History
The United Church of Christ acknowledges as its sole head, Jesus Christ, Son of God and Savior. It acknowledges as kindred in Christ all who share in this confession. It looks to the Word of God in the Scriptures, and to the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, to prosper its creative and redemptive work. It claims as its own the faith of the historic Church expressed in the ancient creeds and reclaimed in the basic insights of the Protestant Reformers. It affirms the responsibility of the Church in each generation to make this faith its own in reality of worship, in honesty of thought and expression, and in purity of heart before God. In accordance with the teaching of our Lord and the practice prevailing among evangelical Christians, it recognizes two sacraments: Baptistm and the Lord’s Supper or Holy Communion.
–From the Preamble to the Constitution of the United Church of Christ.
St. Lucas United Church of Christ History
On July 14, 1889, Pastor Schmidt arrived in Evansville to lead a new German-Evangelical congregation. On July 21 St. Lucas was born. Dedication of the sanctuary took place on April 20, 1890. St. Lucas continued to grow and the Sunday School Hall was dedicated on October 27, 1907. The 21 stained glass windows were bestowed on September 21, 1911. St. Lucas has continued to thrive and had many updates to further God’s calling.
The St. Lucas Parish Hall went through many changes during its existence as our Sunday School home. Many fun and exciting events took place in this building. The church bazaar was always looked forward to with anticipation as to what would be found in the craft booths. Of course, the chicken and dumplin’ dinner was always delicious and enjoyed by many in the community. During the 1937 flood the Indiana Naval Militia quartered in the parish house. The church office also became a broadcasting station of military forces. Then on March 2000 the Parish Hall became Lucas Place. This is now a key mission of St. Lucas Church.
Music became an active part of St. Lucas on 1893 when the Giesecke tracer action pipe organ was dedicated. Then in 1895 the church orchestra became alive and continues to thrive today. Mr. Ben Oakes currently directs the orchestra following in the footsteps of Elmer Bruck and Bill Cox. The St. Lucas choirs have flourished and have had wonderful direction from devoted individuals such as Bill Johnson, Cheryl Schultz, Dr. Mark Simmons, Jerry Hoover and more recently Dr. Jon Truitt. The Aeolian Skinner organ was rededicated on October 23, 2003 with Kirk Rich at the console. This organ has been played by many fine organists including E. Power Biggs, Fenner Douglas, Vincent Dubois of Paris, France, and Mrs. Hope Nelson to whom the organ is dedicated for 31 years of service to God and St. Lucas.
St. Lucas has been blessed with many wonderful pastors. Many of these ministers have gone on to serve other congregations and conferences. Two, Rev. Carol Barth-Schauss and Dr. Thom Webster, currently serve the Indiana-Kentucky Conference. We are now focusing on a new vision under the leadership of Reverend Lynn Martin. With his guidance, we are praying that St. Lucas will continue the missions that our founders believed in so many years ago.
We are now celebrating 125 years as Christ’s followers. Much has changed over the years except for our dedication to God. With His ever present Spirit, the members of St. Lucas strive each day to lead the life that Jesus so lived.
UCC History
The United Church of Christ came into being in 1957 with the union of two Protestant denominations: the Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Churches. Each of these was the result of a union of two earlier denominations.
The Congregational Churches were organized when the Pilgrims of Plymouth Plantation (1620) and the Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony (1629) acknowledged their unity in the Cambridge Platform of 1648. The Reformed Church in the United States traced its beginnings to congregations of German settlers in Pennsylvania founded from 1725 on. Later, its size grew from Reformed settlers from Switzerland and other countries.
The Christian Churches sprang up in the late 1700s and early 1800s in reaction to the theological and organizational rigidity of the Methodist, Presbyterian, and Baptist churches of the time.
The Evangelical Synod of North America traced its beginning to an association of German Evangelical pastors in Missouri. This association, founded in 1840, reflected the 1817 union of Lutheran and Reformed churches in Germany.
Through the years, members of other groups such as Native Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, Volga Germans, Armenians, Hungarians, and Hispanic Americans have joined with the four earlier groups. Thus the United Church of Christ celebrates and continues a wide variety of traditions in its common life.