When we heard Trinity Lutheran Church was going to be torn down just shy of its 100th birthday, Brother Mark and I did our best to document the building.
Here are photos of what I think was the most impressive part of the church: the chancel and altar with its statue of Jesus. I’ll run more pictures later.
Money came with strings
It seems an odd coincidence that the old building was discovered to be structurally unsound not long after a large donation was made to the church that could only be used to build a new structure.
Missourian photographer Fred Lynch has a series of photos showing the steeple being pulled down that makes the place look pretty sturdy to me.
It’s not my church
I was baptized in that church, confirmed in that church, suffered through a multitude of Christmas pageants in that church, and my father’s casket stood in the shadow of that altar.
I made a promise to myself never to set foot in the new building. I have no respect for an organization that allows nearly 100 years of memories to be turned into brick dust. It is no longer my church.
Photos of the church bell
I ran a post about the church’s bell in 2011. I read somewhere that the bell had been moved to the new church.
View from the bell tower
Here are photos taken from the bell tower in 1978.
1954 pledge drive
I copied a 1954 pledge drive booklet that included an extraordinary photo of the congregation. It’s amazing how many faces I can still pick out of it (names, however, are another matter).
Abraham story has him worried
Brother Mark is holding Son Matt up for a closer look. He doesn’t look too comfortable. I think he may have heard that story about God telling Abraham to sacrifice his son on an altar and he’s not sure if the story had a good ending.
UPDATE:
I learned several things from my readers here and on Facebook:
- It wasn’t just a rumor that the donation was earmarked for a new building. A relative of the donors confirmed it.
- Jesus wasn’t welcome in the new church: he has been exiled to Hanover School. I’ll swing by to see him on my trip back to Cape in October.