When driving through Grove City, the aged brick buildings and streets reveal the rich, timeless history of the town. Established in 1852, Grove City’s history is thriving and prevalent among its growing population.
On Columbus Street around the corner from downtown Grove City sits St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church. Upon first glance, the church appears similar to many other churches with its aged bell tower and stained-glass windows. What makes St. John’s stand out is that it is the oldest church in Grove City, celebrating its 175th anniversary.
Rich in history
St. John’s was established in 1849, three years before the city itself was founded. Built by George Weygandt and dedicated in 1854, the original St. John’s building was built of white pine lumber and served a congregation of English-speaking German immigrants.
Many years after the construction of the St. John’s,
another Lutheran church, St. Paul’s, was built down the road.
As both congregations grew, the churches merged in the late 1880s and moved to the church’s current building.
The new St. John’s location was dedicated on May 12, 1889, and has been a meeting place for community members for 135 years.
Renovate and revitalize
Even though much of the structure is original, there have been updates to St. John’s within the past hundred years.
One of the most noticeable changes was the addition of the New Fellowship Center in 1995. With more than 1,000 members attending, they needed to drastically increase space to allow for more events and Sunday services.
Linda Diehl has been attending and volunteering at St. John’s for 25 years. She joined in 1999, a few years after some of the more prominent remodeling projects had occurred.
“We’re constantly doing different renovations and so forth, so it’s been a lot of planning this year to get ready for the 175th,” says Diehl.
Diehl has been a Grove City resident since she was 13 and is highly involved with St. John’s. She’s seen the progression of the church throughout the years and is excited to see how the community gets involved with the anniversary events.
Through all of the changes and upgrades, the church maintains a lot of its original charm with touches of modern updates. Upon entering the church, much of the original structure is prevalent throughout the foyer, however, additions such as wheelchair lifts have been added for accessibility.
The traditional sanctuary where Sunday service takes place is entirely original, aside from a few paint touch-ups and organ replacements. Wooden pews line the aisles as natural light filters in from the hand-crafted stained-glass windows.
Since the construction of the building in 1889, the stained-glass windows have been a staple of the church. During periods of remodeling, the windows were reinforced to ensure they last as long as possible.
The 175th celebration
Mayor “Ike” Stage, dedicated 2024 as the “year of St. John’s” in honor of the church’s 175th anniversary.
Stage has deep personal ties to the church, having attended services there since he was five.
“Over the years, I was president of the congregation a few times and the financial secretary, so I was on the church council and served there,” says Stage. “My wife was actually the first female president of the congregation.” Throughout the year, the church has hosted special events to commemorate the historic building and its devoted congregation. Starting off the anniversary was the rededication of the church on May 12 earlier this year.
“We rededicated the church and we had this huge ceremony,” says Diehl.
On April 7, the church invited The Ohio State University choir for a public concert which was well attended by both church members and Grove City residents, Diehl says.
From May through October, former pastors of St. John’s returned to preach at the services where many memories were shared from over the years.
On July 27, St. John’s Cemetery, which was originally formed in 1860, was rededicated as well.
In honor of the church’s German history, on Sept. 8 the German Heritage Service paid homage to the German roots and early settlers that founded the church. The service was spoken in German along with the hymns sung during worship.
Finishing up the anniversary events was the guest speaker from the North American Lutheran Church (NALC) who visited on Oct. 27.
Amber Phipps is a contributing writer at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
