St. Paul’s Lutheran Church began a
year-long celebration of its 150th anniversary on Sunday,
December 13, 2009. Dr. Dale A. Meyer (photo at left) was
the guest speaker at the 10:00 a.m. service held at our new
school site at 1780 Career Center Road in Bourbonnais.
Dr. Meyer is president of Concordia Seminary,
St. Louis, Missouri, and is nationally known for his 12 years
as speaker on the radio program “The Lutheran Hour” as
well as hosting the television show “On Main Street”.
Listen
to Dr. Meyers Kickoff Sunday Sermon Online...
A Year Long Series of Monthly 150th Anniversary
Sermon Sundays
We will be holding special services on the second
Sunday of each of the next 12 months when former pastors and other
special pastors will be coming to speak at the weekend services
held at 5:00 p.m. on Saturdays and at 8:30 and 11:05 a.m. on Sundays.
Please plan to attend and help us celebrate 150 years of St. Paul's
Lutheran!
August 7th and 8th Celebration Services
We
are looking forward to hearing Pastor Mark Peters return to preach
at our August special 150th anniversary services on the 7th and
8th. Pastor Peters served at St. Paul’s from 1991 to 1998.
He is a 1980 graduate of the Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and
came to Kankakee from Our Saviour Lutheran Church in Monticello,
Indiana. Upon leaving St. Paul’s, he moved to Faith Lutheran
in Lincoln, Illinois. He and his wife, Bonita, will be joined by
their children, Christy and her husband, Andrew, and John and his
wife, Jill, for the weekend. We are again planning a luncheon at
the Old Country Buffet at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, August 8th so we
will have a chance to visit with them..
150th Anniversary Book
Celebration Services
As part
of our celebration, we are having a commemorative history
book published. This book will chronicle the full story
of St. Paul’s Church and School, and its 144 pages
will be full of many black and white as well as color photos.
The attractive foil-stamped, hardcover book will not only
be informative and fun to look through, but will also look
great on your coffee table. Pre-Order and Save! Learn
More...
December
13, 2009 - Kickoff Festival Service Dr. Dale Meyer
- President, Concordia Seminary, St. Louis
January 10, 2010
- Celebrating 150 Years of Mission Ministry Rev.
David Bottorff - Former Pastor
February 14 -
Celebrating 150 Years of Music Ministry Rev. H.
Christopher Sheets - Senior Pastor
March 14 - Celebrating
150 Years of Youth Ministry Dr. Martin Haeger -
Former Pastor
April 4 - Celebrating
the Resurrection Rev. Karl Koeppen - Associate Pastor
May 9 - Special
Celebration Speaker Rev. Dan Gilbert - President,
Northern Illinois District L.C.M.S.
June 13 - Celebrating
150 Years of Church Fellowship Dr. Danny Tutwiler
- Confirmed at St. Paul’s Church
July 11 - Celebrating
150 years of Christian Citizenship Rev. Paul Mueller
- Former Pastor
August 8 - Celebrating
150 Years of Grace Rev. Mark Peters - Former Pastor
September 12 -
Celebrating 145 years of Christian Education Rev.
George Matranga - Former Pastor
October 10 - Celebrating
150 Years of Lutheran Heritage Rev. Donald Balgeman
- Graduate of St. Paul’s School
November 14 -
Celebrating 150 Years of the Glorification of God’s
Saints Rev. Neil Bockelmann - Former Pastor
December 12 -
Final Celebration Service Dr. Gerald Kieschnick
- President, Lutheran Church Missouri Synod
Did You Know???
St. Paul’s Lutheran Church was founded on December
9, 1859.
St. Paul’s first church was built on the corner of
North East Avenue and Chestnut Street. The cost of the lot
was $80.
St. Paul’s second church burned to the ground as a
result of a burning shingle blown from a major fire in Kankakee’s
business district several blocks away.
The three bells in the church steeple weigh a combined total
of 4,000 lbs. and are rung by hand before every service.
St. Paul’s Lutheran School opened the Kankakee area’s
first kindergarten in 1946.
ST. PAUL'S LUTHERAN CHURCH AND SCHOOL Church: 348 East Merchant Street, Kankakee, Illinois - Phone: 815-
932-0312
School: 1780 Career Center Road, Bourbonnais, IL - Phone: 815-932-3241
or 815-932-4462
