This text was copied from the 1982 narrative using Optical Character Recognition scanning. Nothing has been added/removed/changed from the original text. Formatting was added to improve readibilty.

The Earliest Period: 1870-1900

Although the membership of St. Mark's congregation today is a rich mixture of various nationalities, our congregation was founded by German Lutheran residents of St. Charles who as late as 1927 still wrote the Minutes of Congregation meetings in German - and until some years later conducted German services along with English on Sunday mornings.

In 1882, a Lutheran congregation was established in St. Charles by people of Swedish background. Language prevented the German speaking Lutherans from worshipping with the Swedes. There were other differences also. Each ethnic group had its own emphases which were shaped by situations in the homeland as well as experiences in the United States. The Swedes, for example, had a strong prohibitionist streak in their piety. The Germans were concerned about purity of doctrine. Such differences along with others kept them apart - if not in the marketplace or the neighborhood - at least on Sunday morning.

St. Charles was founded in 1834, although it didn't acquire the name St. Charles until 1839. Prior to 1850 there were no families with a German name living in the community (although by that time there was already a Methodist church standing on our present property). In the Kane County Directory of 1857, only seven German names are listed, at least one of whom, a Morris Goldschmidt, a merchant tailor, was probably Jewish.

By 1885, there were 31 German people (including children) living in a population of 3,072. In the same year the Census records that there were 271 Lutherans in the town and country of St. Charles. Bethlehem Lutheran Church of St. Charles, which conducted services only in Swedish, lists 271 members that year. None of the Germans in St. Charles at that time, apparently, were Lutheran.

The closest congregation of German-speaking Lutherans was to be found In West Chicago (called "Turner Junction" during the period of history here being discussed). Although that congregation did not have a pastor until 1893, its church records go back as far as the 1870's. Pastors who upon occasion served West Chicago (perhaps they were itinerants or else from the Missouri-Synod's college in Addison) also served German-Lutheran residents in the St. Charles area.

The confirmation of a St. Charles resident, Mathilde Hamman (from Pommerania), is listed in 1878, and a private communion was given to the same woman on her farm in 1893. Fourteen baptisms (often performed in the home) are listed for St. Charles prior to 1900, some of which were for families later to become members of the St. Charles congregation (Dau, Weir, Woith). In 1900, an attendance record for the congregation in West Chicago showed 19 members from St. Charles attending (some of the names like Ronzheimer were later to appear on the records of the St. Charles congregation).

As a community, St. Charles was beginning to grow. The community had become a city in 1874, it acquired a newspaper in 1881 (The Valley Chronicle), the railroad came to town in 1885 (the Great Western). In 1886 the telephone made its appearance, and by 1895 there were street cars on Main Street, connecting St. Charles with a larger train network.

The German Lutherans were still very much an emmigrant people, however. The census seems not to have been aware of them. They probably conversed only in German, kept very much to themselves, attended occasional church celebrations in West Chicago, and kept their well maintained farms in the St. Charles area.

Preparing the Property for the Lutherans

While the German Lutheran settlers in St. Charles were moving toward the foundation of a congregation around the turn of the century, the property which would ultimately come to be theirs was already consecrated ground.

In 1842, the St. Charles Methodist Society erected a stuccoed, stone building on the corner of Fifth and Walnut Aves. The stately church had stained glass windows, a squat colonial tower, and a basement for educational classes.

The property had been given to the Methodist Society by Ira Minard who owned large sections of land east of the river. An early picture taken some time after 1894 shows board sidewalks, dirt streets, stately trees along Fifth Avenue, and the old stone wall. This wall, built in 1894 along with a shed for horses at a cost of $200 stood until the demolition of the 1907 church in 1976.

Next to the original church stood a red brick building which St. Mark's later purchased in 1962. The building is difficult to date. A genealogist from Boston doing some work on a family which lived in the house believes it may have been erected after 1839, but also possibly as early as 1834 when Stillman Wheelock purchased the property from Ira Minard. The story that it once served as a Wells Fargo depot is apocryphal, the idea probably arising from the fact that in 1851 the property was owned by the Chicago Plank Road Co. If, in fact, the building already existed by that time, it may have been used as an office for the company. The building was ultimately given to the King family who moved it to the block south of the church in 1976 where it stands today.

As an interesting additional piece of ecclesiastical history, it is worth noting that in 1948, the above-mentioned house was dedicated as the Church of the Holy Rood (old Anglo-Saxon for "cross"), the first Episcopal church in St. Charles. This mission later built new facilities on Fifth Avenue across from the hospital.

In October of 1907, the cornerstone was laid for a new facility for the Methodist Church, the old one having been demolished. Built for a cost of $16,000, the church was to serve 175 members. The church used an architectural style popular especially among Methodists around the turn of the century called the Akron plan. It was solid red brick with Bedford limestone trim and seated 180-200 people not including the overflow area which was characteristic of the Akron plan buildings. In 1919, a pipe organ was given to the church by Col. Edward Baker in memory of his parents.

The bell of the original 1842 church was to be housed in the new structure, but it cracked in moving it and was recast into small souvenirs. The tower of the 1907 church never received a bell.

Two other buildings on the property which would ultimately belong to the Lutherans need to be mentioned. The original Methodist parsonage served the church since before the turn of the century but was moved with the building of the Fellowship Hall-Education Building In 1969. It now stands at 805 Indiana Avenue In St. Charles. The white building which still stands on the corner of Fifth and Illinois was the old Gorham mansion, built around the 1890's. It used to have spacious gardens behind it and a barn for horses to the east of the present garage. Sold to the Bagge family which operated a pharmacy for many years in St. Charles, St. Mark's purchased it in 1955.

German Lutherans Found a Congregation

Just after the turn of the century, the St. Charles community experienced real progress. The old wood stoves were thrown out when In 1901 gas mains were laid. The Cable Piano Company built a large factory on the river (now destined to be condominiums) and gave many Swedish residents the opportunity to earn a good living. In 1905, city water mains were installed, and in 1906 the St. Charles Boys School was founded. In 1907, two institutions of culture came Into being, St. Mary's Academy (now Valley Lutheran High School), and the Public Library, a gift of the Carnegie Foundation. There were still no paved streets in or around St. Charles, although good transportation to Chicago was provided when in 1910 the Chicago, Aurora and Elgin provided a branch of its car line down Main Street. By the time of the First World War, 1917, St. Charles had city sewers (which put an end to outhouses), free mail services, and paved streets.

The most important event in the period from 1900-1917 for the history of St. Mark's congregation was the arrival of the Heinz brothers from Chicago. Emil, Otto and Richard Heinz built a cut glass factory in 1905 on the corner of 13th and Indiana Aves. (still standing). It was the largest factory west of the East coast at the time and employed 100 men. They maintained a large show room where people could buy seconds. Some local residents still own some of these pieces which are valued in the hundreds of dollars.

The Heinz brothers were from St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Chicago and they were used to worshipping in German. Even though they lived only 6 blocks from Bethlehem Lutheran Church, at Sixth and Walnut, they could hardly worship there because Bethlehem's services were conducted in Swedish. Together with other German-speaking Lutherans, they approached Bethlehem about the possibility of renting its church on Sunday afternoons. Mr. Leroy Rehm (founder of Rehm Electric) claimed he was baptized in a German service at Bethlehem by a Pastor Fricke from Aurora. This must have been 1901-1902, because at that time Pastor Fricke took a call to Emmanuel, Aurora, leaving his parish at Immanuel, Batavia.

His successor in Batavia, the Rev. F. G. Miessler, continued the ministry in St. Charles, conducting services every other Sunday afternoon at Bethlehem. By 1907, the Heinz brothers and their friends felt it was time to organize a congregation on an official basis. In the home of Emil Heinz (standing today at 306 S. 10th Ave.), in the presence of Pastor Miessler from Batavia the congregation was established on January 27, 1907. According to the minutes written in German which still exist, Pastor Miessler provided a model constitution,each article was read and discussed, and then it was unanimously accepted. The congregation adopted the name, Evangelische Lutherische Sanct Marcus Gemeinde (Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. Mark). The following men signed the original constitution and thus were the charter members of the congregation: Richard Heinz, Emil Heinz, Herman Eichmann, Carl Hamann, Herman Schmidt, Jost Ronzhelmer, Fred Woith, Frank Tetzlaff, George Hofer, F. G. Mlessler, Pastor, Edward Nagel (grandfather of present member Ken Johnson), Johannes Storm, Fred Ronzheimer (grandfather of present member Karen Sands).

Among the business transacted at the meeting were decisions to buy six hymnals, to give the minister $10.00 monthly plus $5 for carfare, and to allow the pastor to buy bread and wine for communion. The collection raised at the exit of the church would reimburse the pastor for expenses in this matter.

In the following year, the congregation passed a resolution that "children of the congregation should attend the congregation's school" (with Batavia, the congregation maintained a joint parochial school). The classes were conducted in German.

In 1910, Rev. Johannes Grosse succeeded Pastor Miessler as Pastor in Batavia. He seems to have been an alcoholic, almost ruined the congregation with his behavior, remained only two years, and was subsequently defrocked.

First World War Springs St. Charles Lutherans into New Era

After the devastating ministry of Rev. Johannes Grosse, the Rev. Herman Harms accepted the call to Immanuel, Batavia. As a part of his call, it was stipulated that he was to minister to the Lutherans meeting In St. Charles.

At the time of his installation in Batavia, Nov. 10, 1912, the Statistical Yearbook of the Missouri Synod listed St. Charles as a "preaching station" with 25 souls. That was a 50% reduction of the "preaching station's" size from the time when the Rev. Grosse arrived In Batavia - attesting to the problems which the group must have had.

Pastor Harms walked to St. Charles every other Sunday afternoon from Batavia, and conducted worship services in the rented facilities at Bethlehem. Pastor Harms played the organ, the congregation brought its own hymnals, and the services were conducted in German. Confirmation classes were conducted in the home of Mr. Emil Heinz.

Every other Saturday, Pastor Harms visited the St. Charles's Boys School; on a regular basis he ministered to the Home for the Aged (Armenhaus) in Batavia. The membership of the St. Charles group grew ever so slightly, and primarily through children. By 1917, there were 35 Communicant members and a total of 69 baptized.

The pressures brought about by the World War (The U.S. declared war against Germany on April 6, 1917) forced Immanuel in Batavia to close its school in which classes were taught in German. St. Mark's had ten students enrolled in this school. The actual closing took place in 1918. To replace the religious instruction which had been offered through the school, St.Mark's introduced a Sunday School.

The war brought other pressures to those with German backgrounds. German classes at St. Charles High School were dropped (and have never been resumed).

St. Mark's introduced English worship services along with the German. American flags were placed in the sanctuary to demonstrate loyalty to the United States. Evening meetings were suspect and were sometimes checked by local officials to assure that no clandestine meeting of the Bund (German loyalists) was being held.

At first the group worshipping in St. Charles was merely referred to as a "preaching station" in the official records of the Synod, but during the ministry of Pastor Harms it came to be referred to as an independent congregation, although not belonging to the Synod (St. Mark's joined the Missouri Synod in 1936).

The Congregation moves Into Decline

In 1919, Pastor Harms took a call to Davenport, Iowa, and submitted a letter to the Northern Illinois District Mission Board in which he stated that St. Charles should extend a call on its own for a pastor. He claimed there were 60 people worshipping in St. Charles. The Minutes of the Mission Board Meeting at which the letter was discussed, however, show that a decision on the matter could not be reached so the matter was tabled pending further investigation. (Herman Harms in later years became First Vice President of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, was given an honorary doctor's degree by the St. Louis Seminary and served the Synod well in the post-war conferences which established ties with the Lutheran churches in Germany).

Further study on the situation in St. Charles brought the Mission Board the report that St. Charles was a town of 2,500, most of whom were "Swedes and Belgians," and that worship at St. Mark's had "dwindled to 68 persons." The Mission Board's Minutes reflected the thought that St. Charles should wait until Batavia received its new pastor, and perhaps he might serve in St. Charles also.

The pastors who followed in Batavia, however, seem not to have served St. Charles. Although the District Mission Board Minutes of March 8,1923, note that Pastor Molthan of Batavia was being asked to serve St. Charles, no records of that period were submitted to the Synod - nor are any extant in the congregation. The next official word regarding St. Mark's is from 1924.

New Beginning under Pastor H. W. Rabe

In 1924, Pastor Molthan of Batavia, who had been asked by the District Mission Board to serve St. Charles and whose congregation had agreed to his doing this (April 8, 1923 Minutes of Immanuel, Batavia), informed the Mission Board (Sept. 1924 Minutes) that there were 30-40 Lutherans in St. Charles, and that Pastor H. W. Rabe of Elgin was willing to canvass them. It was as if the church was to be started all over again.

The Mission Board Minutes of Nov. 12, 1924, tell that Pastor Rabe started holding services that month attended by 30 worshippers in a Legion Hall behind the ice cream parlor. (Some of St. Mark's members from those days remembered the stench of beer on the floor on Sunday mornings from parties the night before). The Mission Board resolved to pay Rabe $75 a month, and advised him to continue to live in Elgin, but to travel to St. Charles by rail car. (Remember that the first pastor was paid not by the Mission Board but by the members themselves).

The congregation reorganized in November, using the same name and Constitution from 1907. The names Peters, Ronzheimer, Storm, Nagel and Dau, seen in the early extant Minutes of 1926-27, show that the old congregation did indeed become a part of the new one. The first nine voting members of the new congregation were John Peters, Fred Ronzheimer, Christ Storm, W. (name illegible), John Lauritzen, Paul Willing, Wm. Schoenicke.

The First Church, a Pre-Fab building

The congregation must have been enthusiastic because within a month's time the members decided to buy a lot and erect a pre-fab church building (maybe the smell of the beer was getting to them). The Minutes show that the pastor was holding them off, encouraging them in January to carry through the winter in the Legion Hall.

By March, 70 people were attending services. The members collected $250 for a building site. The Mission Board told the congregation that if they could buy the property on Fourth and Walnut Aves. for $2400, they would loan them the money. This was done, and on August 11, 1925, the congregation ordered a prefabricated church building, construction for which was to be finished by October.

Apparently, things dragged slowly. A hand-written letter in the District's files from Oct. 13, 1925, seems to have been written on the Sunday after ground-breaking. In it, Pastor Rabe laments that bad weather prevented visitors from other congregations from attending the celebration. The collection had been $72, just enough for half of the costs of pouring the foundation. By the writing of his letter, the construction people had not yet arrived and the prospects for completion of the building looked bleak. Pastor Rabe's comment: "It's a pity!"

By the grace+ of God, however, the congregation grew. Pastoral acts were performed, church discipline carried out (a beautiful letter from March, 1925, shows with what evangelical spirit the pastor operated in a marital difficulty of a member couple), congregational meetings were held quarterly, a church choir was organized, and social activities were held. Services were conducted each Sunday in German and in English, and the Minutes, until Oct. 2, 1927, were written in German: "It was decided that the Minutes should be recorded in the American (sic) language."

Despite the diminutive statistics ($1.50 per Sunday to the organist, $1 per Sunday to the janitor, 1 or 2 families joining every six months), the congregation sincerely wanted to maintain its ministry. It worked for the day when it could call its first full-time resident pastor. By the time Pastor Rabe left in 1928, there were 97 baptized members, 62 communicant members and 22 voting males. Church life was very different from today. There was no evangelism, no youth activities, no concept of stewardship (members paid "dues"). Communicants paid for the bread and wine through a collection basket after the Sacrament. Mission Festival was the big event of the year. And the elders fixed the gutters! They were, however, the people of God at St. Mark's in St. Charles - and they were our forefathers in the faith.

A Resident Pastor Provides Stability

In April of 1928, at the encouraging of its aging pastor, St. Mark's called its first resident pastor, the Rev. Wilbur Theiss. Immediately, new ideas flooded the fledgling congregation. A church paper was started, a Young People's Society organized and English hymnals purchased. Wednesday night Lenten services were begun in 1929 and Advent services in 1930.

Stewardship life was primitive in comparison with our contemporary Biblical emphasis on proportionate giving. The budget was divided by the number of members and each was told his share. The names and contributions of members were published annually. Two boxes hung at the church door to receive Sunday contributions.

In 1932, the congregation decided to build a parsonage for $5300. It couldn't afford the garage so two members donated the labor and materials. These buildings still stand at 105 S. Fourth Ave.

To read the Minutes of those years, one is struck by the fact that the major events in each year were the Mission Fair (in 1932 they had the Rev.Marmeduke Carter, a prominent black preacher who spoke excellent German) and the Picnic (which was generally held at the Paul Willing Farm). The major project each year seems to have been the varnishing of the church floor. The major concern seems to have been getting the organist to play something a little more sophisticated than hymn tunes.

In 1935 Pastor Theiss submitted his resignation because of financial problems and reasons of health. The voters tabled discussion on his resignation for two subsequent meetings. Apparently the real issue was that the minister had been conducting a photography business on the side to supplement his income. When it became apparent he would not give this up, the voters decided to ask him to leave.

In October of 1935, the congregation extended a call to the Rev. Edgar Pflug. He was to be paid $85 per month with $5 additional for each child. Pastor Pflug accepted the call, but stayed only three years. During his pastorate, German services were dropped in place of a German communion service offered five times a year. The newsletter was replaced by an every Sunday bulletin, a bell and tower were added to the church and on April 13, 1936, the congregation officially joined the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.

Attendance at Voters' Meetings was slight even in those days so Pastor Pflug volunteered to speak each time before the meeting on some timely topic. His first topic was "Why We Cannot Join the Lodge."

In June of 1938, Pastor Pflug received and accepted a Call to St. Paul's, Grand Crossing, Chicago. He was given a "pieceful (sic) release."

War Years Provide Challenge for German Lutherans

The congregation then called the Rev. E. L. Burgdorf of Washington Springs, South Dakota. His salary was $175 a month. He seems to have had difficulty with the German language because he told St. Mark's Voters on one occasion that he declined a Call to Niles, Illinois, because of the German work. In any case, in 1941, the German Communions were dropped with the provision that anyone who insisted on his ministry in German would have to have it privately. Another reason for dropping German may have had to do with the War.

The big issue during Pastor Burgdorf's ministry was the War. A letter still extant in the records shows that he found it important to justify the war for his people, explaining that Christians were to be subject to the decisions of the government. Each May 10th was Army-Navy Day when collections were taken for ministry to servicemen. The July 10, 1944, Minutes reflect the voters' concern to have a service of thanksgiving as soon as peace was declared.

Another big issue during Burgdorf's nine year ministry concerned music. The congregation sold its old pump organ for $50 and purchased a onemanual electronic organ. They decided to have non-stop door collections on Sundays to pay for it. Another idea was to offer organ concerts every second Sunday during the winter months with the stipulation that no guest organist was to be paid more than $3. (The regular organist was paid $1 per Sunday). In 1941, the Missouri Synod published its new hymnal. The congregation debated whether it should buy these. Being used to the old German hymnal with text only and no music they voted not to buy them unless they could get such an edition. Finally, they relented and purchased the new hymnals on Jan. 25, 1942. (Through continuing rebinding, many of these hymnals are still In use).

In 1944, the congregation decided to allow mixed communion (men and women could go to the communion rail together). They also sought to remove the parsonage from the tax rolls by deomonstrating that official acts took place in it. The most important issues were yet to come, however. On Jan. 17, 1943, St. Mark's became self-supporting, and on Jan. 13, 1947 the last installment on the congregation's indebtedness was paid. An attempt was made to start a consolidated Christian Day School with Batavia but this seemed to fail for lack of support in Batavia.

There was also some initiative to start a Building Fund but this was tabled meeting after meeting. The congregation did agree in 1947 to buy a book on church design and architecture (perhaps to passify those Interested).

The pressures of his ministry got to Pastor Burgdorf and he submitted a letter from his doctor saying he needed 6-12 weeks leave of absence. This was granted but by the end of the leave he had a Call to Trinity, Marseilles, Illinois, which he accepted.

He was replaced by the Rev. Alexander Pfotenhauer of Monroe, Michigan. His salary was now $200 per month with $15 for car expense. The organist now received $3 per Sunday and the custodian $15 per month.

One of Pastor Pfotenhauer's first tasks assigned by the Voters was to go and tell members of the Moose belonging to the congregation that they would have to decide between one or the other. Another stern decree came from the voters on April 11, 1949: "Only Lutheran music rendered by Missouri Synod Lutherans will be allowed in our church for weddings and funerals,"

In 1950, the congregation celebrated it's 25th Anniversary, completely ignoring the years of the congregation's existence prior to 1925. Pfotenhauer received and accepted a Call to Trinity, Alma, Missouri in 1951.

Congregational Growth Presses it toward new Horizons

The Rev. Wilbur Zielke left St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Mt. Prospect to become the new pastor in St. Charles on August 26,1951. Already since the time of Rev. Burgdorf, there had been talk of building and building funds. A committee had been established but not a lot had happened. Now, under Zielke's leadership, the congregation began to act. The Building Committee reported that a church could be built for $75,000 and they could get $25,000 for the old property. Then in 1953, the old Methodist Church became available and the congregation voted to bid $35,000 for it. Somewhat confused as to what they really wanted to do, the congregation withdrew its bid and instead, on Jan. 11, 1954, purchased land on 7th and Gray on the west side of St. Charles. They paid $7000 for the land and hired an architect to design a contemporary modified gothic building.

By May 10th, however, the old Methodist Church and parsonage had been offered to the Lutherans as a gift by Col. E. J. Baker on behalf of the Methodist congregation in St. Charles. Col. Baker had been approached by St. Mark's for a low interest loan for the building project the congregation envisioned so he was aware of their need. The gift changed everything. The congregation accepted it without, however, commiting itself to using the building as its permanent future home.

On Oct. 18, Pastor Zielke announced that he had received a Call to Trinity, Lansing, Illinois, and he was granted a peaceful release.

St. Mark's began the calling process once again and after four attempts the Call was accepted by the Rev. Herbert Relschauer of Flint, Michigan, in June of 1955. He lived for a time in the parsonage which came with the gift of the Methodist Church. The building was in bad repair, however, so on July 26, the congregation bought the Bagge estate on the corner of Fifth and Illinois for $30,000, and the Reischauers moved in.

The sale of the old church property at auction was authorized for a minimum bid of $22,500 and the Salvation Army offered such a bid on June 27, 1955. It was the beginning of an era of buying and selling, building and moving buildings.

The new church was a gift but it needed a lot of work. It had a 1919 tracker pipe organ, but such items were not prized in those days especially when the congregation was looking for space and trying to create a Lutheran atmosphere in a Methodist building. It accepted an are chitect's proposal to remove the organ and place it over the overflow in an especially constructed chamber - and to use the former organ chamber for a chancel. The cost was to be $5000. Estimates from the Schlicker Organ Company ran much higher and the congregation finally opted to discard the pipe organ and buy an Allen Electronic Organ for $10,490. Four months later, they authorized the expenditure of $41,000 for remodeling the interior of the church.

That was just the beginning. In Oct. of 1958, they remodeled the overflow into six Sunday School classrooms at a cost of $1278. Four years later, the congregation purchased the Degenhart property to the East of the church for $42,000. Now the entire block was in the hands of the congregation. The intention was that the new property would be used for an educational facility. With this beginning, three years later, in 1965, the congregation voted 126-4 to hire the architects to begin the design on the new building and to dispose of the old parsonage whose place it would take. Percentage-wise, given the number of members and the costs of the time, it was a period of staggeringly large financial outlay in the congregation's history (and that at a time when 42 communicants left to form the new Missouri Synod congregation in Geneva).

Many new programs were started during Pastor Reischauer's time. Since the pastor did some work on the side for the Ft. Wayne Stewardship Program, he used that approach intensively at St. Mark's. A new recordkeeping system was begun, still in use today. A secretary was hired, minutes for congregation meetings were now typed, the tradition of the midnight Christmas Eve service was begun, and the 6th-8th grade confirmation program was initiated. The land which the congregation still owned on the West side of town was now sold (July, 1957), individual communion service was offered, a Deaconess intern served the congregation for a year (present member Jan Yung) and in 1965, Robert Schaeffer was assigned from Concordia, River Forest, as St. Mark's Director of Christian Education (DCE).

A significant contribution to the church at large was made during this era when Bill Fisher of St. Mark's served on the Board of Directors of the newly proposed church camp, WALCAMP, and was instrumental in securing the property for the camp. The main building at Walcamp is named after Bill Fisher and the sound system ($900) was a gift of St. Mark's. The meeting at which the decisive vote to found WALCAMP was cast also took place at St. Mark's.

On Oct. 26, 1965, Pastor Reischauer and his wife resigned to become houseparents in a half-way house in Valparaiso, Indiana.

The Rev. Kenneth Jenks now arrived on Jan. 16, 1966, to preside over the building of the new Education-Recreation facility. Completed at a cost of $250,000, it was dedicated early in 1970. In order to raise the funds for the building (the complaint was that only 25 out of 180 giving units were regularly giving to the Building Fund), the congregation for the first time employed an outside fund-raiser, H.P. Demand.

In 1967, St. Mark's DCE, Bob Schaeffer, decided to go to the seminary to study for the pastoral ministry. He had served as organist as well as a leader in the areas of youth and education.

While Pastor Jenks was at St. Mark's the first picture directory was published, The Studios of Potente of Kenosha, Wisconsin, were hired to decorate the church for $3,500 (later to be hired to design the new church chancel), and at a congregation meeting with a vote of 15-3, woman sufferage passed on Dec. 8,1969. Norma Behrle was the first woman to place a motion in the 62 years of St. Mark's history to that date.

Financial problems continued to pose some difficulty. The congregation voted in 1970 to pay missions and charities first - and have faith that the rest of the bills would be paid. It was a policy the congregation would continue for the next ten years.

On November 1, 1970, Pastor Jenks accepted a Call to North Dakota and the congregation started its calling process all over again.

Old Buildings Razed to Give Way to New

The first Call was extended to the Rev. David Zersen of Midlothian, Il., who was installed on March 3, 1971. The actual balance in the treasury was $1.75.

Among the early projects during Pastor Zersen's ministry were the beginning of a pre-marital counseling program for those to be married, the completion of a new Constitution with a Board of Directors structure, the funding of a Church Library, and the production of a monthly church newsletter, Insight (named by Elsa Chinel). A VBS for Mentally Handicapped led to a special Sunday School Department for the same and to St. Mark's providing the classrooms for the Mid-Valley Special Education Cooperative before the Mades-Johnstone Center was built.

Additional programs which brought new approaches to the congregation were the Kennedy Evangelism program, the Concordia Sex Education Program, the Pre-Communion Mini-Retreats and the Loyalty Sunday approach to stewardship which was introduced in 1971 as well as the Personal Interview approach which was introduced ten years later.

In 1972, the congregation called a Youth Worker, Kathy Behnke, to develop an active youth ministry in the congregation. When three years later she married a son of the congregation, Dean Brown, a DCE from River Forest, took her place on July 17, 1975.

In spring of 1974, Pastor Zersen reflected on the closing of Mt. St. Mary's Academy in St. Charles and decided it would be a good place for a Lutheran High School. He presented his ideas to the congregation and was encouraged to pursue the matter. Through the auspices of the Lutheran High School Association of Chicago, he was able to involve other Valley congregations in the project. Pastor Zersen served as the Chairman of the Council at Valley Lutheran for the first 3 1/2 years of its history.

Because of the growth of the congregation, the congregation authorized a Committee to study the traffic patterns within the building on Sunday morning and to make recommendations to the congregation. This committee evolved into the Architectural Committee which on June 22, 1975, received authorization from the congregation to spend $5000 for an architectural study. On Nov. 20, the Committee (Kingsley, Freiny, Chramer, Schneider and Streccius) proposed that the congregation demolish their present facility, move the apartment on the Deganhart property and build an entirely new facility for a cost of $450,000. On April 21, 1977, the congregation authorized the Committee to sign the contracts for the project. A bond issue was floated to raise money for the project in the amount of $450,000 and an additional $70,000 was borrowed to complete the facility.

To replace Dean Brown who had left in 1976, the congregation called for the first time in its history a second pastor, James Hughes, from Minneapolis. Hughes was ordained and installed at St. Mark's on the second Sunday in March, 1978.

1970's and 1980's Ministry

Other programs established during Zersen's pastorate were two sponsorship programs for Vietnamese refugees, a year's emphasis on world hunger which raised $5000 for the cause, the establishment of a Mission Site Committee with funding to parent a new mission to the West of St. Charles and the adopting of St. Matthew's Lutheran Church in Chicago as a sister congregation.

On Sept. 23, 1979, St. Mark's established the Nurturing Center, a Christian Pre-School for 3 and 4 year olds, with $4000 seed money. The first director-teacher was Donna Giles. The present director-teacher is Susan Davie assisted by Elaine Parker. On Dec. 7, 1980, the congregation voted to purchase a Zimmer tracker-action pipe organ for an estimated $150,000 (including balcony rennovation and consultant fees). The organ was installed February 20,1983.

In September of 1982, Pastor Zersen received a divine call to St. Luke Lutheran Church in Itasca, Illinois. He acepted the call and was installed as pastor of St. Luke in October, 1982. In November of 1982, Pastor Hughes also received a divine call to Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Glendale Heights, Illinois. He accepted the call and was installed as pastor of Good Shepherd in February, 1983. St. Mark's then began the call process and on June 6,1983 extended a call to Rev. Reuben C. Baerwald of Hanover Park, Illinois. Pastor Baerwald accepted the call and was installed on November 6, 1983 as new pastor of St. Mark's Lutheran Church.

St. Mark's continues to be a growing congregation with many opportunities for service and growth. During the last ten years the congregation has doubled in size. It's physical facilities have also doubled. As the congregation steps into the future under the blessings of Almighty God, may we continue to go forth as disciples of Christ and serve our fellowmen in His name.

1987 Update

This was appended to the 1987 Narrative titled "building St. Mark's Church"

In October of 1982, Pastor Zersen received a call from St. Lukes Lutheran Church in Itasca, IL. Pastor Zersen accepted that call.

In February of 1983, Pastor Hughes received and accepted a call from Good Shephard Lutheran in Glendale Heights IL.

The two accepted calls left St. Marks vacant. Pastor Davison performed the vacancy tasks until November 15, 1983. Finally in this time frame, a call was extended to Pastor Rubin Baerwald. Pastor Baerwald accepted the call and was installed on November 6, 1983.

Chris Stewart was extended a call to be the Director of Christian Education (DCE) during 1985. Chris accepted the call and was installed September 15, 1985.

In 1986, Bob Acterberg accepted a call to teach in Michigan. Bob's wife Kathy had been the organist, while Bob had directed the choirs. Bob accepted that call, and immediately a search was begun to find a director of music. Sharon Werning was extended an offer to be one-half time Director of Music. Sharon accepted the offer, and was installed in that post in August of 1986.