The sun. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1937-1972, November 12, 1970, Image 5
On Sunday, July K), 1853, some
Lutherans and friends In the vll-
l*g» of Newberry met in the
Court House for worship. The
service was conducted by the
Rev. Thaddeus S. Boinest, who
was then serving the Bethlehem
Congregation near Pomarlh. He
had often visited in Newberry
and had discussed with Dr. 0. B.
Ifayer, Major Henry Summer
and Matthias Barre the or
ganisation of a congregation in
Newberry. On that Sunday a
congregation was organised
with 21 members enrolled and
the name “Luther Chapel* was
chosen. On a lot donated by
Nathan Hunter on Boundary St
opposite the terminus of Mc-
Klbben Street a wooden build
ing of Gothic style with steeple
and beU was completed Decem
ber 1, 1854. Communion ware
(two patens given by the Juve
nile Sewing Society of St John's
Church in Charleston, and a
Summer) used at the time of the
church dedication on December
10,1854 are still in useatCom-
munlons in the Church of the Re
deemer.
1
Alter PastorBoinest resign
ed in 1856 to join the Newberry
CoUege faculty the small con
gregation was served for the
next 17 years by pastors who
were either Newberry College
presidents or professors or who
also served other congrega
tions. Several of these persons
came from then-distant sec
tions of the nation, such as Pen
nsylvania, Maryland, and Vir
ginia. The first full-time pastor
was the Rev. H. W. Kuhns of
Omaha, Nebraska. During his
five year pastorate, nr irked by
much membership growth, a
parsonage adjacent to the Chur
ch was built, and after 97 years
it is still standing.
In 1896, in the pastorate of
Dr. Junius Fox, the congrega
tions second house of worship
was built at the corners of
Boundary, Wilson, and John
stone Streets were the present
church building now stands. The
second building was constructed
at a cost of $14,500 and was of
Romanesque architecture, fea
turing arched doors and import
ed stained glass windows, a
high-vaulted ceiling above an
octagonally shaped interior, and
the *1854" bell in the tower at
the northwest corner. At that
time, when the membership was
kV
about 300, tlie congregation ch
anged to the present name of
•Lutheran Church of The Re
deemer."
While Dr. William L. Sea-
brook was pastor the first pipe
organ was installed in 1903 and
in 1906 there was built on the
southwest corner of the church
property a second parsonage
which since 1962 has served as
a Parish House for varied pur
poses. The present parsonage
on Evans Circle was purchased
in 1962 at a cost of $25,000. Und
er the pastoral leadership first
first of Dr. C. A. Freed and la
ter of Dr. J. C. Perry there was
added to the second church
building in 1923-24 a Sunday
School annex at a cost of $40,
000, to meet the needs of the
growing congregation and also
to provide more seating ca
pacity for the baccalaureate and
other occasions of the closely-
associated Newberry College
constituency.
In 1951 the congregation in
augurated a long-range pro
gram for improved and new
facilities for education and for
worship. The present Education
Four members of the con
gregation built two missions in
Newberry: Mayer Memorial in
1900 byDr.O. B. Mayer in mem
ory of their father; Summer
Memorial in 1910 by the three
Summer brothers in memorial
of their mother. When a new
mission. Faith Lutheran, was
organised in 1961, Redeemer tr
ansferred fifty-four members
at that time and others since
then.
At the time of the congrega
tion’s centennial celebration in
1953 there were recognized M
sons and daughters of the con
gregation who had gone into full
time church work at home and
abroad. These Included some
who were called to work of spec
ial importance and prominence,
including Miss Mary Lou Bo
wers who in 1914 went as the
first woman missionary to Jap
an. In 1950 the congregation be
gan a program of assuming part
of missionary salary sup
port which now includes two
overseas missionary pastors.
During World War n the mili
tary service flag of the Church
of the Redeemer carried up to
100 stars, including three gold
starts. The pastor during that
period, Dr. E. Bryan Keisler,
was granted a leave of absence
for several years to serve as a
military chaplain. For supply
pastoral ministry during that
period and at several earlier
periods the congregation elect
ed Dr. R. A. Goodman of New
berry College the * Pastor
Emeritus.”
Many clergy and lay members
of the Church of the Redeemer
have been elected to service on
important boards and agencies
of the South Carolina Synod, and
also of the general Lutheran
bodies to which this congrega
tion has belonged in various
periods of its history.
All of these relationships
have given to the congregation a
rich heritage of leadership and a
wide range of membership,
which together tiave produced
generous response of the vari
ous causes and campaigns of
the congregation, the college,
the community, other institu
tions of education and of mercy
and the general church.
hi common with congrega
tions of other denominations in
Newberry City and County,
population shifts, migration of
youth to larger communities for
economic and professional op
portunities, and the general
social and religious unrest in
recent years have presented
problems for growth and for
program. But the Church at the
Reedeemer and Its present past
or face forward with determina
tion to continue toward fulfill--
iftent of mission and ministry.
Following Is a list of the
pastors of the congregation:
Thaddeus Boinest 1854-56; WU-
liam Berley 1856-1858; J. A.
Brown, D. D. 1858-60; Theo-
phllus Stork, D. D. 1859-60;
J. P. Smeltzer, D.D.1861-68;
Jacob Hawkins, D.D. supplied
in 1869; H. S. Wlngard 1870-1872;
H. W. Kuhns, D.D. 1873-1878;
S. P. Hughes 1879-1881; J.
Steck, D. D. 1882-83; A. D. Mc-
Mackln 1885-87; S. C. Schaef
fer, D. D. 1887-92; Junius B.
Fox, Ph. D.. D. D. 1893-1899;
M. G. G. Scherer, HD. 1899-
1902; W. L. Seabrocl, a D.
1902-08; EdwardFulemrlder, D.
D. 1908-1920; Chariest. Freed,
D. a 1921-1925; J. C. leery, D.
D. 1925-1931; R. A. Goodman, D.
D., supplied at various times
from 1930-1957; E. B. Keisler,
D. a 1931-1946; Paul E. Mon
roe, Jr., S.T.M. 1947-1958; H.
A. McCullough, Jr., D. D. 1959-
SOUTH CAROLINA
TRICENTENNIAL
SOUTH CAROLINA
TRKCNTENNIAL
>5
$
1
I
WE EXTEND
BEST WISHES
to Newberry County
and South Carolina
We core happy to to be a part of Progressive Newberry
County and extend Best Wishes to South Carolina on
their 300th Birthday.
Highway Surfacing Company
6l Roadbuilders. Inc.
|
%
IB
y.
S:
V.
$
8
.5:
St Pauls Road
Prosperity, S. C
&
.
m: -..fil
■
To Be A Part Of Progressive
Newberry County
mm
• > . M
I
AND EXTEND -
BEST WISHES
TO SOUTH CAROLINA
on the celebration of their
300th BIRTHDAY
M7D
1970
We Also Extend A Welcome To All
Visitors To Our County During Tri-
Centennial Week!
SOUTH CAROLINA
TRICENTENNIAL
I
Kirk Pontiac - Cadillac Co.
2100 Nance Street
Newberry, S. C.
pastorate of the Rev. Paul E.
Monroe, Jr. Prperty for the
church parking lot was purchas
ed in 1959 for $10,000. The
present Church building was
completed in 1965 during the
present pastorate of Dr. Henry
A. McCullough, Jr., at a cost of
about $405,000 for building and
furnishings and pipe organ.
During the 19 months of con
struction of the new Church
the congregation worshipped in
the auditorium of the Boundary
Street School.
When the 1896 church and the
1923-24 annex were dismantled
in 1964 due to construction of
the new church the stained glass
windows (which were memo
rials to ministers and laymen
who were early founders) and
the bell were retained in stor
age for future use. Also re
tained were the baptismal font,
the organ chimes, and other
furnishings and equipment suit
able for continuing use. Of wide
spread interest was the old cor
nerstone and metal box from the
second church containing ear
lier and then-current historical
items, some ofwhich were badly
deteriorated and others of
which were placed in the new
church cornerstone box, or
stored in the records vault.
During these 117 years the
Church of the Redeemer has
been inseparably related to
Newberry College (and for a
few years to the Theological
Seminary included there), to the
Newberry Community, and to
the larger life and work of the
Lutheran Church. From thebe-
ginning the congregation has had
college presidents and pro
fessors among its pastors and
many college-related families
and students among it mem
bers and constituency.
This congregation has con
tributed many leaders of the
religious, civic, educational;
cultural and political develop
ments in the Newberry Com
munity and far beyond. Concern
for the larger interests of the
general Church was early evid
enced by pastors and laymen in
the publication of catechisms,
a Book of Worship, of Church
papers such as the former Lu
theran Visitor (later the Luthe
ran Church Visitor), and in the
formation of missionary soc
ieties both local and state-wide.
One of Redeemer’spastors, Dr.
M. G. G. Scherer later became
president of the United Synod of
The South and was elected as the
first secretary of the United Lu
theran Church in America at
its merger in 1918.
t
ff Standanl had been in
businessin 1670...
WHEN THE FIRST SETTLERS CAME TO SOUTH CAROLINA, AND
SOMEONE HAD SAVED 100 POUNDS (THAT’S $240 IN 1970
MONEY), TODAY HIS MIDLANDS HEIRS WOULD BE LIVING IT
UP WITH AT LEAST $1,880,515.89*!
Since Standard came along in 1908, thousands of people have saved
millions of dollars and earned a tremendous amount of interest. But
1670 and 1908 are history now. What’s most important is the future.
Make it secure for your family by saving regularly at Standard, South
Carolina’s largest savings and loan association.
* Kiftured at 3% per annum, compounded quarterly for 300 years.
I ASSOCIATION NEWBERRY-COLUMBIA*ORANGEE
NEWBERRY OFFICE 1117 BOYCE ST
HOME OFFICE: 1211 WASHINGTON ST.. COLUMBIA