Zion Lutheran Church (Maple Heights, Ohio) Official Acts

The first meeting of this congregation took place on March 28, 1883. Worship services were conducted in German from 1880, and English services were added as of April 15, 1883. Four acres was deeded to the congregation as church property in June 1883. The parsonage was built in 1884. The Synodical Convention in 1886 accepted this congregation to be a joint parish with Saint John Lutheran Church. In 1891, discussion were held regarding building a new church building. Cornerstone laying was held on May 17, 1896 and was dedicated on Spetember 13, 1896. The 10th anniversary of the church building was celebrated in 1906. The 25th anniversary of the organization of the congregation was held on June 14, 1908. Engalish services were discontinued on April 28, 1912. The church and parsonage were wired for electricity in 1916. English services were resumed once a month in 1920. The 25th anniversary of the church building was celebrated on September 13, 1921. English and German services began to be held on alternate SUndays in 1923. In 1925, it was resolved that it would be good if the two congregations of Zion and Trinity be merged into one parish. The school building was remodeled and a basement added in 1926. The 50th anniversary of the first worship service was held in 1930. Sunday School was organized in 1932. A resolution was passed on June 14, 1943 that this congregation start a mission in Bedford. Zion joined the Federation of Lutheran Churches of Cleveland, Ohio on January 23, 1944. The decision was made on August 7, 1944 to close the parochial school due to low enrollment. 50th anniversary of dedication of the church building was held on September 15, 1946. The discussion that had started as early as 1925 about the merger of Trinity and Zion finally ended in October. The decision was made to rescind all resolutions considering the merger. The last German service was held in 1950. Zion joined the Cleveland Lutheran High School Association in 1951, and the Voters' Assembly discussed the need for a new parish hall. The 75th anniversary of the beginning of Zion's ministry was observed on September 11 and 18, 1955. In 1956, the Constitution was revised to change the name of the church to Zion Lutheran Church, Maple Heights, Ohio, and Zion withdrew afrom the Cleveland Lutheran High School Association. Groundbreaking for the new parish hall and Sunday School building took place on October 25, 1959. The cornerstone was laid on December 13, 1959. Dedication was held for the new "all purpose" building on July 17, 1960. The small building which was the original parochial school and house of worship, and later used as a parish hall was sold and removed form the church property. The 80th anniversary of the founding of Zion was held on March 31, 1963. The old parsonage was torn down and removed in 1967. In 1968, due to a road widening, the decision was made to move to another location on the property. After two years of planning, a building committee was organized to supervise the moving and remodeling of the church building. The rededication service was held on April 25, 1971. Zion joined the Lutheran High School Association again in 1975. The 50th anniversary of the Sunday School was observed in 1982. The 100th anniversary of the congregation was celebrated on March 27, 1983.

• 1883 - 1884 Rev. C.F. Tiemann
• 1884 - 1885 Rev. Gottlob Stern
• 1887 - 1890 Rev. Phillip Wamsganss
• 1890 - 1896 Cleveland Pastoral Conference
• 1896 - 1901 Rev. J. Paul Riedel
• 1902 - 1903 Rev. O. Burhenn
• 1903 - 1910 Rev. G. Koch
• 1910 - 1914 Rev. Gustav Meyr
• 1914 - 1922 Rev. Richard Truelzsch
• 1922 - 1941 Rev. Justus H. Rupprecht
• 1941 - 1943 Rev. Otto G. Schultz
• 1944 - 1969 Rev. Arthur C. Keck
• 1969 - ?(at least 1983) Rev. John C. Landskroener