inSPIREd Sunday

Sally and Beth host inSPIREd Sunday!  

January 2017 - San Antonio TX

From their website "During the middle part of the 19th century, thousands of German people, in search of peace and freedom which had been denied them in Europe, came to Texas to find a new home. For them, Texas was “ Das Land des Wiederanfangens” (the land of another beginning). The first families landed in Indianola in 1844 and moved westward by covered wagon to San Antonio. Some of these families stayed in Fredericksburg and New Braunfels but most came to San Antonio.
These sturdy pioneers established the first Lutheran church in 1857 under Pastor Phillip Zizelmann. St. John’s has the distinction of being in three different buildings all on the same location—the corner of S. Presa and Nueva streets. The church began its ministry with only 15 members. It grew because of the development of a school for the children of the community. At its peak, St. John’s was blessed with around 3,000 members making it the largest Lutheran church in Texas. We were known as the Lutheran Cathedral of the Southwest."

St. John’s, as it appears today, was built during the Great Depression (1932). The beauty and grandeur of the structure with all its stained-glass windows, wooden carvings, and embellished stone give all honor and glory to God.

Why is St. John’s Lutheran Church called the “rooster church?” Originally, the name came from a weathercock which was placed on the steeple of the first church which could be seen from afar. People were amused by the name as they are today; however, the cock had a deeper significance–it was a reminder of Peter’s denial of Christ on Maundy Thursday. The name stands today–we are now called the “historical rooster church.”