History of the
Lutheran Church in Meridian,
by Elizabeth Abel
Lutherans first held services in America on the banks of Hudson Bay in 1619. It took awhile, but they finally migrated south. The earliest official records show that Lutherans were in Meridian in 1894. The nineties were a time for change and Meridian was a growing town. The dedicated Lutherans banded together and started a Lutheran congregation. Their services were held at the Old City Hall and were conducted by Pastor Roberts. He came from Mobile, Alabama where there was a Missouri Synod Lutheran Church. Pastor Roberts served this faithful group from 1894 until 1899. During this time Grover Cleveland and William McKinley were Presidents of the United States. Gold was discovered in Alaska. Great progress was being made in transportation commerce and industry. Meridian was a rail center and had cotton mills and garment factories and lumber yards. The country seemed in a prosperous state when the astonishing news came of the sinking of the U.S. Battleship "Maine" at Havana, and war was declared on Spain. Peace came swiftly.
The Gold Standard was adopted in 1900. In that year Pastor Meihbom came to shepherd the Meridian Lutherans and stayed until 1904. New Orleans sent Pastor Beidermann, and he served from 1905 until 1907.
Meridian was changing with the times. Automobiles were sputtering on the roads and the telephone was linking us like an umbilical cord to the rest of the nation. Theodore Roosevelt was president, succeeded by William Howard Taft. The Wright Brothers and other pilots and inventors were busy improving the airplane. There are no records of the activities of the Lutherans of Meridian during this time. Bell Telephone, DuPont, General Electric and other industrial companies were hard at work providing us with the good life.
World War I came and many Meridian men served gallantly. During the war years from 1916 until 1919, Pastor Bruss from Enterprise and Tibbie Station Alabama served the Meridian Congregation. There is no record of the actual number of Lutherans attending services that were held at the Presbyterian Church.
As Meridian grew, so did the Lutheran congregation. Pastor Hy Gabriel came to Meridian as the congregations first resident pastor. He served from 1920 until 1924 when Pastor Wm. J.H. Wedig replaced him. The congregation was still unorganized but their faith held them together.
The twenties radio, the refrigerator, the vacuum cleaner were all becoming a part of everyday life. The government sought to impose morality by prohibiting the manufacture or sale of intoxicating beverages. Once again New Orleans gave us a pastor on a part-time basis. Pastor Milton Bonn came once a month to guide the Meridian Lutherans. Economic, social and political disturbances beset the world. The pall of the depression was felt everywhere. In 1935 the Meridian congregation came under the pastorate of Pastor Ed A. Krause from Jackson, Mississippi.
Most of his work in Meridian was done through pastoral letters due to the number of stations he was serving. The first real attempt to establish a permanent congregation in Meridian began in 1939. Pastor Krause was a motivating influence. A "Mission Society" was formed by the ladies. Finally, the faithful Lutherans of Meridian became an organized congregation. They adopted the name "The Bethlehem Lutheran Congregation". Their officers were F.K.Stennis,President; Carl Heiden, Vice President; Mrs.Merton Eames, Secretary-Treasurer. Meridian had grown to a large town having a population of 40,000.
Once again the world was engaged in armed conflict. Key Field was activated as a Third Air Force Training Center and the station complement had Lutherans, who with their families, worshipped with Meridian "Bethlehem Lutheran Congregation". Pastor Mueller served the faithful at this time. The Lutherans increased their tangible assets. A reading stand was furnished by the Beckmans and the Altar cloth was made by the women of the church and the Jackson congregation furnished the Crucifix. These things were proof of the earnestness of the people who wanted to continue to have Lutheran services in Meridian.
World War II was in full progress. Women took to wearing slacks in the streets, old tooth paste tubes had to be turned in for new ones, rationing of various commodities began and Bob Hope endeared himself to millions by entertaining the troops. Despite the heartbreaks of the war, the living standard advanced rapidly. In 1943 the District Finance Committee, for the first time, placed upon the congregation a set figure for the coming year. God had blessed the congregation and they were able to fulfill their obligations. Pastor Mueller served until 1945 and was succeeded by Pastor Wm. Wedig, Jr. The first constitution was drawn up by Pastor Wedig and approved by the Synod in 1948. The group adopted the name of Christ and changed their name to Christ Lutheran Congregation. Earl W. Zamzow was President.
Victor Lockhaus pastored Christ Lutheran in 1950 and 1951 and for the first time the Lutherans were able to hold church services on Sundays. In 1955 the church moved to a barrack at Key Field and got its second resident minister, the Reverend Arnim Polster. During his pastorate, the church constructed its first church building which was located at 20th Street and 36th Avenue. Dedication services were held January 20,1957 with the Executive Secretary, Southern District LCMS Rev O.H. Runboth as guest speaker. Services were now held regularly with Sunday School at 9:30 and worship services at 10:30.
The Fifties saw the close of the Korean War but with the sixties came the Vietnam conflict and unrest among the youth of the land. Despite these disturbances, the country prospered and Christ Lutheran grew. Pastor Walter Schindehette served from, 1960 until 1968. In 1966 the constitution was revised. Construction was begun on the new church building located on Highway 39 and dedication services were held on May 26,1968. McCain Field Naval Air Station was built and over the years many Naval personnel and their families worshipped and gave dedicated service to the church.
During the sixties, two other Lutheran congregations came into being. The Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Meridian started as a mission in the Black community. The Southern District, LCMS purchased a church for the mission. Our Savior Lutheran Church in Butler, Alabama started when the American Can Company moved a group of Lutheran employees from Wisconsin to Butler. They organized a congregation in 1964. They rented from the Presbyterian Church. It was also dusing this time that the local Jewish Temple was burned down and Christ Lutheran invited their congragation to use our church for worship while they built a new Temple.The 2 candelabra in the sanctuary were a gift grom their congregation to ours.
By 1969 Pastor Weise was serving the three congregations. Each congregation was unique in make-up of its membership and in opportunities to serve the Lord and community, each congregation had its own budget. Expenses that applied to all three were divided on a percentage basis. Constitutional changes were made in 1972. Pastor Weise served until 1976 when, as our nation was celebrating its Bicentennial, Pastor Thomas Fields came to shepherd the Tri-Parish congregation. He and his family had their own home so the church sold the parsonage and the proceeds were used to reduce the mortgage on the Sanctuary. The parking lot was paved and a wheelchair ramp installed at the entrance to the church. Pastor Fields was called to Denver, Colorado in 1983 and Pastor Anderson came in 1984. He came as a vicar and was ordained while serving our church. We had a mortgage burning in October 1984. Pastor Anderson left in 1985. We were a Tri-parish for a number of years but it was decided to become independent. Pastor Benke was called as the Pastor of Good Shepard and Our Savior.
Pastor Larry Davis answered the call in January 1988 to become Chrit's pastor. In 1991 Pastor Lutz was ordained as Pastor of Good Shepard and Our Savior. After Pastor Davis left, Pastor Philip Wottrich accepted the call to be Christ Lutheran's Pastor in 1992.
Meridian Lutheran Churches Unite.
The members of Good Shepherd, Our Savior and Christ Lutheran Churches united to form Trinity Lutheran Church. Two predominately white churches and one predominately black church joined together in Christian love. It was an act of unity and reconciliation in the Meridian area. The plans for unification came about after Good Shepherd (of Meridian) and Our Savior (of Butler, AL) Lutheran Churches' pastor accepted another call and the churches examined how to best fulfill God's plan for the churches. Pastor Philip Wottrich of Christ Lutheran Church (of Meridian) accepted the call to be Good Shepherd's interim pastor. It was during this time that the churches decided that the Gospel of Jesus Christ would be best served by uniting the congregations. The congregations felt that during these times of racial divisions, church burning and other hate crimes, Christ's true Gospel of Love and Unity should be proclaimed and practiced as a witness to the healing power of Christ. The members are witnesses to the world that "There is neither Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. "(Gal3:28) --that all people black or white, native American, or Asian -- are equally loved by God and are members of His one Body. "It is our mission to share with all people that we are born as sinful people, that sin separates us from God, that in His love for us, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, as a sacrifice for sins, so that we are restored to God's presence forever." Stated Rev. Philip Wottrich, Pastor of Christ Lutheran Church and interim pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church.
The Charter Sunday of Trinity Lutheran Church was Sept. 15, 1996. A special celebration was held at 4:00 P.M. Lutheran leaders from around the south attended. Rev. Wottrich was installed as Pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church. Trinity Lutheran Church grew in Christ and decided to expand our ministry by expanding the church building. The Laborers for Christ led friends and members through the long building process until it was completed. A special thank you to the Laborers and the many willing hands and hearts that labored 100’s of hours for Christ’s ministry here at Trinity. Pastor Wottrich faithfully served the congregation until the Summer of 2005, when he was called to Holy Trinity in Covington, LA.
Pastor Harold Woodworth accepted the call to become Trinity’s interim pastor. Our thanks are also extended for the most recent additions of a basketball court and a playground for the younger members of Trinity. Thank you to our generous members and our friends from Michigan and their Katrina Relief mission.
Rev. Ken Boudreau was ordained and installed as the Pastor of Trinity, on Aug. 5, 2007. We paid off our building mortgage in Dec. 2015. We celebrated our 20th anniversary in 2016. We are looking forward to the next 20 years of sharing God's love with our neighbors. Pastor Ken accepted God’s call to Hope Lutheran Church in Hastings, MN in April, 2018.
A speacial thank you to Pastor Steve Koenig and Pastor James Hollowach who served Trinity as interim pastors during our call process.
May 23, 2019, Pastor Steven Mazzaferro accepted God's call to become the Pastor of Trinity.
Thank you to Meridian Classical School who added to our playgound.
Revised by Linda Abel
