Martin Luther Lutheran Church

Martin Luther Lutheran Church

Celebration and history

Martin Luther Lutheran Church, 420 Clearmount Drive, Youngstown, is celebrating its 150th anniversary.

Celebration details: A threefold celebration is planned. A festival Eucharist liturgy will be at 10:30 a.m. Sunday with Bishop Elizabeth Eaton of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, Northeastern Ohio Synod, participating. A dinner will follow at the Holiday Inn in Boardman. A concert will be Oct. 25 featuring John Drotleff’s West Shore Chorale Group and a reception will follow. On Nov. 27, there will be a hymn fest with organist Thomas Pavlechko of Austin, Texas, and a reception to follow.

Theme: “Send Forth God’s Blessing.”

May 1, 1859: Martin Luther Lutheran Church organized by 22 charter members. The membership worshipped in various halls and then decided to build a church.

Nov. 3, 1862: Church is built on the corner of Wood and Champion streets and the cornerstone laid. The church was dedicated in November of that year. Of the 52 members of record, 46 attended. The cost of the building was $3,431.

1870: A Christian day school is established by the Rev. G.F.H. Meiser, and was an important part of the church for 57 years. It was closed in 1927.

Dec. 3, 1924: A site at Hudson and Clearmount is bought because the church is forced to move from its location on Wood Street. The city and Erie Railroad are making improvements and need the property.

March 29, 1931: Groundbreaking services for new church at Hudson and Clearmount.

May 24, 1931: Cornerstone placed into position. Members borrowed on their homes and businesses to help finance the new church.

Nov. 15, 1931: Farewell services in Wood Street church. First service was Nov. 22 at parish house.

March 11, 1934: Martin Luther Lutheran Church dedicated.

Oct. 27, 1946: Mortgage burned.

Nov. 23, 1947: Outdoor sign presented by Fellowship Class.

Jan. 18, 1948: Parsonage dedicated.

April 25, 1948: Yahrling Memorial Tower Bells dedicated.

1959: Celebration of 100th anniversary. Church pledges $100,000 for mission church in Poland, which is now Prince of Peace Lutheran Church.

1968: Emma Lenz Bell Choir organized.

October 1970: Dedication of renovated fellowship hall and gym.

February 1987: Food pantry established.

Jan. 1, 1988: Formation of Evangelical Lutheran Church of America.

Architectural details: The church was designed by William E. Foster, a church architect from Cleveland, and H.F. Kling and Son of Youngstown, associate architects. The cost was $250,000. The design of the church reflects the church architecture of Europe. It is in the Gothic style. The church has a basic structure of a cross, with an unobstructed view of the altar. The nave, with its central aisle that is 99 feet long, leads to the chancel and focuses on the altar. In church architecture, the chancel is symbolic of the head of Christ and the nave, his body. The pews have carved symbols, fleur de lis, reflecting the belief in the triune God. The baptistery is located in the north transept and elevated slightly. The chancel contains the lecturn, pulpit, organ, choir and clergy stalls and chancel rail. The eternal light, which is never extinguished, represents the Holy Spirit. The altar was installed by the Theodore Kundtz Co. of Cleveland. The menza is made of buff limestone and was quarried in Bloomington, Ind. It weights 6,700 pounds. The Rose Window above the altar was made by Henry Lee Willett of Philadelphia and contains glass from the 13th century. There are 6,600 glass pieces in the window, some of which were painted 18 different times and were fired multiple times. Biblical symbols highlight the design of the Rose Window. In 1959, the organ was completed to its full potential with 44 stops and 2,843 individual pipes. Christine Knuth retired in 1998 as church organist after 64 years of service. She died in April 2008.

Source: Martin Luther Lutheran Church