St John Evangelical Lutheran Church was established by local German settlers in 1878. The current sanctuary was built in 1925.
A historic marker stands on the front of St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church, originally affiliated with the German Evangelical Lutheran movement and now part of the Church of Christ, that reads as follows:
"SAINT JOHN CHURCH
German settlers who came to Richland community in the 1860s worshiped originally in private homes. Nineteen charter members, under leadership of the Rev. G. Haehnelt, organized the St. John German Evangelical Lutheran Church in 1878. Church land was given for a schoolhouse where services were held until the first sanctuary was built in 1884. The second was erected in 1891 and replaced by the present building in 1925. Services were conducted in German until the 1930s. In 1960 the congregation became affiliated with the United Church of Christ. (1978)"
From the church website: (
visit link)
Welcome to St. John Lutheran Church. (SJR)
Thanks for visiting our website. No matter who you are, you will find something here for you.
St. John’s has been discipling individuals, young and old, for over five generations, and we are dedicated now more than ever to helping individuals know and experience the God who made them and loves them!
If you are not a follower of Jesus but rather are ‘seeking’ (i.e., seeking truth, seeking hope, seeking spiritual help, seeking God, seeing purpose…the purpose of life), click the “Seeking” link above. If you are a new believer, looking for fellowship or simply wanting to grow in your new Christian faith, click the “New Believer” link.
To learn more about what we do and the life we share at St John’s, or to learn more about the various ministries that St. John’s offers, click the “Our Ministries” link.
The “Find Us”, “Contact Us,” and “About Us” links are probably pretty self-explanatory. The “Find a Grave” link will help you find a particular grave in St. John’s Cemetery, which is located on the east side of our campus, behind our sanctuary. If you’d like to learn more about different ways you can help us enable personal transformation and life-change, and strengthen families, marriages and individuals with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, please click the “Support” link above.
The Lord be with you. (We believe He is!)"