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The History of St. James Lutheran Church

Howard Lake, Minnesota

The beginnings of a pioneer congregation brought excitement and hardships, hopes and hard work. During the 1860's this part of the country was covered with a dense forest, where wild game abounded and the Indian roamed. In the last century during the immense emigration from Europe to America stalwart Germans came to this area and settled in the midst of the "Big Woods," making their homes in log cabins built with their own hard work and determination. Very soon traveling missionaries followed, visiting the settlers, baptizing their children and establishing mission stations. Services were held in the homes of settlers near Dutch Lake in Victor Township. In this frontier era the pioneer work of the traveling missionary was performed in this area by pastors with the names of Fachtmann, Horst, Emmele, Jahn, Both, Fisher, and Boesche.

As a result of this mission work, St. James Lutheran Church of Howard Lake came into existence. At first, divine services were held in a school house south of Dutch Lake. A young graduate of the St. Louis Seminary named Pastor Friedrich Boesche walked over from Hollywood Township, Carver County, to conduct worship services among the Germans in Victor Township. The ministry records of St. John's Lutheran Church, Hollywood Township, include official acts performed at Howard Lake by Pastor Boesche. From the German translation we find that 163 baptisms, 10 marriages, and 8 burials (7 of which were children), but no confirmations were recorded for this area. Eventually, this made the need for a resident pastor very apparent.

The congregation of St. James Lutheran Church was organized December 2, 1872; however the first available record is from December 8, 1875, when it was resolved to incorporate the congregation. As is seen from the first existing minutes of the congregational meetings of St. Jacobi (the German name for St. James), the Reverend John Herzer of Minneapolis was present and assisted the congregation in drafting the constitution and the articles of incorporation. Under his leadership these Articles of Incorporation were filed in the Courthouse at Buffalo, Minnesota, December 10, 1875.

From its beginning this young congregation began preparing for the future. Even before the church was incorporated, the St. James Lutheran church cemetery was established on October 27, 1871. A deed for the original cemetery plot on Dutch Lake was recorded in the courthouse at Buffalo, Minnesota, indicating that Michael Cesar and his wife Rosina had transferred some land for the use of the "Lutheran Society of Victor and State of Minnesota for Church and cemetery purposes." The cemetery is still located there and was enlarged in 1943 by the purchase of land from William Eddy, Sr.

Around the time of the church’s incorporation in 1875 Mr. F. Wildung arranged to provide the congregation with a lot for a church. He purchased the present lot from Charles and Chloe Goodsell for one hundred dollars and then donated it to the congregation. It is because of Mr. Wildung’s generosity that the first church was built in 1878 in the city of Howard Lake rather than in Victor Township next to the church’s cemetery on Dutch Lake. Throughout this time, Pastor Friedrich Boesche of Hollywood, Carver County served the congregation.

In the fall of 1879 Reverend F.H. Kolbe of Green Isle, Minnesota was called to be the first full-time pastor. He ministered among God's elect for 28 years from 1879 to 1907. In addition to his duties as pastor of the church, Pastor Kolbe did the work of a traveling missionary in the surrounding areas of Howard Lake. Pastor Kolbe held services in Winsted and Corinna Township, which is northeast of Annandale. Pastor Kolbe began a school, teaching confirmation and German. For the first two years of his pastorate a house was rented for him and his family. Then in 1883 a house was purchased at a cost of 850 dollars to serve as the parsonage. Pastor Kolbe’s salary was 250 dollars a year, and each member was to furnish him with one-half cord of split firewood.

With the continued growth of St. James Lutheran congregation, the church edifice also needed to be expanded. The seating capacity of the church was enlarged in 1888 by adding a balcony. The following year, a church steeple was erected. In 1898 the first school building was built, measuring 20x40x10. The membership had grown to 620 souls with 357 communicant members so that the old house of worship was much too small to hold all the worshipers, and the congregation resolved to build a larger church. In 1903 the present, beautiful and imposing church edifice, which is still the most impressive structure in Howard Lake today, was completed. We now look back and marvel at the vision our church fathers had that they built so large and so well. Over 100 years later we still have a beautiful place to gather for worship. This new building was dedicated with impressive ceremonies on Sunday, August 30th, 1903. Pastor F.H. Kolbe and visiting clergymen advanced in a solemn procession to the beautiful altar, followed by the congregation which filled the new church to capacity. On the day of dedication the church’s membership was 112 families, 104 voting members, 475 communicants, and 750 souls—with expectation for continued growth.

In 1907 Reverend Ernest Robert succeeded Pastor F.H. Kolbe as pastor of St. James Lutheran Church. Reverend Robert served the congregation for only four years, but it was during his rather short pastorate that the congregation paid off the indebtedness of the church.

Reverend A.L. Oetjen of St. Paul, Minnesota was called to be pastor of the congregation in 1911. It was during his pastorate that great strides were made concerning Christian education. Up until then the Pastors had been teaching the children religion and German reading and writing. In 1918 the congregation passed the resolution to establish a regular Christian day school. In that same year a large brick school building was erected with Amalia List serving as the first teacher. As the school prospered under the blessing of God, the congregation called Mr. Henry Miller as principal in 1920. The principal’s duties also included serving as organist, leader of the choir, and church secretary, taking voters’ meeting minutes in both English and German.

In the spring of 1925 Reverend C.G. Seltz succeeded Pastor A.L. Oetjen as shepherd of the church. The Sunday School was begun by him, and the program continues in the present day, educating children concerning the ways of the Lord. The Lutheran School was so successful that Reverend C.G. Seltz would write, on the 50th anniversary of the church, that the school boasted 71 pupils. In 1938 the Reverend Eugene Seltz was given the call to become the Associate Pastor. It was through the efforts of Pastor Eugene Seltz that the congregation decided to join the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod in 1944. Up until that time St. James was an Independent Lutheran Church, although St. James had always been served by pastors educated in Missouri Synod seminaries. This dynamic father and son preaching team worked together until 1944 when the Reverend Eugene Seltz entered the Merchant Marines to work with military intelligence.

In 1945 Reverend Theodore Melinat accepted the call of the congregation and came here from Morristown, Minnesota. During his pastorate, a chapter of the Lutheran Laymen’s League was started in 1947. The congregation was growing in size, and with the rising enrollment of St. James Lutheran School it became evident that more space was needed to educate the congregation’s children. The middle addition of the school was dedicated in 1952. The cost of the so-called "1952 addition" was kept within the budget due to the hard work of many gifted volunteers. There were also many generous donation given at the church’s 75^th Anniversary celebration aiding in retiring the debt. In January of 1957 Pastor Melinat accepted a call to Dolton, Illinois, leaving the congregation to search for his replacement.

A special meeting of the church was held on February 18, 1957 at which the congregation voted to call Pastor G.C. Michael, Sr. from Hankinson, North Dakota. For the next 28 years the Reverend G.C. Michael, Sr. would shepherd God's people. During Pastor Michael's pastorate, God continued to bless St. James with growth in church membership and increased enrollment in the Christian Day School. Over the years that followed, many capital improvements were made. The front entry of the school was remodeled in 1958, the interior of the church was completely renovated in 1959, a new Verlinden organ installed, and a new heating system put in. Improvements continued: in 1966 the narthex was added to the front of the church, in 1967 the east end addition of the school was built, and in 1980 a church office was added to east end of the church.

It was in 1960 that Pastor Michael and his vicars started a daughter congregation in Litchfield, Minnesota. For the first two years, Immanuel Lutheran church held services in the Litchfield armory until a substantial church was built in 1962. For three years Pastor Michael labored to shepherd the church until Immanuel called their own pastor in 1963.

Throughout the 1950's and 1960's God continued to bless our church with growth. As a result of the increase in church membership, the church decided to enter the vicar program in 1961. For ten years the church was blessed with the opportunity to train young men for the ministry. Although, most of the vicars lived with members of the congregation, they had an office upstairs in the main parsonage next to the master bedroom. The vicars were responsible for youth work, hospital calls, shut-in calls, teaching seventh grade confirmation, teaching release time classes, and preaching at least once a month. The following served St. James as vicars: Guy Vogel 1961-1962, Nolan Bremer 1962-63, James Gerken 1963-64, James Hallerberg 1964-1965, Charles Pieplow 1965-1966, Dane Compton 1966-1967, Eldon Tieje 1967-1968, Lawrence Carlson 1968-1969, Charles Kramer 1969-1970, and Stephen Streufert 1970-1971. In 1972 the congregation decided to end the vicar program and call a second pastor. In 1973, Gary Lodholz, a graduate of Concordia Seminary, was assigned to our congregation. Upon his acceptance of a call in May of 1977 , Pastor Rick Buhrke, also a graduate of Concordia Seminary, was assigned here. After his leaving in October of 1981, Velmer Goebel, a colloquy student was assigned to St. James. He served one year as a vicar and was ordained and installed at St. James as an Associate Pastor November, 21, 1982. Pastor Goebel received a call in December of 1983 and left for Medicine Lodge, Kansas.

In June of 1985 after 28 years of service Dr. G.C. Michael, Sr. gave his farewell sermon to the congregation. While in retirement Pastor Michael has continued to serve by preaching on occasion and making visitations when asked. At age 87 he served as vacancy pastor for Bethlehem Lutheran Church of Middleville Township and on January 17, 1999, he honored our congregation on his 91^st birthday by delivering the dedication sermon for the school’s new addition.

Reverend William A. Schultz from Immanuel Lutheran Church of Queens, New York, accepted a call in 1985 to become the next Senior Pastor. Under his leadership the church invested in many technological improvements. The church office was updated with a photo copy machine, computers, and air conditioning was installed. During Pastor Schultz's tenure the church decided to call a Director of Christian Education (DCE). In 1986 David Garms was called from Concordia College St. Paul, Minnesota to serve St. James as a DCE. He worked with the youth group, the Sunday School, and led the Board of Parish Education. In 1988 the congregation decided to call a second pastor and cease the DCE position.

Pastor Schultz also served with two Assistant Pastors, who were called to aid with the sizable ministry of St. James. The first assistant was Pastor Arthur Bode, who was called in 1988 from Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The Assistant Pastor’s responsibilities included visiting shut-ins, teaching seventh grade confirmation in the Christian Day School, and making hospital visits. In 1991 Pastor Bode left to accept a call in Michigan. The second assistant pastor was Pastor Michael Nirva, who was called in 1991 from Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana.

When Pastor William Schultz accepted a call to another congregation in 1993, Pastor Nirva became vacancy pastor and was extended the call to become Associate Pastor of St. James Lutheran Church. After a period of time the call was extended to Pastor Nirva to become Senior Pastor of the Church and Pastor Martin Schoenfeld was called from Concordia Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri in 1995 to become Assistant Pastor.

As the influence of St. James continues to expand, particularly in Christian education, the facilities of the church have expanded. In January of 1999 a new addition to the school, which includes a fellowship hall, two classrooms, two locker rooms, a kitchen, a conference room, a storage room, and an 80x46 foot basketball court was dedicated. All in all, some 12,350 square feet were added to the school and provide a meeting place for various school and church functions.

The history of St. James reflects that the labors of the pastors and the members have not been in vain. The little group that organized the congregation and was served by Pastor Boesche has grown into a large congregation. Many who were educated and trained in our congregation have moved elsewhere and have become active members in sister congregations. Others, who have moved here, have been blessed in their membership in our midst. Truly God has blessed us, and we have good reason to rejoice.

As we enter the 21^st century, let us go on abounding in the work of the Lord. We will need to let our own lights shine, just as the cross at the top of our steeple shines at night for all those who look to it.

This is the history of the Church of St. James, it is your history, and it is your future. “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”