Lutheran Church of the Redeemer (Melbourne, Florida) Records

Record Group

Identifier: Collection ID-0598

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Practical Church Record Book contains Baptisms 1955-1993; Confirmations 1955-1991; Marriages 1956-1993; Deaths 1956-1996. Official Acts after the mid 1990s are within folders in the cubic foot boxes, membership records. Also Voters' Assembly Meeting Minutes 1956-2016, Annual Reports 1975-1980, 1982-1987, 2006; Newsletters 1999-2016; Church Directories 1957-2014; Constitution and By-Laws, Legal documents; blueprints; pictures of pastors, interior/exterior of church buildings, as well as construction pictures, confirmation class pictures.

Dates

Creation: 1954 - 2016

Biographical / Historical

In August 1954, 35 people met to consider establishing a Lutheran church in Melbourne. The first service was held in September 1954 at the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Melbourne. Sunday School and Bible classes were established in November 1954. Property was purchased on Babcock Street in early 1957 where the first sanctuary , which later became the fellowship hall, and the present one are now located. Due to growth, an education building with three classrooms was added in 1961. A new sanctuary was also built in 1965 and dedicated in 1966. In 1967 the first joint Lutheran Reformation Service (LCMS, LCA and ALC) was held. Lois Diebel was called as first deaconess in 1986 intil October 1987. The mortgage was retired in 1990. In 1994, renovation/extension of the fellowship hall to include a garage was completed. In 1997, the pre-school was closed. and Pastor Reiter left to join an ELCA congregation in Port Charlotte, FL. DCE Amy Heuer, a graduate of Concordia, Seward was installed and served for three years. DCE Esther Bargwas then installed in May, 2004, and served until May 2008. The congregation closed in 2017.

List of Pastors

John P. Ellwanger (1956-1962; Otto Diefenbach (1962-1974 when died in office; Gerald LeFeber (1973-1977; Donald Reiter (1977-1997); Harlan Schoenrock (1998-?).