A little over 150 years ago a number of families with Lutheran background came from Germany to Texas to seek new opportunities and realize their ideals, which they so highly cherished. A few of these families drifted eventually to Washington County and made their homes in this area.
As early as 1854, some people were delegated to contact a Lutheran pastor who would take care of the spiritual welfare of the community. Such a person was found in Johann George Ebinger, who, along with five other missionaries, had been sent to America by the Pilgrim Mission near Basel, Switzerland in November of 1851. Pastor Ebinger came to Texas, and at the age of 23, was one of eight men who helped organize the First Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Texas in Houston, on November 10, 1851.
Records say that after the missionaries landed at Galveston, they were on their own. They received no financial support from across the waters. Financial support was lacking everywhere. The income from the members of their congregations was also insufficient. The people who were served by these pioneer ministers were themselves engaged in wrestling a bare existence from their primitive, pioneer surroundings. They had so very little money. They had so very little of everything.
On December 24, 1854, Pastor Ebinger conducted his first Lutheran service in this county, and became the first minister of the Berlin Eben-Ezer congregation, of which our Salem was a part.
Salem’s own beginning was not without discord, for soon after his arrival, Pastor Ebinger began working on a constitution for the congregation. Dissensions arose among the members brought on by certain articles of his proposed constitution. This resulted in the formation of factions known as the liberal and conservative elements.
Pastor Ebinger and those conservative few who held fast to their old constitution, thought it best to withdraw, and they consequently moved to what they called the “Prairie three miles south of Brenham” and here they established their own congregation which would become know as “Evangelical Lutheran Salem Congregation of the Texas Synod.”
On Founding Day - November 22, 1856, the base, or cornerstone, was laid “... in a solemnceremony calling upon the help of God. ” The 17 charter members were: Wm. Bohne (who donated the one acre of land for the first church), Wm. Schuerenberg, Friedrich Ehlert, J. Kasparik, Peter Hahn, H. Meier, Franz Friedrich Spreen, C.W. Wuenscher, Christoph Hueske, Friedrich Weiss, G. Weiss, August Mueller, Wm. Schlottmann, Friedrich Schawe, Friedrich Pieper, Gustav Ludwig Kollmey, and Pastor Ebinger.
On November 26, 2006, Salem celebrated 150 years of ministry. During those 150 years, Salem has had four church buildings, twenty-one pastors and variety of ministries, which include baptisms, weddings, youth groups, Boy Scouts and 4-H. In 1987, Salem became part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. We continue to serve God and others with our presence in the community.
Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church Pastors
Johann George Ebinger
1856 - 1860
Christian Geiger
1860 - 1866
J.G. Lieb
1867 - 1882
R. Wasser
1883 - 1884
F. Jesse
1884 - 1890
S. Traubel
1891 - 1894
W. Bunge
1894 - 1896
L. Weinrich
1897 - 1898
Johannes Mgebroff
1898 - 1920
William Utesch
1920 - 1940
A.J. Mohr
1940 - 1947
W.C. Poehlmann
1947 - 1953
O.K. Oelke
1954 - 1964
F.T. Sager
1964 - 1977
William (Bill) Derrick
1978 - 2005
Melanie Ehler
1988 - 1990
Gary Veit
1991 - 1995
Charles Treptow
1997 - 2002
Michael Widner
2002 - 2004
Charles Parnell
2005-
Lydia Paterson
2006-
150th Anniversary Book Part 1
150th Anniversary Book Part 2
(Please allow a few minutes for these to download)
