General Synod (1820-1918)
Northern Illinois Synod
(1910
map)
Advent
Ascension
Augsburg
Calvary English
Christ English
Cuyler
Grace English
Hope
Luther Memorial (Ravenswood)
Mt. Zion
People's
Reformation
Rogers Park English
St. Andrew's English
St. James' (Logan Sq.)
St. Mark's Ger.-English
St. Paul's
Tabor
Trinity (Cent. Ill.)
Unity
Woodlawn Immanuel
Wartburg Synod
Bethel German
St. Simon's German
Trinity German (Holy Trinity)
Ravenswood
English Lutheran Church /
Luther Memorial Ev. Lutheran Church
Luther Memorial was organized as Ravenswood English Evangelical Lutheran Church on April 22, 1897 as a member of the Northern Illinois Synod of the General Synod. A lot was purchased at 2120 Sunnyside Ave., and the building constructed (pictured above) on that site was dedicated on Nov. 27, 1898.
By 1914 it was apparent that the congregation needed additional space. A promising field was evident in West Ravenswood, where four lots were purchased at Wilson and Campbell Avenues in July 1914.
In March 1917 the congregation adopted the name "Luther Memorial Evangelical Lutheran Church" in honor of the four-hundredth anniversary of the Reformation. In June 1917, the old building was sold, and in July congregation moved to temporary quarters until the new building (pictured above) was completed in December 1918.
By the early 1920s, the congregation was again in need of new facilities. Construction began in August 1925, and the building (pictured below) was dedicated on Nov. 14, 1926.
Luther Memorial's home page can be found at www.luthermemorialchicago.org.
| Pastors | |
| Richard Lazarus (interim) | April 25, 1897-Oct. 1, 1897 |
| Frederick W. Meyer | Oct. 20, 1897-Jan. 1, 1903 |
| D.P. Heltzel | Jan. 1, 1903-Oct. 1, 1906 |
| C.A. Britt (interim) | Oct. 1, 1906-Feb. 1, 1907 |
| S.S. Kauffman | Feb. 1, 1907-July 1, 1919 |
| John E. Hummon | Dec. 7, 1919-Dec. 26, 1920 |
| Jerome M. Guss | July 1, 1921-March 1923 |
| J.E. Hummon | July 1923-Oct. 6, 1929 |
| Edwin Moll | Dec. 15, 1929-Oct. 1, 1937 |
| George Koehler | May 1938-April 1944 |
| K. Bruno Neumann | Nov. 1, 1944-1972 |
Original records
Original record books should be found at Luther Memorial Church, 2500 W. Wilson
Ave., Chicago, IL 60625-3026. The ELCA Archives has some congregation histories and other
materials relating to Luther Memorial.
Sources
"25th Anniversary Festival, Luther Memorial Evangelical Lutheran
Church," Souvenir program, 1922.
"The Voice of Luther Memorial Church, the 50th Anniversary," 1947.