PRESCOTT – St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Prescott has a special celebration planned Sunday, Oct. 20 for its 150^th anniversary.

Members past and present are invited to a meet and greet coffee hour at 9 a.m., music by the Branches Band at 10:15 a.m., a celebration service at 10:30 a.m., and a reservation only anniversary dinner at the Old Ptacek’s Event Center. Past pastor and circuit pastors will be in attendance.

Anniversary Committee members Debbie Chernohorsky, Kathy Spence, Morgan Schlossin and Carla Travis have been hard at work gathering church history and artifacts for a display and planning a special day to commemorate the church’s anniversary, which actually falls in December.

“I love history, so it’s been interesting to me to learn all this stuff that I didn’t know,” Chernohorsky said. “Kathy and Carla have been here since they were kids. Morgan and I are the newer of the group, so it’s been fun learning what they know from them.”

According to church records, Rev. Jacob Schadegg, who served the congregation from 1868-1915 and founded the St. Paul’s in 1874, was born at Annaisval, Canton Thurgau, Switzerland. The Pilzer-Mission Institute Saint Chrischonia at Basel sent him to North American in 1865 to serve as an assistant pastor in Chicago. In 1868, he and his new wife traveled to Oak Grove township in Pierce County to serve at Trinity Lutheran Church. He served at Trinity and also organized churches in Prescott (St. Paul’s) and Hastings (St. John’s), part of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod.

When Pastor Schdagg moved to Prescott in 1874, he first held services in the Congregational Church. That fall, the congregation bought the old Methodist Church (near the present Malone Intermediate School) for $400. This building was used until 1905, when members built a new church on the site. The new building was dedicated on Nov. 5, 1905.

In 1924, the church needed repairs and then 10 years later, the congregation decided to build a new brick church at the corner of Elm and Kinnickinnic streets across from the city park. The church, now a private home, was dedicated in July 1934. It cost $4,000 to build and seated 125 people.

Church records state that as the congregation grew in size, they decided another new building was needed. The church purchased an 8.8-acre lot on the corner of Highway 10 and Campbell Street, the church’s present location. The current building was dedicated on April 11, 1974 after being built for $190,000.

The past 25 years have seen a number of additions added to the church, including a storage garage, bell tower, carillon system, central air, computers and more. In celebration of the 125^th anniversary, new stained glass windows were installed.

But more important than the buildings that have housed the congregants is the time spent doing God’s work, Chernohorsky said. She likes to think of that time broken down years, months, days, minutes and seconds.  

“We’ve had God’s Word for that many years, the number of pastors for that many months,” she said. “What the Sunday School teachers and members have contributed to the church, the children they have reached and the seeds they’ve planted. We are all connected through God’s love.”

She offers the following Bible verses to illustrate her point: I John, 4:19; Philippians 4:7 and Matthew 16:25.

“Did you know the phrase ‘Do not be afraid’ is in the Bible 365 times? If that doesn’t say something,” she said.

While the church’s annual anniversary is Dec. 1, placing the celebration in October was done for ease of time and availability. Members will be invited to put something in a time capsule, which will be sealed on Dec. 1 and opened on the next 25^th anniversary.

Services are held each Sunday at 9:30 a.m., preceded by Sunday School at 8:45 p.m. Wednesday School and Confirmation take place at 6:45 p.m. Wednesdays and Bible studies are set for 7 p.m. Mondays. To learn more, visit spprescott.org