Happy New Year!

As New Year’s Day arrives, I suspect that quite a few people are glad to see 2008 come to a close. It doesn’t matter who you are, you can find something about 2008 not to like. From the dismal financial performance of the stock market to the still slumping housing market to the political scandals around the country, there is some bad news available for everyone. Even with the election of a new president, the polls tell us that after his inauguration the country will still be split into red and blue groups of supporters. With that said, let’s look towards 2009 and think about what a New Year might bring our way.

     

The St. John's congregation dates its origins to the 1742 arrival of Dr. Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, the father of the Lutheran Church in America. He stopped for two days in Charleston on his way to visit the Salzburger colony at Ebenezer, Georgia. He returned a month later and spent three weeks waiting for a ship to Philadelphia during which time he held services, taught catechism to the children of the German residents, and held services with communion on Sundays.

Rev. Dr. John Bachman (1790-1874) brought a golden era to St. John's in the nineteenth century, but it ended abruptly when Charleston and St. John's were devastated by the War Between the States.

A brief period of racial enlightenment largely disappeared after the Civil War, but had made an important mark in American Christian history while it lasted. Three of the nation's most important early African-American leaders came from St. John's, and the first group of Lutherans to send an American missionary to Africa also took place within the congregation.





Figures in St. John's History

Christian Streit (1778 - 1780)

Christian StreitReverend Christian Streit was the Pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church from 1772 through 1781.

Rev. Streit was America's first military chaplain and was arrested in 1780 by the British because of his unwavering devotion to the patriot cause.

It was

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History Corner

The Old Trappe Church
The Old Trappe Church, also called Augustus Lutheran Church, is located in Trappe, Pennsylvania.  

What is the connection between the Old Trappe Church and St. John’s Lutheran Church in Charleston, SC? In 1742, a ship carrying Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, “father of American Lutheranism,” arrived in Charles Town from Europe. He was on a mission to the Salzburgers in Georgia. Upon his return
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Sunday Worship

8:30 a.m. Service with Holy Communion
9:45 a.m. Sunday Church School
11:00 a.m. Service with Holy Communion


Nursery available in Parish Hall during all services. Doodle Bags are available in the back of the church to keep little hands busy: they include coloring books, crayons, books, and stickers!

 

August Sunday Worship

St. John's Lutheran Church, Charleston, SC