| Saint John Lutheran Church
History |
 Saint
John Lutheran began in 1952 as a mission of First
Lutheran Church, in the Ghent neighborhood of Norfolk,
when the Ocean View area was surveyed as a possible
location of a new church in the northern area of the
city. In May of 1953, Reverend C. J. Martin, was called
by the Board of American Missions of the United Lutheran
Church (ULC) to be a mission developer. He began by
visiting 71 members of First Lutheran who were living in
Northside. That summer, Reverend Martin also visited
another 2,400 families to gather support for a new
Lutheran church.
As word spread, Pastor Martin,
along with some of the new members, organized area
meetings. At first, the progress was slow with only
three families attending the first meeting. However, the
following week, twelve families were invited and all
attended. From then on, the mission began to
grow. During the summer, more residents of Northside
Norfolk were becoming interested in the mission and the
first business meeting was held on August 27 at the Mary
Calcott School with 37 adults present. From among the
group, an organizational committee was formed. Their
first order of business was to arrange the use of Mary
Calcott School for worship services.
Next, they set the date for the
first service and discussed possible names for the
mission. Among the names suggested were: “Saint Peter’s
By The Sea,” “Zion,” “Saint Paul’s,” Second Lutheran
Church,” and “Saint John’s.” The choice, by a large
majority, was Saint John’s.” The initial leadership
appointments were made of a temporary secretary, a
treasurer, and a building treasurer. Excitement grew, as
Saint John Lutheran was becoming a reality.
The first service was held at 3:30
p.m., on September 13, 1953 and was attended by 206
people from the local area as well as visitors from
other area Lutheran churches. In order to make the Mary
Calcott School auditorium a suitable place for worship,
the men of the Brotherhood of First Lutheran Church
built a folding altar, a pulpit and a lectern. The
Business Women’s Unit also gave a set of offering
plates, an altar service book and a baptismal font.
Conference rooms were provided for Sunday school and
storage. Reverend Martin delivered the first sermon and
greetings were offered by Dr. L.W. Strickler, Chairman
of the Home Missions Committee; Reverend D.W. Taylor,
President of the Conference, and other local Lutheran
pastors. The first Sunday of Saint John Lutheran also
generated several generous gifts form the congregation
of First Lutheran that helped to seed the new church in
Norfolk.
Sunday School began on the first
Sunday of October with 81 people present. Thereafter,
the Women of the Church and the Luther League were
organized. Without a formal meeting place, the groups
met at the apartment of Pastor Martin with as many as 25-30
people attending. The newly formed choir practiced in a
home and Adult Bible Classes were arranged and
taught. December 13, 1953 was selected as Organization
Sunday with 86 Confirmed and 129 Baptized worshipers who
had signed for membership. After worship, the Church
Council was organized and officers of the Congregation
and Trustees were elected. It was decided that the
charter membership roll would be left open until Easter
1954 when the congregation stood at 105 Confirmed and
161 Baptized members.
With and established congregation,
the next step was the initiation of a building program.
The leadership began looking for potential sites and
selected a piece of property on Cottage Toll Road (now
Tidewater Drive). The 2.75 acres was purchased for
$20,000.
In April 1954, the Church Council
met with the Director of Church Extension of the Board
of American Mission to discuss the building of a church.
Surprisingly, the congregation was expected to have at
least 40 percent of the total cost in cash and pledges,
therefore, discussion for the project was delayed,
meanwhile a study committee was formed to find an
architect. Council met again with the Board of American
Mission in the summer of 1956 and outlined the design.
Once the Department of Church Architecture and the
United Lutheran Church approved the plans, the
construction was put out for bid. Eleven contractors
submitted bids, and W.B. Meredith Construction was
selected for the $57,000 contract.
Ground for Saint John Lutheran Church was broken
following morning worship on June 16, 1957 with Pastor
Martin, officers of the Congregation and representatives
of the neighboring Lutheran churches participating. With
construction well underway, the cornerstone was laid on
October 27, 1957. Despite several delays due to bad
weather, the chapel was completed and the first services
were held therein on Easter Sunday, April 6, 1958, with
an attendance of 276 faithful.
In 1968, East Norfolk Lutheran
Church in America Saint Matthias Lutheran was chartered
under the spiritual guidance of the Reverend Frederick
M. Ritter in part to expand the presence of the Lutheran
Church in America (LCA) in the Norfolk area and to join
with the other Lutheran congregations to assist with the
increasing needs of social ministry appropriate to the
turbulent social changes and issues of the time.
Approximately twenty members from Saint John chose to
become charter members of Saint Matthias. In September
1970 ground was broken and on March 7, 1971, the
ministry of Saint Matthias Lutheran Church was planted
on Azalea Garden Road and Oleo Road with the first
worship service in the new church building.
A few years later, a sense of
unity between Saint Matthias and Saint John was
evidenced further when the Reverend Haco Von Hacke was
called to serve as Pastor of a special ministry that
involved Saint John Lutheran, Saint Matthias Lutheran,
and Saint Timothy Lutheran for the purpose of providing
a strong emphasis on social ministry, outreach and
membership growth.
By the mid 1970’s it became
apparent that the anticipated population growth of the
Norfolk area did not materialize. On the contrary, there
was a population decline during that time as Virginia
Beach began to develop. This, along with the rather
unsettled social climate that prevailed, made it
particularly difficult for a newly formed congregation
to grow and fulfill its anticipated potential.
Nevertheless, the members of Saint Matthias Lutheran,
throughout the congregation’s fifteen-year history, were
true, good, and faithful stewards of the ministry that
had been entrusted to them in the name of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ.
On March 1, 1983, Saint Matthias
Lutheran merged with Saint John Lutheran. Together the
congregation of Saint John Lutheran was strengthened by
the added fellowship and the good and faithful
stewardship brought by the sisters and brothers of Saint
Matthias Lutheran. This was embodied in the plan to
perpetuate the focus of the ministry of Saint Matthias
and Saint John Lutheran by means several designated
monetary grants and endowment funds as set forth in the
Memoranda of Understanding which governed the terms of
the merger, providing funds for church-wide mission
development, local benevolence and to enhance the
special ministry needs of Saint John Lutheran. This is a
legacy worthy of special note. Saint Matthias Hall is
dedicated in honor and in memory of the life and
ministry of Saint Matthias Lutheran Church.
Since that time, Saint John
Lutheran has been a prominent part of the Northside
Norfolk and Ocean View community, by serving the needy,
spreading God’s word, and providing a place for all
worshippers and guests to come and join together in
fellowship, prayer and celebration. We are focused on
the future of the Church, the spiritual growth of the
congregation, and the many needs of peoples throughout
the world.
We freely share the gift of the
“Good News,” proclaiming God’s saving Gospel. As a
family in Christ, the congregation of Saint John
Lutheran respects from where we have come, joyfully
serves in the present, while ever looking ahead as the
Holy Spirit continually moves us to enrich our own
spiritual lives and share the blessings of God with
others.
Welcome to Saint John Lutheran
Church in the Ocean View Community of Norfolk!
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Saint John In Pictures
We hope you enjoy our albums of pictures. If
you are a member of Saint John or a past member, and
have pictures that you would like to share in these
albums, please email them to churchoffice@stjohnnorfolk.org
and we will add them. Please send any comments to the above email address. Thank you.
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