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| St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod Township of Wien, Edgar, Wisconsin founded in 1869 |
| A Brief History of St. John The beginnings of St. John go back before the Civil War. On the day before Pentecost, 1860, Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Hamann and their son, Henry, a sister Friedericka, and Mr. Hamann's parents, Karl and Marie Hamann, Mr. and Mrs. William Garbrecht, and Karl marquardt arrived in the dense pine forest that once covered this area. It had taken them six weeks to travel from Stevens Point. At their request in 1862, the Rev. J.J. Hoffmann of the Town of Berlin visited them in order to baptizee several children. On July 4, 1867, the Rev. J.F. Wilhelm Hudtloff was ordained into the holy ministry at Naugart in the Town of Berlin. He visited the Town of Wien at regular intervals and played an important role in the early development of St. John's. According to later reports, he assisted St. John's to organized in 1869. On May 31, 1880, St. John's affiliated wih the Missouri Synod, an affiliation that continues to this day. From 1881 to 1884, large immigrations from Germany settled in Wisconsin. many came from Pomerania, then northeast German, now northwest Poland. Fifty-five baptized members were added to the burgeoning congregation in 1879, forty-one in 1881. The largest number of baptisms (twenty-one) occurred in both 1881 and 1882. In 1882, when the congregation called Mr. Carl Busch, a former school teacher, deposed from office in Germany, to be their pastor, the conservative minority objected to what they considered an unordained and unorthodox teacher as pastor. The newly reorganized St. John moved about 1/4 mile west of the original site where they built a little while frame building (22'x34x) to serve as their church. This building served until 1908 when the current "high steeple" church was built. Several additions have been made to our church home over the years since 1908, most notable the addition of a parish hall built in the 1940s and the building of an enlarged ministry center (remodeling, new classrooms, church offices, kitchen) in 2004. Today, St. John continues to serve as a beacon of light in our community- preaching and proclaiming the Good News of Christ crucified and administering the blessed Sacraments as Jesus instituted them for us. Our pastors through the years: 1875-1876 William Webber 1878-1882 Herman Erck 1883-1883 F.H. Reichman 1884-1885 Carl Busch 1894-1895 Christian Becker 1896-1899 A.F. Imm 1899-1900 L.R. Heidelberger 1901-1909 Joseph Oesch 1913-1923 E.H. Buerger 1925-1946 Emanuel Malueg 1947-1956 Harold Malotky 1956-1960 Frederick Kempfert 1961-1967 Ferdinand Timler 1967-1972 David C. Schroeder 1972-1980 Mark J. Nicholaus 1981-2003 Roger Moldenhauer 2004- Matthew Christians |
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| Bethlehem Lutheran Church The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod Milan, Wisconsin founded in 1907 |
| A Brief History of Bethlehem Bethelhem Lutheran Church in Milan, Wisconsin, had its beginnings on Easter Monday in 1904 when the Rev. Joseph Oesch of the Town of Wien preached for several Lutheran families in the Town of Johnson. Those present at this service then requested Pastor Oesch to establish a preaching station in this area. Pastor Oesch, who recognized in this request a mission call, honored the request, with the permission of his congregation in the Town of Wien. A tentative organization to become a fully-fledged congregation followed during the time that services were held (in the home of Ludwig Bradow Sr.) After this, the place of assembling was changed to the public school house on the corner of the Abbosford-Milan road. The services were continued at the school for more than a year, but were transferred during the winter of 1905 to the second floor of the Milan general store operated by Paul Benzmann. In 1907, the services were again held in the public school where they were held for several years. Formal organization of the Bethlehem Lutheran congregation took place on December 31, 1907, when 13 charter members signed the proposed constitution. Pastor Oesch continued to serve Bethlehem as Pastor until 1909, when he asked to be released. He was succeed by the Rev. Mr. Schiemann, and in turn by Rev. Wiliam Knauff. During Rev. Knauff's pastorate, the present church building was erected on land donated M.C. Ellingson, and built in 1911. In 1915, Bethlehem united with St. John Lutheran, Town of Holton. The joint congregation then secured the Rev. Ihno Janssen as the first resident pastor and built a parsonage. Unfortunately, the union didn't last, and the two congregations separated at St. John's request in 1920. Around the same time, Rev. Jannssen left to take another call.. It was in 1947 that Bethlehem extended a call to Rev. E. Malueg, pastor of St. John Lutheran, Town of Wien. Bethlehem's parsonage was sold and the two congregations have shared a pastor ever since. Bethlehem today remains relatively small in numbers (approx. 200 members), but is looking forward in faith and to the growth of God's Word by building a new Church and ministry center in the near future. In April 2008, new land was purchased directly across Cty Hwy E from the Bethlehem cemetery. We walk, as always, by faith. Our pastors through the years: 1907-1909 Joseph Oesch 1909-1909 Rev. Schiemann 1909-1912 W. Knuf 1912-1913 Rev. Schiemann 1914-1915 E. Buerger 1915-1920 Ihno Janssen 1921-1926 Walter Piehler 1927-1939 George Groh 1939-1946 Emanuel Malueg 1947-1956 Harold Malotky 1956-1960 Frederick Kempfert 1961-1967 Ferdinand Timler 1967-1972 David C. Schroeder 1972-1980 Mark J. Nicholaus 1981-2003 Roger Moldenhauer 2004- Matthew Christians |
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| View the Constitution and By-Laws of St. John View the Constitution and By-Laws of Bethlehem View our Dual Parish Agreement |
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