First Lutheran Church prepares for 100th anniversary
First Lutheran Church in Washington is gearing up for its 100th anniversary in 2025.
The church at 92 W. Walnut St. will be celebrating its centennial next June and has a variety of events in the works to mark the milestone.
“We’ve been collecting different items from the different members of the church,” said Linda Coleman, chair of the 100th anniversary committee. “We plan to start in January with a display of this so the people can see it, check it out, see what we’ve done over the years, what we’ve accomplished.”
The celebration will be kicked off Aug. 10 at the church’s picnic at Lakemont Park.
“In the next year we hope to recognize people who have been here the longest, have church music of that period and, of course, compile a book with our history,” Coleman said. “We have a lot compiled up ’til the last 50 years, but we’ve had a lot happen in the last 50 years that we have to compile in this book.”
The celebration will culminate with a church service on the centennial anniversary, June 21, 2026, when members will be recognized. That service is expected to be attended by Bishop Dan Selbo, the third bishop of the North American Lutheran Church. A catered luncheon will follow.
The history of the First Lutheran Church spans more than 200 years. Early settlers from the German Lutheran Church and Pennsylvania Dutch Reformed Presbyterian Church sought a place of worship, meeting regularly in their homes for services. But 1798 is cited as when the church began, when the two groups sought “spiritual advice and comfort” at the home of Jacob Weuler. They became known as the German Lutheran and Presbyterian (Reformed) Congregation.
In 1842, the church was incorporated as the German Evangelical Lutheran and Reformed Church of the Borough of Washington. By the 1860s, the Reformed members of the congregation were absorbed into the Lutheran church and were no longer mentioned in church records.
The church also had multiple places of worship through the years, including the public meeting room of the Washington County Courthouse from 1919-26.
“The parish is quite unique,” said the Rev. Robert Grewe, pastor. “It started in 1798 in the back of a bakery. Lutherans gathered there. There’s been a Lutheran presence for over 250 years – small, because the Presbyterians were the largest group in the area because of the Scots and the Irish, but the German Lutherans came here, immigrated, worked hard and they moved from downtown from a wooden church to build this current building.”
The Rev. Frank C. Overly served as pastor as plans were made for a new building. However, he died in 1922.
The Rev. Harry B. Ernest resumed planning for the church, which was dedicated June 20, 1926.
Ernest is one of just four pastors at the church since, serving until 1949.
The Rev. Reginald Dozer served from 1950-78. The Rev. Kenneth Schott was associate pastor from 1971-73 before becoming pastor, a role he filled for 40 years until 2013. Grewe has been in the role since 2015.
“We’ve had three pastors (plus me) cover 100 years,” Grewe said. “That is unprecedented for a church to have pastors stay that long at one place.”
An unusual feature of the church is the crypt located underneath the altar. The vault was completed in September 1924 at a cost of $31,350, and the remains of 373 bodies were recommitted on Oct. 5, 1924, in small, individual caskets.
“This area was actually called the Old German graveyard,” Grewe said. “They had to re-inter all of the caskets and the bodies and the bones … We do have quite a few people buried in the vaults underneath the church, which is very unique.”
Parts of the church have remained intact throughout the 99 years at its current location. The original pipe organ is still in use, and the stained-glass windows have never been altered. The church even survived a lightning strike.
The roof was recently refurbished, and some masonry work done along with re-leading of the stained-glass windows.
A fundraiser is scheduled to raise money to help pay off the loans for that work. The Corny 5K & 1 Mile Run/Walk is planned for Aug. 16 at Claysville National Pike Church.
First Lutheran is among the churches affected by the COVID-19 pandemic with numbers dwindling, but the parish remained open, and about 70 to 80 people still attend regularly.
It is hoped the anniversary celebration will get people to return to the church.
Grewe came to the church from his native Canada. He and his wife will mark their third year as U.S. citizens on July 21.
“Southwestern Pennsylvania is very similar to where I grew up, not geographically, but the people are very kind. So, it wasn’t a big change for us to immigrate here and move here. It’s been a very humbling experience as a pastor. It is a very welcoming and warm congregation to be in.”
Sunday services are held at 10 a.m. from June through August, then shift to 11 a.m. from May through September.