Made for the 150th Anniversary of the city of Kendallville this is a history of St. John Lutheran Church.

1. 150 years of History
Kendallville, IN

2. • THE CHANCEL is the focal point as we enter our church
• THE SANCTUARY LAMP, hanging in the center of the
chancel arch is symbolic of our Lord, who calls Himself
the Light of the World.
• THE THREE MEANS OF GRACE, The Word and the two
Sacraments are symbolized by the lectern and pulpit
(The Word), the font, symbolic of Holy Baptism, and the
Altar, symbolic of Holy Communion.

4. • ABOVE THE ALTAR we have the three symbols of the three
persons of the Holy Trinity.
• On the left, facing the altar is the creative hand of God the
Father.
• In the center is the triumphant Lamb, the Son of God.
• On the right, the Holy Spirit descending in the form of a dove.
• In the center is the “tower”, reminding us of God, our Might
Fortress.
• On each side of the altar, wheat and grapes, symbolic of the
main purpose of the altar, the celebration of the Lord’s Supper.
• The large wooden cross in the center points to Christ, the
Lamb of God, offered as sacrifice for us, as symbolized at the
crossing of the arms.
• On each side of the cross are plaques, picturing the scourging
of Jesus (left side) and the ladder, pear and hyssop used in
the actual crucifixion (right side)

6. ON THE TABLE OF THE ALTAR
• The brass cross , empty, to symbolize our Lord’s resurrection
• Two candelabra (five light each), two single candlesticks to the right and left
serving as Communion lights. All candlelight in the chancel is symbolic of Jesus,
the Light of the World
NAVE
• Nave is Latin for “ship”, the church being pictured as a ship sailing on the sea of
life, bringing us to the heavenly shore. As we sit together in worship, we can
think of the main part of the church as our Nave, our Ship.
THE PARAMENTS OF THE ALTAR, LECTERN AND PULPIT
• Green—symbol of the Holy Trinity, three Person in One divine Essence
• Red—the power and fire of the “Lord and Giver of life”
• Purple—somberness, solemnity, penitence and prayer
• White—purity and completeness
• Black—sober reflection on the cost of our redemption (Good Friday & Ash
Wednesday)
• Blue—a new church year

8. Fifteen Christian symbols have been placed in the beautiful stained
glass windows of our sanctuary. Each symbol portrays a Christian
message.
• The vines on the windows remind us that the Lord says, “I am the
Vine, ye are the branches.”
• Each window has a pointed arch, signifying our striving for growth in
spiritual life.
• The sheaf of wheat symbolizes the bread we use in the Lord’s
Supper.
• The anchor is a form of the cross and symbolizes our hope and faith
anchored in Christ.
• The Easter lilies symbolize the resurrection, showing us that death
and life are inseparable.
• The cross with the crown of thorns is to remind us that Christ died on
the cross for all mankind.
• The golden chalice (cup) is the symbol of Holy Communion where
we receive the Lord’s body and blood for our forgiveness and
strengthening.

9. • The lamb with the banner symbolized Christ as the Lamb of God, having taken
away the sins of the whole world, carrying the banner of victory over sin and
death which He gained for us through His cross. This same symbol is seen on
the large wooden cross above the altar.
• The ark with the dove symbolizes the church, the entire number of all believers
with the dove returning with the olive branch that tells us God has restored peace
with us through Christ.
• The jeweled crown of our Lord, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords reminds us
of the reward of the faithful in life eternal as we reign with Christ in heaven.
• The Greek “A” and “O” are the Alpha and Omega, the first and last letters of the
Greek alphabet. These symbolize Christ who is the beginning and ending of all
things for Christians.
• The lamp on the Bible reminds us that His Word is a lamp unto our feet and that
we should follow the guiding light of Scripture.
• The serpent on the cross signifies that just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the
wilderness, so Christ was lifted up on the cross that whoever believes in Him
shall be saved.
• Tables of the Ten Commandments is the symbol of the Holy Law as given to
Moses.
• The white rose is the symbol of Lutheranism by Martin Luther.

11. • The present organ, located in the balcony was installed in
1952. It was purchased from the Schantz Organ Company of
Orrville, Ohio, at a cost of $12,516.00.
• The original organ was a Marshall Bennett organ purchased
by the young people in 1905.
• In the fire of 1925 the organ was damaged and then rebuilt by
the Louisville Organ Company.
• In 1952 the original pipe organ was dismantled after Easter to
be replaced by a new one. Raymond Beights presented a
concert the Sunday evening before it was dismantled. Mrs.
Albert Sprandel, who had been organist as vacancies
occurred since 1918, played the last church service on the old
organ.

13. • Dedication of the present organ took place at the 10:30 a.m.
service on May 25, 1952 with Dr. Raymond Beights (son of St.
John) at the console and Dr. Martin F. Kretzmann preaching.
• The console of the organ consists of two keyboards—the swell
and the great manual. The two keyboards consist of sixty-one
keys each and a pedal board with thirty-two keys. There is
one pipe for each key and at least 61 pipes for each rank. A
rank is a collection of pipes which have the same tone quality.
Our instrument has 13 ranks and 920 pipes.
• The pipe organ is a massive machine composed of
mechanical, electrical and pneumatic parts which work
together to produce the musical sound which have enhanced
our singing at St. John.

15. • The St. John Lutheran Church has three brass bells, each of a
different size.
• The largest bell is approximately 35 inches high and 50 inches
wide.
• All of the three bells have the name of Hy. Stuckstede Bell Co.,
St. Louis, Mo. as the maker and dated 1892. The church
building in which the bells were hung was dedicated in 1873.
• On January 10, 1892 it was resolved to buy a peal of three
bells (3965 pounds) from the Stuckstede Bell Company of St.
Louis who also donated a 150 pound bell for the school. The
school bell was taken down when the school was discontinued
and given to another unknown church.

17. • The bells have the following inscription:
The largest called “Faith” has the inscription “Glory to God in the Highest” and
the text “God is Love”.
The second bell called “Charity” has the inscription “Peace on Earth” and the
text “Go and preach the Gospel to Every Creature”.
The smallest bell received the name “Hope” and the inscription “Good Will
Toward Men” and the text “God so loved the world that He gave His Only-
begotten Son”.
• All these inscriptions are in German. Total cost of the bells was
$880.22.
• On the large bell the inscription in German reads:
GLAUBE
EHRE SEI GOTT IN DER HOHE
GOT IST DIE LIEBE

19. • The bells were originally installed so that they could be rung by
pulling ropes, which seemed to have been fastened to wooden
wheels. Portions of wooden wheels still lie on the floor of the belfry,
but steel wheels have been installed for present day ringing, and
further modern methods have been added so that ringing can be
done with electric motors.
• All three bells have an apparatus for striking a toll but only the large
bell has its tolling hammer connected to the electrical mechanism.
The other two toll hammers are not in use. The toll hammers are
installed in such manner that they strike downwards and against the
outside of the bell.
• When the church was destroyed by fire May 5, 1924, the bells were
saved. Many of the supporting timbers in the belfry are slightly
charred as a result of that devastating fire.

21. • In 1939 a plan was adopted concerning the ringing of the church
bells:
3 bells to be rung each Saturday at 6 p.m.
3 bells to be rung eve of each church holiday—Christmas, Easter and
Pentecost
Large bell to be rung at 8:30 a.m. for Sunday School
3 bells to be rung at 9:00 a.m. for Sunday School hour
Large bell to be rung at 10:00 a.m. for the preaching service
3 bells to be rung at 10:30 a.m. for the worship service.
Large bell to be rung at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday evening and other days when
evening services are held
3 bells at 7:30 p.m. for the worship service
Large Bell to be rung announcing the beginning of the funeral service in the
home
Large bell is to toll as the funeral procession approaches
3 bells may be rung at a marriage in the church
• The dedication of the electric bell ringers took place on March 22,

23. • Frederick Schumann (Fairfield Pastor)
1860-1865
• Joseph Lehner (Avilla Pastor)
1860-1865
• Albert Wuestermann
1865-1870
• Philip Fleischmann
1871-1878
• George Schumm
1879-1889
• William Broecker
1889-1896
• Richard D. Biedermann
1896-1903
• Ernst C. Kuehn
1903-1909
• Martin F. Kretzmann
1909-1954
• Herman H. Heine
1955-1972
• Herman A. Etzold
1973-1976
• Kenneth J. Gerike
1976-1982
• Paul B. Griebel
1982-2013