St. John’s Lutheran, Bay City
Historical timeline
1860's
- St. John's Lutheran Church was founded in 1862 and served by pastors Christop Eberhardt, 1862-1863, John Haas of Bethel, 1863-1865; Wm. Reuther of Bethel, 1865-1882.
- America divided by the Civil War, 1861-1865
- Bay City incorporated, 1865
1870's
- Saint John's first building was dedicated, 9/15/1872.
- St. John's applied for membership in the Michigan , 1873
- Bay County created, 1874
1880's
- St. John's received first resident pastor, Pastor A.P. Mueller, 4/5/1885
- Tower bell purchased for $200, 9/15/1886
(This bell currently still resides in the present church tower.) - St. John's Lutheran Elementary School building erected and school begins,1887
- First parsonage built, 214 S. Keisel,
- Pastor A. P Mueller 1885-1889
- Pastor John F. Mayer 1889-1892
- Statue of Liberty arrived and dedicated, 1885-1886
1890's
- St John's first school teacher arrived H. Waterstratt, 1890.
- Financial problems caused first teacher to be released.
- Pastor John F. Henning accepted next Call to St. John's, 1892-1908
- Teacher C. Dobbratz taught at the school, 1896
- Teacher Samuel Linseman, 1897- 1908
- Teacher W. Hauser, 1897-1908
- St. John's Church was extensively renovated.
1900's
- Wright Brothers flight at Kitty Hawk, NC, 1903
- St. John's temporarily closed, 1908
- St. John's withdrew from Michigan Sydnod, 1908
- Pastor Edward Rupp of Zilwaukee, MI accepted the Call to St. John's, 190- 1925
1910's
- Titanic sank, 4/15/1912.
- English services added at St. John's: 10/5/1913 once a month Sunday evening
- St. John's congregation rejoined Michigan Synod, 1915
- Edmund Winter served as teacher, 1916- 1931
- Teacherage built at 206 S. Alp, cost $1,636.
- Schantz and Sons pipe organ purchased, cost $2,900.
A portion of this organ is still in the church today.) - World War I ended with Treaty of Versailles, 6/28/1919.
1920's
- Enlish and German services held each Sunday, October 1925.
- St. John's School enlarged, cost $1,072 in 1921.
- St. John's Church enlarged and renovated for a cost of $10,707 in 1922.
- Pastor Naumann served at St. John's, 1925.-1931
- Charles Lindergh solos across Atlantic in "Spirit of St. Louis", 5/20/1927.
- First Academy Awards held, 1929.
1930's
- Pastor Adelbert Westendorf served at St. John's, 1931- 1953.
- Congress approved making "The Star Spangled Banner" the national anthem, 3/31/1931.
- Prohibition ended, 1935
- World War II declared, 1939
1940's
- School building remodeled and another room added, 1947.
- A fifth teacher was added to school staff in 1949.
- United States joined allies, 1941
- Pearl Harbor attacked, war declared on Japan, 1941
- World War II ended, 1945
1950s
1960s
- Berlin Wall erected, 1961
- Final services held in old church, 9/30/1962
- New church dedicated; 24 rank Tellers Organ dedicated, 10/7/1962
- 100th Church Anniversary celebrated, 10/14/1962
- 75th School Anniversary celebrated, 10/12/1962
- JFK assassinated, 11/22/1963
- Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, 1969
1970s
- Last German service conducted, 9/27/1970
- St. John's participated in the Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary vicar program, 1970-1985
- St. John's debt retirment celebration, 9/26/1971
- Vietnam War ended, 1973
- President Nixon resigned, 1974
- Third Street Bridge collapsed in to the Saginaw River, 6/18/1976
- Wenona Hotel burned, 12/12/1977
1980s
- The vicar program was terminated and a 2nd pastor was called, 1985
- Pastor Paul Schweppe served St. John's, 1985- 2017
- Stock market crashed, 1987
- 25th Anniversary of new church building celebrated, 10/4/1987
- St. John’s 125th Anniversary celebrated, 10/25/1987
- Liberty Bridge opened, 12/16/1987
- Every member visitation began, 1988
- Pastor Brenner celebrated 45 years in the ministry, 1988
- St. John’s first Vacation Bible School held, 1988
- Computer technology began in St. John’s Church and School
- Mrs. Elaine Slates celebrated 35 years in teaching ministry, 1989
- Berlin Wall dismantled, 1989
1990s
- Pastor John F. Brenner retired, 1990
- Pastor Nathan Stroebel served at St. John’s, 1990-1994
- St. John’s Pre-school program established, 1992
- Tenebrae Good Friday Service began, 1993
- New worship hymnal introduced, 1993
- Pastor Paul Schaewe was added to St. John's, 1994
- Elaine Slates retired after 40 years in the teaching ministry, 1995
- Evangelism Committee began, 1995
- Miss Debbra Schams was called as the 1st-2nd grade teacher, 1995
- Greeters Program began, 1996
- Third worship service added, 1996
- Church basement flooded, 1996
- Handbells donated and senior handbell choir began, 1996
- St. John’s Mission Statement developed and approved, 1996
- Michael Falk served at St. John's as principal and 7th-8th grade teacher, 1999-2017
- Church remodeling began on offices, Council Room and adding an elevator, 1999
- Property purchased on Alp Street to enlarge school playground, 1999
- Grow-with-me program initiated for 2 and 3-year-olds, 1999
- Pre-school class added for 3-year-olds, 1999
2000s
- Phase I of renovation completed with dedication, 6/11/2000
- Pastor Schweppe celebrated 25 years in the ministry, 2000
- School Secretary position added, 2001
- Christmas Eve Candlelight Service began, 2001
- Easter Vacation Bible School began, 2001
- Twin Towers of World Trade Center, Pennsylvania, and Pentagon plane crashes by terrorist, 9/11/2001
- War in Afghanistan began, 10/7/2001
- Hand chimes added to handbell choir, 2002
- Pre-K and Kindergarten Christmas service began, 2002
- St. John's hosted the Michigan District Teacher's Conference, October 9-19, 2002
- Presidium established to develop a three-year strategic roadmap plan for St. John’s, 2003
- Mrs. Gail McFarland and Mr. Michael Falk celebrated 30 years in the teaching ministry, 2003
- Property on corner of Mountain and Jane purchased and house razed, 2003
- New sound system with projectors and screens were added to the church, 2004
- Pastor Schweppe celebrated his 20th year at St. John's and 30th in the ministry, 2005
- Parking lot project completed with new storm sewers, electrical lines, paving, fencing, and landscaping, 2005
- Willard Engel retired after 40 years in the ministry, 2007
- Friendship Register implemented, 2007
- Church basement flooded damaging floor and kitchen area; kitchen cupboards and floor replaced, 2008
- Pastor Schaewe celebrated 20 years in the ministry, 2009
- Swine-flu pandemic, 2009
2010s
- Church windows replaces, church tower repaired and new school roof installed, August, 2010
- First Advent by Candlelight began at St. John’s, December, 2010
- St. John's Church 150th Anniversary, 2012
MLive Article "St. John Evangelical Lutheran School in Bay City turns 125, church is 150 this year" - Richard Owen called to serve at 5th-6th grade teacher, 2014
- Gail McFarland retires, 2017
- Joe Shiery accepted the Call as 3rd-4th grade teacher,2017
- Pastor Reich Called as Pastor, 2019
- 214 S. Mountain St. purchased as 2nd parsonage, 2019
- Matthew Spoerl came to St. John's to serve 1 year before returning to MLC for his last year of study, 2019
- Lynn Schwall retired as kindergarten teacher, 2019
- Marissa Shiery accepted position as Kindergarten Teacher, 2019
- Covid-19 makes first appearance abroad, 2019
2020 - present
- Ian Paulsen was Called as Principal and the 7th-8th grade teacher, 2020
- Covid-19 appears in the US, 2020
- Rachel Bender accepted the Call as 5th-6th grade teacher, 2020
- Michigan State of Emergency shuts all but essential infrastructure down due to Covid-19 pandemic, March 2020
- St. John’s School goes to online Virtual Learning for remainder of the 2020 school year, April 2020
- St. John’s Church stops in-person services temporarily and goes to Online services, March, 2020
- In-person services resume but Online services are kept active, June 2020
- St. John’s School goes to Virtual Learning for 2 weeks following Christmas vacation, January 2021
- Live-stream cameras are added to the church, 2021
- Technology Committee was established, February 2021
- New smart tv's and livestreaming technology, September, 2021
- New boiler and school flooring installed and church office roof replaced , September 2021
- Last Monday night worship service, November 1st, 2021
- Ms. Emma Schleicher assigned by MLC as the 3rd & 4th grade teacher.
- Ms. Lynelle Schleusener joins the teacheing staff as the 5th & 6th grade teacher.
- Ms. Bender accepts the call as the Kindergarten teacher.
