Jun 27, 2026 By Brad Hundt 4 min read

Aside from being a reformer and nailing his “95 Theses” to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, in 1517, Martin Luther was also a composer.

Among the hymns he created are “Flung to the Heedless Winds,” “From Heaven Above to Earth I Come” and “A Mighty Fortress is Our God,” the latter of which remains a favorite in the churches that bear Luther’s name half a millennium later.

The Rev. Robert Grewe, who leads the First Lutheran Church in Washington, thinks of “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” when he ponders the building his congregation has called its home for the last 100 years.

“It’s a solid looking church,” said Grewe, who has been the pastor at First Lutheran Church since 2015. The brownstone, Gothic building on the corner of Walnut and Franklin streets was dedicated 100 years ago this week after a year of construction and a cost of $200,000 – $3.7 million in 2026 dollars.

“Familes remortgaged their homes for this church to be built,” Grewe said recently in his office. “It’s humbling to me as a pastor to see how strong the faith was in how this church was built.”

First Lutheran Church is one of about 20 Lutheran congregations in Washington County and it has endured through decades of change in the community it serves and in society at large. It is unique among churches in the county for the fact that it has a vault beneath its altar that holds the remains of 373 people. They had been interred in what was called the Old German Graveyard, which had been located nearby. Original gravestones from the cemetery line the walls of the crypt.

The First Lutheran Church has had a presence in Washington since 1781, when land was purchased on Walnut, North Franklin and Spruce streets for a Lutheran meeting house and a log school for the children of German emigrants. It moved into another structure on Beau and Franklin streets in 1885, but outgrew it within a little more than 30 years. Until the 1870s, the church’s services were solely in German, but then separate services were created, one in German and the other in English.

The church’s congregation moved into the building after seven years of meeting at the Washington County Courthouse. A community night on June 22, 1926, to mark the opening of the church had Scripture readings, hymns, prayers and greetings from representatives of other Christian denominations in Washington. A little more than 40 years later, an education wing was added.

“It is a living house of worship, but also a museum in many ways,” Grewe explained.

They still use the original pipe organ, and the stained-glass windows that were put in place in the 1920s are still there, though some are bowing and in need of repair, simply due to the toll that time takes. It will be “a monumental project that is going to cost a great amount of money,” the pastor said.

Over the last year, memorabilia has been collected from members of the church for a celebration of the building’s 100th anniversary. On June 21, there was a service marking the occasion followed by a catered luncheon.

Sandy Mansmann, president of the board of the Washington County History and Landmarks Foundation, said she doesn’t think there is another brownstone church in Washington County, and that its congregation is “very supportive, enthusiastic and faithful.”

Like many churches in mainline denominations, First Lutheran Church has faced challenges when it comes to attendance, especially in the years after the COVID-19 pandemic. Grewe said there are about 90 active members of the church, and they keep it going.

“There’s still life in a 100-year-old church,” he explained. “It will continue on. Faith will continue on.”