Fonds S2077 - St. John's Lutheran Church (Waterloo, ON) fonds

St. John's Lutheran Church (1837-2018) in Waterloo, Ontario was a member of the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada. The church was located at 22 Willow Street.
German settlers established the congregation, named Evangelisch Lutherisch St. Johannis Gemeinde, in 1837. A plot of land was purchased in Waterloo, at the modern-day intersection of King and Bridgeport Streets, and a modest church was erected. The congregation eventually outgrew original building and a new church was constructed, on the same plot of land, in 1883.
St. John’s was a German-language congregation for much of the nineteenth century. As newly arriving immigrants settled the region, English began to encroach on traditional German language practices within the Church. Starting in 1903 English sermons were offered on alternate Sundays, and an English Sunday School was established in 1912. After World War I the use of the German language continued to decline and, in 1939, St. John's Lutheran Church ceased to offer German-language services. In the 1960s there was an resurgence of interest, and German services were held bi-monthly. Throughout the years, Danish and Eastonian language services were also offered.
A devastating fire destroyed the St. John’s Church building on October 31, 1959. Many of the church records were salvaged, though damaged by fire and water. The congregation chose to rebuild the church at 22 Willow Street in Waterloo, and the new church was dedicated on October 14, 1962. The stone building features a high bell tower, a five-panelled gallery window of St. John, a fellowship hall and an educational wing.
St. John’s Senior Citizen Home (formerly Luther Manor) opened in 1975. Additional phases were added in 1982 and 1989.
In 2018, St. John's Lutheran Church amalgamated with St. Mark's Lutheran Church and the Lutheran Church of the Reformation to form Trillium Lutheran Church, a worship community of the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada. Trillium Lutheran Church is located in the former St. John’s Lutheran Church building at 22 Willow Street in Waterloo, Ontario.