Saint John Lutheran Church (Truth or Consequences, New Mexico)

The first worship service of Saint John Lutheran Church took place in the living room of George and Betty Pasche. At the time, Truth or Consequences was known as Hot Springs. The name change occurred in 1950. So many "snowbirds" attended the services led by Pastor Stueckler in the winter of 1946-1947 that the Synod assigned Candidate Earl Kettler as missionary-at-large for Southern New Mexico. Saint John was organized on September 5, 1947. Plans were made to immediately build a church and parsonage. Work on the parsonage began on November 28, 1947, and it was finished on February 13, 1948. Construction on the church building began by July 1948 and was completed for dedication on February 6, 1949. After the first two pastorates of Pastor Kettler and pastor Schwarz, Saint John was primarily served as a vacancy by retired pastors for short-term ministry and by area pastors when no retired pastor was available. By 1960, Saint John got the benefit of Almost a full-time pastor by Pastor Carl Schmid. In 1972 it was decided to purchase and move a surplus chapel from Fort Bliss in El Paso in order to provide a Sunday School building for the congregation. It was dedicated on May 6, 1973. The chancel of the existing church building was also renovated at that time. After a split in the congregation in 1984, Pastor William Christian used his God-given talents to restore the congregation during his pastorate from 1985-1989. During that time, the stucco refreshed with new windows and doors installed. In 1990, the congregation for the first time received no District subsidy. Three worship services were offered each week-two on Sunday and one on Saturday evening. Various projects were completed in the 1990s including lighting of the outside church cross, major landscaping around the church and parsonage, ceiling fans, new pews which were subsequently padded, new carpeting, and handicapped accessibility. During 1996 a radio devotional program was broadcast on KCHS as a 50th anniversary project to serve the community, and a float was entered in the Fiesta parade. Future projects that did come to fruition were construction of an office / meeting / library / furnace room addition and replacement of the parsonage with a mobile home. The old parsonage was removed to increase parking near the church building. This congregation closed in 2022.

This can be found within the History folder in the cubic foot box.