Repository

Heinz History Center

Title

St. Luke's Lutheran Church (West View, Pa.) Records and Photographs

source

St. Luke's Lutheran Church

Creator

St. Luke's Evangelical Lutheran Church (West View, Pa.)

Collection Number

MSS 1237

Extent

11 Linear Feet 3 boxes, 4 shelf volumes, and 2 o/s folders

Extent

201 kilobytes (1 digital file)

Date

1906-2010

Abstract

St. Luke's Lutheran Church (West View, Pa.) began in 1907 as a mission in the community of West View after Rev. Gottfried D. Simen, then pastor of St. John's of Perrysville saw the need for a church in the newly created borough. The St. Luke's Lutheran Church (West View, Pa.) Records and Photographs contain annual reports, council meeting minutes and materials, correspondence, congregation member lists, and photographs of pastors, members, and church buildings throughout the congregation's history.

Language

The material in this collection is in English.

Author

The guide to this collection was written by Bryan Brown.

Sponsor

This collection has been made accessible by a donation from the North Hills Genealogists.

Publisher

Heinz History Center

Address

1212 Smallman St.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222
library@heinzhistorycenter.org
URL: https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org

Biographical / Historical

St. Luke's Lutheran Church (West View, Pa.) began in 1907 as a mission in the community of West View after Rev. Gottfried D. Simen, then pastor of St. John's of Perrysville saw the need for a church in the newly created borough. A group of 46 people joined Reverends Sheatesley and Schramm on April 26, 1906, for the dedication of the newly constructed church as the "Charity Chapel" at the intersection of Ridgewood and Center Avenues. The congregation was organized with 19 members on September 17, 1907, with Rev. G. D. Simen serving as the founding pastor. On May 14, 1916, the church changed its name to St. Luke's Evangelical Lutheran Church but was known to congregants as the "Little Brown Church." On July 4, 1927, a fire started due to a firecracker thrown onto the church's wooden roof and destroyed the original structure. Construction of the existing building commenced on September 26, 1927, and was completed and dedicated on September 8, 1928. During the construction of the new church, the congregation met at West View Junior High School for services. The church received a historic landmark designation in 2004.

Following Gottfried D. Simen's tenure as pastor in February 1908, the church had a run of six pastors who each served between one to three years: Rev. Harvey Simen, February 1908 – February 1909; Rev. C. H. Eisenbach, August 1909 – June 1910; Rev. Amos Heyde, July 1910 – August 1912; Rev. G. B. Tejan, September 1912 – July 1913; Rev. Otto Ebert, July 1913 – May 1915; and Rev. F. D. Mechling, July 1915 – April 1918. Then on July 21, 1918, Rev. Luther P. Spoehr became the eighth pastor for St. Luke's and served until 1964. During Rev. Spoehr's tenure, St. Luke's purchased six lots in 1923 to build a new church due to overflowing and rapidly increasing membership and the degradation of the original church. Spoehr's successor, Rev. Charles W. Rampp, served St. Luke's from 1964 until 1970. Rev. John Tollner led the congregation from May 1971 until September 1978. Rev. Duane Meyer initially served as interim pastor following Rev. Tollner's departure in September 1978 until his formal installation in July 1979 and then served as the official pastor until 1992.

After Rev. Meyer left the pastorate, St. Luke's went through another period of frequent changes to the pastorate. When a pastor left the congregation, St. Luke's relied upon guest ministers and guest readers to lead the services until a new pastor was installed. Following Rev. Meyer was Rev. Robert Salzgeber, who took over in 1992 until his departure in 1996. Rev. Walter D. Galbraith served as pastor for one year from February 1996 until February 1997. Rev. Ed Murphy then assumed the pastorate for a short period of ten months beginning in February and ending in December 1997. Ending this cycle of shifting ministers, Rev. Lisa Ubbelohde took over as pastor in June 1998 and stayed with St. Luke's until March 2004. The third stint of brief ministers began again with Rev. William E. Hughes II, who was installed as pastor for St. Luke's in February 2005 and presided over the congregation until January 2006. Rev. Horst H. Bandel led the congregation from April 2006 to November 2007. Rev. Robert F. Zimmerman ended this brief stretch of change when he assumed the pastorate in December 2007 and held on to it until June 2015. As of 2021, St. Luke's does not have a pastor, but it remains an active congregation at the same location on Center Avenue.

Scope and Contents

The St. Luke's Lutheran Church (West View, Pa.) Records and Photographs contain annual reports, council meeting minutes and materials, correspondence, congregation member lists, and photographs of pastors, members, and church buildings throughout the congregation's history. The annual reports, council meeting minutes, and meeting materials discuss the church's finances, previous and upcoming events, and general needs for the building and congregation. The collection contains congregation lists and registers of members that document vital religious events for members. Events include baptisms, confirmations, communions, marriages, deaths, and funerals. The collection also contains the constitutions and bylaws of various church clubs and auxiliaries; programs and photographs from church events and organizations; and the blueprints, correspondence, contracts, and expense records relating to the construction of the church's second and current building by Pittsburgh architect William King. The blueprints for the buildings and property in this collection are oversized. Photographs in the collection document the exterior and interior of the original and second church buildings and the parsonage, the pastors who served the congregation, anniversary celebrations, and congregation members during events and picnics, religious ceremonies, and those enlisted during WWII.

Arrangement

The St. Luke's Lutheran Church (West View, Pa.) Records and Photographs collection has been arranged into the following two series:

Conditions Governing Access

No restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

Property rights reside with the Senator John Heinz History Center. Copyright may be retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. Researchers are therefore advised to follow the regulations set forth in the U.S. Copyright Code when publishing, quoting, or reproducing material from this collection without the consent of the creator/author or that go beyond what is allowed by fair use.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of St. Luke's Lutheran Church (West View, Pa.) via Church President Caral Kass and Eileen Deitt in 2018 and 2021. Archives Accessions 2018.0030 and 2021.0072

Related Materials

Rev. Luther P. Spoehr and Family Papers, 1880-2021 (bulk 1918-1976), MSS 656, Detre Library & Archives, Heinz History Center

Processing Information

Collection processed by Bryan Brown in 2021.

Preferred Citation

St. Luke's Lutheran Church (West View, Pa.) Records and Photographs, 1906-2010, MSS 1237, Detre Library & Archives, Heinz History Center

Existence and Location of Copies

A selection of images from these records can be found online at https://historicpittsburgh.org/collection/st-lukes-church

Container List