St. Paul's United Church Of Christ Of Laramie
The church's several name changes reflect its history. The original name for the congregation (which spoke and worshiped in German) was Deutsche Evangelische Lutherische St. Paulus Gemeinde. The original church building name was St. Paulus Kirche. The congregation joined the Evangelical Synod of North America in 1904 after incorporating the year before as St. Pauls German Evangelical Church of Laramie, Wyoming. (The original corporate name omitted the apostrophe in "St. Paul's" because German does not use one.) After the Evangelical Synod merged with the Reformed Church in the United States in 1934, St. Pauls changed its name in 1949 to St. Paul's Evangelical and Reformed Church of Laramie, Wyoming. After the Evangelical and Reformed Church merged with the Congregational Christian Churches in 1957 to create the United Church of Christ, the church changed its name in 1963 to St. Paul's United Church of Christ. Since 1974 the church has had its present name, St. Paul's United Church of Christ of Laramie.
During World War I St. Paul's (locally known then as "the German church") and its German-speaking pastor, Rev. O.G. Wichmann, were the targets of anti-German sentiment and murmurings of spying and other disloyal activities. The church's last German language sermon was preached in 1932. In 1976, St. Paul's became the first Laramie church to call an ordained woman as its pastor.
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ Laramie Boomerang, July 12, 1890
- ^ Centennial History of Saint Paul's Church Laramie, Wyoming (1986) Laramie
- ^ Corporate records maintained by Secretary of State of Wyoming, File ID 1980-000005627
- ^ Evangelical and Reformed Church
- ^ United Church of Christ
External links
- St. Paul's Evangelical Church at the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office
- Original NRHP nomination for St. Paulus Kirche