Grace Lutheran church will celebrate 100 years of ministry Sunday, Nov. 9 with a 10:30 a.m. worship service.
Lee Weander of Our Savior Lutheran Church, Norfolk will preach and the Rev. Paul Hammes will be the liturgist. The Bell Choir, Adult Choir and Sunday School students will provide special music.
A catered meal at the Wayne City Auditorium will follow the worship service. The Rev. Stuart Rethwisch will serve as Master of Ceremonies for a program following the meal.
In the years preceding 1925, several neighboring pastors came to Wayne to conduct services for a small group of Lutherans. In October 1925 a meeting was held for the purpose of organizing a congregation. As a result of that meeting, the Rev. F.W. Kaul of Carroll announced following services on Nov. 9, 1925, that a meeting would be held to formally organize the congregation, the name of which was to be Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church.
A call was extended to the Rev. Herman H. Hopmann of Lovell, Wyoming and he was installed on Jan. 10, 1926. On Nov. 22, 1925 the proposed constitution was adopted with the following men signing as charter voting members: George P. Berres, Frank Erxleben, Carl F. Meyer, Carl Victor, Jr., Arthur Hagemann, George Lessmann and William Racherbaumer.
During the ministry of Pastor Hopmann, the present site at Ninth and Logan Streets was purchased on May 16, 1927, for $2,000 and construction of a modest chapel was begun. The chapel was dedicated on Sept. 25, 1927.
In September 1936, Pastor Hopmann accepted a call to serve Emmanuel Lutheran Church in York. The vacancy was filled by the Rev. Walter Brackensick who was installed on Oct. 18, 1936. Shortly after his arrival, Grace Lutheran secured an eight-room parsonage on the corner of Ninth and Logan. With the growth of the congregation, the worship facilities rapidly became inadequate, and work began on a building program. In August 1941, groundbreaking ceremonies were held for the construction of a new brick-faced church to be built immediately east of the chapel. Dedication of the new house of worship was on March 15, 1942.
The Lord chose to call Pastor Brackensick home to Him suddenly on Aug. 4, 1948, as the result of an auto accident. Grace continued forward, calling the Rev. E.J. Bernthal of Sheridan, Wyoming, as pastor. Installation took place on March 20,1949. For over 24 years, Pastor Bernthal led Grace congregation.
Several significant events occurred during this time. The congregation acquired two additional pieces of property. One of these was in 1949, which is the current west parking lot, and another in 1967, which was the lot north of the church, which was used for the 1995 addition.
As the congregation continued to grow, more space was needed. In April 1962, groundbreaking took place for a new addition to the church building on the west and the dedication took place on Nov. 18, 1962. In addition to a multiple-use basement of sizable dimensions, the seating capacity of the sanctuary was increased to accommodate about 500 worshipers.
The continued growth of the congregation and the ministry of Grace Lutheran Church to students at Wayne State College made additional pastoral services desirable. At first the congregation participated in the vicarage program of the Synod. For the sake of continuity of the work at Wayne State, the congregation decided that an assistant pastor, rather than a vicar, would be preferable
Since 1973 Grace Lutheran has been blessed with two pastors to serve the needs of the congregation and campus ministry. Pastors serving in those roles have been Rev. John Upton, Rev. Jack Schneider, Rev. Thomas Mendenhall, Rev. Jonathon Vogel, Rev. James Pennington, Rev. Jeff Anderson, Rev. Merle Mahnken, Rev Brian Bohn, Rev. John Pasche, Rev Carl Lillienkamp, Rev. Michael Feldman, Rev. Michael Buchhorn, Rev. Erik Christiansen and Rev. Paul Hammes.
The Nebraska District proceeded in 1989 with plans to build a Campus Center to enhance the ministry to the college students. Located across from the Willow Bowl, it was built by volunteers from Laborers for Christ and from the Grace congregation. It was ready for student use that fall.
In March 1993, members of Grace Lutheran started exploring how to make the facility accessible for people with disabilities and add more classrooms and office space. Prior to construction, the rental property at 909 North Main was updated to replace the parsonage at 908 Logan, which was sold and removed. Construction of the two-story, 6,400 square foot addition began in the spring of 1995 and the dedication of the addition was March 24, 1996.
Grace Lutheran continues to minister to the needs of the community with a preschool program, regular blood drives and support of the Wayne Food Pantry.
