Last month I gave a small introduction to the start of the celebration of the founding of our church. This month, I will be sharing some insight as to how the worship life of the congregation was at that time, compared to how it is now. Most of this information is readily available for reading in our church library in pamphlets entitled “God With Us At Immanuel”, written by Pastor August J. Bueltmann, in 1960 for the 110th anniversary celebration.
Settlers of land in Frankfort Township had been coming from Europe for a number of years already in the mid-century 1800's, and when 37-year-old Pastor Anton August Weyel was ordained and installed in Zion congregation in October, 1849 at Crete, Illinois, his appointment as missionary to Will County was his first priority. He located Lutheran families in Frankfort Township and decided to assist them in organizing a congregation. He moved here in May of 1850 and by November 4, 1850, the congregation was born. A location for the church was secured and a building was erected on two acres of donated pasture. It lasted there for 26 years before being replaced. Pastor Weyel served as the first in-residence pastor. His 4 to 5-person family lived in the church building, but they left in 1852 for another call in Indiana. (Twenty-one years later, in 1871, a legal indenture points out that the original owner was given $8 for the originally “donated” two acres.)
For the next 12 years, Immanuel-On-The-Hill, as the church was now known, shared pastors with other congregations in the area. Unfortunately, the new Pastor, Friedrich Richter, who started in May of 1864, left in October 1865, leaving Immanuel without a resident pastor for the next 52 years. Rich Township, Seden Prairie and Bachelor’s Grove shared pastors with Immanuel until Pastor Elias Hieber from Seden Prairie came to Immanuel every second Sunday for the next 42 years!
In 1877 a new church was built on the property next to the original building, which was then converted to a school building and pastoral office, where he received communion announcements. You might ask what “communion announcements” were. Pastor Hieber held a worship service once a month. Communion was held only two or three times each year. It was the custom for people to go to the pastor and announce their intention for attending the next communion service. It was the pastor’s decision, after conversing and asking questions concerning the spiritual health of the parishioner, to decide if they were eligible to receive communion or not. On a given Sunday service, fathers and sons sat on the right-side pews. Young men sat in a group, usually on the right toward the front. Women and daughters sat on the left-side pews. This arrangement continued even after the congregation moved into Mokena in 1916.
Pastor Hieber received a major salary from Seden Prairie. For his work at Immanuel, he received an additional $100. In addition, he was given meat, vegetables, eggs, etc., but these were taken for granted and not specifically mentioned or required. In his lifetime at Immanuel, Pastor Hieber had 2 wives and 22 children.
Did I mention that the organist received $1 per year from every voting member, which would have been every adult male?