Zion Lutheran Church is in the midst of celebrating its legacy.
The church in Longtown celebrated its 125th anniversary with a special service on July 31.
The service was the second of four different special events throughout 2022 to commemorate a different milestone in the founding of the church.
July 31 remembered the first service that was held at the church on August 1, 1897. The church previously held a special service on June 26, 2022 to celebrate the laying of the church’s cornerstone in 1912. That mass was led by Rev. John Schubert
In July, Vicar Jared Tanz gave a message to remember the first time the congregation met.
“125 years is absolutely amazing,” Tanz said. “When Rev. John was here a few weeks ago he talked about how the people of Longtown loved to celebrate. You should celebrate because it is a big occasion. Right across the street from here the first service was held and 125 years later, we are still here.”
Tanz said it is a testament to the congregations long before that Zion Lutheran has stood for more than one century.
“We thank God for you and the people who have been here over the last 125 years for caring for his church, caring for one another, and being steadfast in His word.”
Tanz’s sermon message was about purpose and he said that a lot as changed in the last 125 since Zion Lutheran first opened its doors.
“We have nice, cool air conditioning and cars in the parking lot, instead of horses on a hitch post,” Tanz said. “We have paved roads and all of these great amenities. Yet things remain the same. We know that people lived a hard life in some ways, but we still live that hard life too. There is still hardship and pain and evil in this world. There is still sickness and death. There is still desires for more and we will still desire that old self. However, we strive for that life that Christ has for us.”
Tanz described that it is our turn to teach those after us to trust in God.
“God as claimed us so that we can go on and teach what it means to be claimed and loved by Christ,” Tanz said. “That is when our pointless, becomes our purpose. That is how we go on for another 125 years and another 125 after that.
The charter members of this congregation had been members of Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg prior to this event and had been granted a peaceful release from that church. They were given that church’s blessing to start their own church in Longtown. You could say that Zion, Longtown was a daughter congregation of the Friedenberg church.
The group of men who met on July 19, 1897 needed the guidance of a pastor. That leadership came from Rev. O.R. Hueschen, who was the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Uniontown, which is located five miles south of Longtown on what is now called Highway 61. This committee of men managed to approve a constitution for this new church.
Zion Lutheran will celebrate two more milestones this year with special services on Sept. 11 with the celebration of Zion’s first pastor in 1897 and again on Oct. 30 when it celebrates the dedication of Zion in 1912.
