Saint John Lutheran Church (Maryville, Illinois) Records

A group of German Lutherans at New Minden, near Nashville, Illinois and another group of German Lutherans in Pleasant Ridge, both made an appeal to the Saxon Lutherans of Saint Louis, requesting the services of one of their pastors. Ridge Prairie is a term applied to a large tract of land spread along the bluffs on the east side of the Mississippi River Bottoms, opposite Saint Louis. Two small communities of interest were Ridge Prairie, three miles north of Edwardsville, and Pleasant Ridge, three miles north of Collinsville. Rev. F. Buenger visited the group at Pleasant Ridge, and he reported back to Rev. C. F. W. Walther. He, in turn, contacted Rev. F. Lochner of Toledo, Ohio, asking him to serve the people of Pleasant Ridge and Ridge Prairie, north of Edwardsville. The two congregations were to be a dual charge of Rev. Lochner. Worship services were held on alternate Sundays since Rev. Lochner served two parishes. The first church building was made of logs, and the second was a framed structure. In 1859, due to growth, the Voters Assembly decided to build a new church. A teacherage was built in 1860. In 1867 after the Civil War and assassination of President Lincoln, black children were permitted to attend the Christian Day School. In 1876 an addition was built to the teacherage and a new school was built on the site where the first church building had stood. The school building served as the congregation's parish hall until 1887. Five years later, three acres of land were purchased for a cemetery. The bell was purchased in 1885. In 1904 a new parsonage was built and the exterior of the church building was finished in stucco. The Confirmation House was built in 1913. In 1924 a new teacherage was built and was turned into the parsonage later. During the Depression, the teacher had to be terminated. The enrollment of the school declined from that time onward. For awhile Sunday services were held on alternate Sundays in German and English. The class of 1927 was the last confirmation class confirmed in German. As of March 1934, all records, minutes and official acts were to be kept in English. The 75th Jubilee was celebrated on December 9, 1934, in conjunction with the 400th Anniversary of the Open Bible. In 1939 it was possible to make some improvements to the church property. A new roof was installed, and the church, school, and parsonage were wired for electricity. The congregation's 95th Anniversary was celebrated on November 30, 1941. The 100th was celebrated in 1946. The school building was remodeled into a parish hall in 1954. The 100th Anniversary of the building was celebrated in 1959. A new brick parsonage was dedicated on May 27, 1962. In 1967 the cemetery was vandalized. A new roof was installed in 1971 and the old parsonage. The congregation raised money in 1987 for an addition that housed a new fellowship hall, kitchen, classrooms, restrooms, and offices. The sanctuary was renovated in the early 1990s. The Wicks organ was refurbished in 1993. The congregation partnered with Laborers For Christ in 2002 to build a four-room addition to the church's school building. The addition enabled the congregation to expand its school. A kindergarten class was added to the preschool in 2003, with daycare being added in 2007. The 140th Anniversary was celebrated in 1986, 150th in 1996, and 170th in 2016. This congregation closed in 2022.

Pastors

• Rev. Frederich Lochner 1846-1850
• Rev. Carl H. Schliepsick 1850-1856
• Rev. George Link 1856-1860
• Rev. Anton Wagner 1860-1867
• Rev. C. Friedrich Ruhland 1867-1872
• Rev. C. Storm 1872-1875
• Rev. Wilhelm Dorn 1876-1903 (Louis Dorn assisted his father 1885-1888)
• Rev. H. Markworth 1904-1911
• Rev. H. von Gemmingen 1912-1918
• Rev. Wilhelm T. Vogel 1918-1919
• Rev. F. Wittmer 1820 - Rev. Dr. Fuehrbringer served as vacancy pastor
• Rev. Wilhelm Hodde 1922-1930
• Rev. Albert J. Weber 1930-1957
• Rev. G. K. Schmidt served as vacancy pastor
• Rev. E. Paul Seefeldt 1958-1959
• Rev. Ronald Schmidt served as vacancy pastor
• Rev. Fredrick Duensing 1960 - passed away 1972
• Rev. Thomas Teske 1972-1974
• Rev. Ronald Hilmer 1975-1985
• Rev. Daniel Weise 1985-1988
• Rev. Jeffrey Callahan 1988-1998
• Rev. James Gimbel vacancy pastor
• Rev. Lee Maxwell 1998 - passed away 2014
• Rev. Gregg Pavelski 2014 - present (2016 source)