Church will mark its 500th birthday Oct. 31. On that day in 1517 in Germany, Martin Luther
posted 95 theses, or statements for debate, that set off the Lutheran
Reformation.
11 02 REFORMATION 500
The entire student body and teachers of St.
Mark’s Lutheran School celebrated the 500th anniversary of the Reformation with
an all-day Reformation Festival.
2018
04 21 CONFIRMATION AND COMMISSIONING
The confirmands are Kaylea Affeld, Annemarie
Backus, Braydon Beeney, Ahana Behlke, Olivia Borchardt, Trevor Brunk, Ethan
Degner, Noah Dominguez, Mason Eckhardt, Abigail Fiemeyer, Madeline Frohmader, Raigan Good, Lucio Guzman,
Kimberly Hafenstein, Caleb Jensen, Kora Kilmartin, Ally Klecker, Kendel Lawson,
Emmalee Lehmann, Audrey Meier, Christian Moldenhauer, Jackson Moran, Riley
Parsons, Jaydenya Pineda, Desirae Pugh, Ashlyn Rein, Yaritza Rocha, Brian Rupnow,
Hunter Schlesner, Emily Schroeder, McKaila Schubert, Blake Schwantes, Carter
Slayton, Yahir Toledo, Hannah Uttech, Hunter West, Taylor Wruck, Malinda
Zastrow and Cole Zoellick.
10
21 165th
ANNIVERSARY
The congregation will celebrate its 165th
birthday in services at 7 p.m. Wednesday, 6 p.m. Saturday and 7:30, 9 and 10:45
a.m. Sunday. Members have said the only
birthday present they want is the attendance of many. The congregation is circulating a flyer in
connection with the anniversary. It states a soul’s need for forgiveness in
Jesus and offers St. Mark’s as a place to meet Him in Scripture and Sacrament.
On Oct. 22, 1854, about 25 voting members established
St Mark’s. Shortly afterward, the congregation acquired the property on which
its current parish center is located.
This also paved the way for St. Mark’s school to begin in 1855. By 1888,
the congregation had grown to such a degree that it acquired more land and
constructed the present sanctuary. God’s blessings have continued through
recent decades, in which more than 2,500 Watertown residents per year have
called St. Mark’s their church home.
2020
02 06 REBECCA HAFEMEISTER, 40 YEARS OF TEACHING
St. Mark’s Evangelical. Lutheran Congregation
has announced the 40th anniversary of Rebecca Hafemeister in the teaching
ministry. Hafemeister is the daughter of
the late Herbert and Helen Hafemeister.
She attended St. Mark’s grade school graduating eighth grade in
1972. She graduated from Lakeside
Lutheran High School in 1976 and graduated from Dr. Martin Luther College in 1980
with her teaching degree. She taught at
St. Lucas School in Milwaukee for 13 years.
At St. Lucas she taught fourth grade, art classes, and coached
cheerleading in many grades.
Hafemeister arrived in Watertown in 1993 to
teach at St. Mark’s Lutheran School. She
has taught at St. Mark’s for the past 27 years.
During those years she has taught second, third, fourth and fifth grade
students and many combined classes. She
has also taught art and coached cheerleading.
She taught second grade for past six years and is currently teaching
third grade this year. She has art
classes for grades 3–5.
09 03 JOE AND ANNIE
GUMM
St. Mark’s church will install Anneliese Gumm
into the teaching ministry of the gospel at the 9 a.m. Sunday worship
service. Gumm, who moved to Watertown
this summer with her husband and three children, is teaching first grade at St.
Mark’s school, with a focus on the message of Jesus Christ, God’s Son and
Savior of all people.
Anneliese “Annie” Gumm, formerly Spier, and
her mother, Sylvia, spent the first five years of her life traveling between
Groton, Conn., and Bremerton, Wash., with her father, Michael, who served in
the US Navy. When she was 5 years old,
her father concluded his Naval services and the family of four settled in
Orlando, FL near her maternal grandparents, Carl and Dorothy Becker who owned
Becker’s TV of Watertown, in the 1960s.
Following a visit to Luther Preparatory School
in Watertown, she transferred her junior year of high school. That next summer, she was chosen to
participate in a Project Timothy mission trip to Puerto Rico. During her first few days back on campus for
her senior year, she began chatting with others who also had had the
opportunity to do mission work through Project Timothy. One of those young people was Joe Gumm, the
son of Rev. Alan and Carolyn Gumm. Joe
asked Annie to the homecoming dance and six years later they were married at
St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Watertown.
Both Joe and Annie attended Martin Luther
College and completed the course of study to be teachers. Annie graduated in 2003 with a degree in
elementary education with a Spanish emphasis.
She was given a one-year assignment to Northland Lutheran High School
where she taught Spanish I and II, general science, and coached the freshman
girl’s basketball team. After one year
at Northland, Annie and Joe got married and they were both assigned to Luther
Preparatory School. Annie served as a
Spanish instructor, tennis coach, and soccer coach. After two years at LPS, Joe and Annie were
assigned to Salem Lutheran in Colorado Springs, CO.
After five years in Colorado Springs, Joe
accepted a call to serve as principal and upper-grades teacher at Immanuel
Lutheran in Hadar, Neb. During their five years in Nebraska, Annie served for
three years as a preschool teacher at Trinity Lutheran in Hoskins, and for two
years as a part-time principal release teacher at St. Paul’s Lutheran in
Norfolk. In 2016, Joe accepted a call to serve as principal and upper-grades
teacher at Trinity Lutheran in Nicollet, Minn.
Annie was offered a half-time position and taught various subjects in
the middle and upper grades.
While in Nicollet, Annie also became a mentor
teacher for beginning teachers and began her master’s program in instruction
through Martin Luther College. She hopes
to finish her degree in the spring of 2021.
In January of 2020, Joe received a call to be
an English professor at LPS. Shortly
after Joe accepted his call, Annie was extended and accepted a call to teach at
St. Mark’s Lutheran School.
2021
08 23 HERREWIG TO
JOIN STAFF
Allison Herrewig will be installed as a first
grade teacher of the Gospel of Jesus Christ at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in
Watertown in an 9 a.m. worship service Sunday.
Herrewig is a skilled Christian educator who
is eager join the ministry of St. Mark’s Christian elementary school, which
serves 230 children with academics and daily instruction in the Christian
faith. She was born in 1998 in Watertown.
Since then she has lived in Mobile, Alabama, Saginaw, Michigan, Fond du
Lac, New Ulm, Minnesota, and West Palm Beach, Florida.
Herrewig’s dad, John, is the pastor at Divine
Savior Lutheran Church, in West Palm Beach, where her mother, Julia also works
as office manager. She has three
siblings, Jenna and Ryan both graduates of Luther Prep, are now studying at
Martin Luther College. Micah will be a freshman at Luther Prep this year.
Herrewig graduated from Winnebago Lutheran
Academy in 2016, and then went on to major in elementary education at Martin
Luther College. She recently married Joe
Herrewig, who is a tutor at Luther Prep, along with coaching football and
teaching English. She enjoys music,
going to the beach, and spending time with family and friends.
Image
Portfolio (Steve Seim)
History of Watertown,
Wisconsin