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Luther Memorial Church

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Location
  
Madison, Wisconsin

Website
  
www.luthermem.org

Functional status
  
Active

Status
  
Church

Country
  
United States

Founded
  
1907 (1907)

Phone
  
+1 608-258-3160

Luther Memorial Church

Denomination
  
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)

Address
  
1021 University Ave, Madison, WI 53715, USA

Similar
  
First Unitarian Society of, Grace Episcopal Church, Gates of Heaven Synagogue, Overture Center for the Arts, St Patrick's Roman Catholic

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Luther Memorial Church is a Lutheran congregation at 1021 University Avenue in Madison, Wisconsin in the United States. A member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), it is known for its worship, music, education, social ministry and preschool programs.

Contents

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History

Luther Memorial Church was founded in 1907 as a Bible study group. Later the congregation rented space in a synagogue for weekly worship, then moved into its first permanent location at 626 University Avenue, a designated Madison landmark once called Luther Memorial Chapel and now known as the Church Key Bar and Grill. In 1923 Luther Memorial moved into its newly built Neo-Gothic building at 1021 University Avenue. This building was designated as a Madison Landmark in 2011.

Worship

Luther Memorial’s worship has a traditional liturgy with Holy Communion every Sunday and on other holy days. A service of morning prayer is also held each weekday morning. Services also feature hymns and classical music.

Music

Luther Memorial’s music program is led by Bruce Bengtson, who has served as the director of music since 1978. Three pipe organs are used in worship: a 56 rank Austin pipe organ, a Steere tracker organ, and a small portative organ. Luther Memorial Church hosts the winter choral concerts presented by UW-Madison's choirs each December.

Social ministry

The following programs are examples of the church's commitment to ministering to those in need:

The congregation began participating in the Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN) in 1999 as a host congregation, and has continued ever since. IHN, now called The Road Home, is a Madison-based organization that provides housing for homeless people in churches on a rotating basis.

Luther Memorial was the first Adopt-a-House church partner with Habitat for Humanity of Dane County, Wisconsin, raising money and providing volunteers in 1993 to build a house for a family in need.

Campus ministry

The congregation embraces its location amid the Madison campus of the University of Wisconsin, by involving students in all parts of the church life. Luther Memorial is also one of three covenant congregations in partnership with the Lutheran Campus Center (LCC) next door at 325 N. Mills Street. The LCC conducts worship at the church and its pastor often preaches at Luther Memorial.

Preschool

The church operated a Christian-based preschool on site beginning in 1997. The preschool closed in 2015 after the city school district began offering free kindergarten to four year old children.

Pastors and program staff, past and present

This list is not complete. Some lay staff members served for more years than are indicated below. Others served the church in clerical, building maintenance and other capacities.

Pre-organization ministers

  • The Rev. W. K. Frick, Milwaukee held introductory meeting, 1905
  • Olga Nelson Berg, Organist, 1905
  • Paul Hoerlein Roth, G. H. Gerberding, C. K. Lippard, C. A. Naumann, A. C. Peterson, and Paul Wagner Roth, Chicago Lutheran Theological Seminary instructors and students, conducted services, winter 1905-1906.
  • Conrad Hoffman, Sunday school superintendent, 1906-1913
  • The Rev. A. C. Petersen, 1906
  • The Rev. A. C. Anda, missionary, 1907-1916

    • 1. The Rev. Howard R. Gold, pastor, 1907-1916

  • Grover Rapps, organist
  • Rev. John F. Fedders, associate pastor in charge of educational and student work, 1911-1912
  • Mrs. Stevenson, choir director, 1912
  • Clarence Rowley, Sunday school superintendent, 1913-1916
  • Elsie Arnson, organist and choir director, 1915
  • K. M. Chworowsky, organist 1915

    • 2. The Rev. Howard E. Snyder, pastor, 1916-1918

  • The Rev. Norman D. Goehring, interim pastor, 1918; acting pastor, 1918-1919; pastor for student, 1919-1920

    • 3. The Rev. A. J. Soldan, pastor, 1919-1929

  • Alexander R. Graham, Sunday school superintendent, 1922-1929
  • Fletcher Wheeler, organist and musical director, 1923-1924
  • Arthur Bertelsen, organist and choir director, 1924-1926
  • Lydia Rodruan, choir director, 1926
  • Paul Jones, organist, 1926
  • Dr. Sigfrid Prager, choir director, 1926
  • Donald Larson, organist, 1928-1939

    • 4. The Rev. Carroll J. Rockey, pastor 1929-1936

  • Frank A. Kuehl, Sunday school Seperintendent, 1929
  • Alvin Gillette, choir director
  • E. Earle Sweeney, director of music, 1931-1942
  • A. C. Johnson, Sunday school superintendent
  • C. A. Rowley, Sunday school superintendent
  • The Rev. Edward J. Blenker, interim pastor. 1937; pastor for students, 1937-1941

    • 5. The Rev. Edwin Moll, pastor, 1937-1939

  • Miss E. Grace Soderberg, parish worker, 1940-1956
  • Gilman J. Voss, Sunday school superintendent, 1942

    • 6. The Rev. Charles A. Puls, pastor 1940-1962

  • Ruth Pilger Andrews, organist, 1939-1942
  • The Rev. George E. Dressler, assistant pastor 1945-1947
  • The Rev. Robert A. Bartels, assistant pastor, 1948-1950
  • Larry Kelliher, organist-choir director 1950-1951
  • Sister Marian Maurer, deaconess, 1950-1951
  • The Rev. Kenneth Wieg, assistant pastor and director of religious education, 1951-1953
  • David K. Blamchar, organist-choir director, 1951-1952
  • The Rev. Henry B. Kleinert, assistant pastor, 1951-1953
  • The Rev. Earl M. Fritz, assistant pastor, 1955-1957
  • William Poenichen, parish worker, 1955-1957
  • The Rev. Franklin A. Swanson assistant pastor 1957-1963
  • Gerald Eisely, intern, 1958-1959
  • The Rev. Stafford L. Swing, assistant pastor, 1959-1961
  • Russell Paxton, choir director and Helen Paxton, choir director, 1952-1971
  • Erv Reinhard, director of religious education, 1957-1963; lay assistant, 1963-1976
  • Lee Longrie, director of youth activities, 1962-1963

    • 7. The Rev. Frank Efird, senior pastor, 1963-1973

  • The Rev. Gerald N. Kissell, assistant pastor, 1963-1965
  • The Rev. Alan R. Lindberg, youth pastor, 1963-1967
  • The Rev. Robert W. Peterson, associate pastor, 1966-1970
  • Billy Baier, youth director, 1968
  • Roger Bullis, youth director 1969
  • The Rev. Jerome Bengtson, assistant pastor, 1970-1976
  • Roger Petrich, the first full-time director of music, 1971-1977

    • 8. The Rev. J. Stephen Bremer, senior pastor, 1973-1990

  • Robert Harris, intern, 1974-1975
  • Marcelle Wysocki, lay associate (parish worker), 1975-1997
  • The Rev. Charles W. Polm II, assistant pastor, 1977-1978
  • The Rev. Ted Steege, associate pastor. 1978-1983
  • The Rev. Francis Strong, associate pastor, 1984-1986
  • Judy Bush, volunteer coordinator, 1985-1990
  • The Rev. Kirk Malnor, assistant pastor, 1987-1990
  • Bruce A. Bengtson, director of music, 1978-present
  • The Rev. Elmer B. Sterner, interim pastor, 1990

    • 9. The Rev. Harvey Spencer Peters, senior pastor, 1990-1997

  • The Rev. Dyan M. LeVander, associate pastor 1990-1995
  • Janet Quello, director of education, 1991-1993
  • Jeannette Pranke, director of education, 1993-1995
  • The Rev. Amy E. Reumann, associate pastor, 1996-1997
  • Roban Clagnaz, church administrator, 1993-
  • Kathy Wall, director of Child Development Center, 1997-(date needed)

    • 10. The Rev. Shelley Bobb, senior pastor, (date needed)-2007

  • The Rev. Timothy Dean, associate pastor,(date needed)-(date needed)
  • The Rev. Brad Pohlman, interim senior pastor, 2007-2008
  • The Rev. Craig Jan-McMahon, interim associate pastor, 2007-2008
  • Kim O'Leary, church administrator, (date needed)-present

    • 11. The Rev. Franklin Arthur Wilson, senior pastor, 2008-2015

  • The Rev. Brad Pohlman, interim associate, then associate pastor, now senior pastor 2008-present
  • Suelyn Swiggum, Director of Shared Ministry, (date needed)-present
  • Suzanne Du Chateau,Director, Luther Memorial Preschool, (date needed)-2015

    • 12. The Rev. Brad Pohlman, senior pastor, 2015-present

  • The Rev. Eric Jones, Interim Associate Pastor, 2015-Present
  • The Rev. David Berggren, Interim Associate Pastor, 2015-2016

    • References

    Luther Memorial Church Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA