Holy Cross Lutheran Church’s centenary starts a big year for the denomination
The newer of Murray Bridge’s two Lutheran churches, and Zion Lutheran Church at Monarto, are both turning 100 in 2025.
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It’s going to be a big centennial year for the Murray Valley Lutheran Community.
It began on Sunday, when the head of the Lutheran Church in Australia and a packed congregation celebrated the 100th anniversary of the laying of the foundation stone at Holy Cross in Murray Bridge.
Also present for Sunday morning’s service were about 20 descendants of the original building committee, including many whose families had remained part of the congregation throughout the past century.
They stood out on Florence Street after the service to pause for a photograph, standing where their ancestors had once stood.
Displays of historic memorabilia were put up inside the hall where worshippers gathered for lunch: a ceremonial trowel used at the laying of the foundation stone, minute books from the meetings of the building committee a century ago, and registers of all the baptisms and weddings held at the church, many written in German up until the mid-20th century.
It was important to celebrate milestones like these, organising committee member Annette Pearce said.
“It’s important to look at our heritage and acknowledge what our forefathers did,” she said.
“There’s so many people still here that are descendants.
“We need to keep our history alive.”
During the service, Bishop Paul Smith preached on the parable of the man who built his house on a rock, and the one who built on sand.
Holy Cross’ founders had built on a firm foundation, he said – one that ought to last another hundred years and more.
“What would the founders expect of us?” he asked.
“That we would faithfully pass (the faith) on, as they have to us.”
Murraylands’ Lutheran traditions go back to the 1880s
According to the church, around 20,000 Lutherans migrated from Prussia – now part of Germany – to South Australia in the mid-18th century, firstly because of persecution in their homeland, and later in search of a better life.
Monarto’s Lutherans began worshipping at each others’ homes during the 1870s: the properties of Friedrich Paech, Gottlob Frahn, Carl Schenscher, Joachim Schulz and August Faehrmann.
They built a school and a small church over the next decade or so.
Sources conflict on when the first Lutheran worship service was held in Murray Bridge – a history of Holy Cross suggested it was in 1900, while a history of the oldest local congregation, Christ Church Lutheran, suggested informal services had been held since the early 1880s.
The first Christ Church, a smaller stone structure which has since been replaced, opened in 1896.
The Holy Cross congregation was formed in 1903, and erected a small church building at the corner of Clara and McHenry Streets in 1909.
But by 1922 the need for something bigger had become clear, so it was on February 8, 1925 that the foundation stone was laid at Holy Cross.
The congregation by that time had grown from 44 to 291 souls, and the service they attended was given in two languages, with liturgy and a hymn in German.
Construction of Holy Cross would cost £3000, with work carried out by P.B. Pobke and P.V. Hansen.
Artefacts from Holy Cross' history are displayed at its centenary on Sunday, including a photo, centre, of original building committee members builder P.B. Pobke, architect A. Koehler, H. Hartmann, C. Schumann, E. Atkinson, Pastor J.F. Hansen and, inset, W. Thiele. Photos: Peri Strathearn.
Meanwhile, out at Monarto, a foundation stone was laid for a new Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church the following Sunday, February 15, for a congregation of 161.
A century later, the three congregations have become one Murray Valley Lutheran Community, carrying on the traditions of faith brought by their Prussian ancestors.
Sunday’s service was the first of four centenary events planned by the church community for 2025.
The Lutheran Church at Monarto will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the laying of its foundation stone this Sunday.
Both buildings were designed by the same architect and completed within a matter of months.
Events celebrating the opening of each building are in the early stages of being planned for later this year.
It has been a big week for Christian institutions on Florence Street, too – nearby St Joseph’s School also celebrated its centenary over the weekend.
- More information: Visit www.churchhistories.net.au, www.lca.org.au/our-history or sahistoryhub.history.sa.gov.au.
