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Our History
Services of
St. James Lutheran began on June 1, 1947. These
first services were held at St. Johns Church, 2
½ miles east of North Branch and a ½ mile south
on Slattery Road next to the Maple Grove
Cemetery. This congregation was started, it is
believed, as a result of two events.
A member of
Calvary Lutheran in Flint, Mrs. VanWagoner,
mentioned to Pastor Reeb, that a group of
Lutherans in North Branch were not being served
by a pastor. Pastor Reeb notified Pastor
Schaller of Mayville of the situation.
However, at
the same time, the members of Zion Lutheran of
Silverwood, whom Pastor Schaller served, were
already planning to join with members of St.
Matthews Lutheran in Kings Mills. As a result,
the new congregation of St. James Evangelical
Lutheran was formed and temporarily met at St.
Johns Church with Pastor Shaller serving as the
pastor. Conditions in that temporary church were
less than ideal. Therefore, the congregation decided to
sell the old St. Matthews building which they now owned, but
was too small for them, and purchased the Bottom Creek Church
from the Methodists. It was moved to Jefferson Road in North
Branch where a new basement, tower, and entrance were added.
The altar and pulpit were taken from St. Matthews old building
and put in the new church. It was dedicated on October 31,
1949. In
1976, a 10-acre site west of North Branch was purchased for a
new church facility. Eleven years later, on March 22, 1987,
the new building was dedicated. The following year a parsonage
was built on the same site and was dedicated in December 1988.
St. James
continues to worship in these facilities today.
However, the congregation is considering plans
for a new sanctuary for
expansion.
CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY
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