Wyandotte County Churches
Children's Memorial Lutheran, Kansas City
"A History of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Kansas"
H. A. Ott, 1907
This church is the outgrowth of a mission Sunday School started
at No. 810 Independence Avenue, September 22, 1882, under the
direction of Rev. S. S. Waltz, then pastor of the First church.
Later the school was transferred to a store room at the northwest
corner of Harrison street and Independence avenue. Here Rev.
M. F. Troxell, then pastor at Eureka, Kansas, preached the first
sermon on the 9th of December, 1883. It was not until April the
following year that he accepted a call and was commissioned missionary there under the auspices of the Home Mission Board. With
the full consent and co-operation of the Council of the First church
Rev. Troxell canvassed the neighborhood, and on the first of June,
1884, after a suitable sermon and services there was organized the
Children's Memorial Church with the following eleven members:
Mr. and Mrs. E. P. Briggs, Mr. and Mrs. David Rine, Mr. and Mrs.
P. Preston Newhard, Miss Anna Clatanoff, Mrs. J. A. Robinson,
Mrs. A. Sherer, Mrs. E. E. Emig, and Mr. S. L. C. Rhodes. On the
15th of the same month the following officers were elected: Elder,
E. P. Briggs; Deacon, P. P. Newhard; Trustees, Messrs Rhodes
and Rine.
This mission was the first home mission station to receive support from the Sunday schools of the General Synod on Luther day,
in November. The offerings then first begun were only about five
hundred dollars the first year, but the movement was a popular
one and the income of the Home Board grew rapidly from that
source year by year. It was the fact of receiving aid in this way
for the founding and support of the mission from the children of
the church and Sunday schools that gave the pastor, Rev. Troxell,
the idea of naming the organization the "Children's Memorial,"
and of securing funds for a permanent church home through the
offerings, in Ten-dollar shares, from the Sunday schools of the
General Synod.
The congregation asked permisison of the Board of Home Missions and the Board of Church Extension to make an appeal to
the Sunday schools of the General Synod for the building of a
house, and this consent was obtained. The pastor at once set himself to the work using the columns of the church papers through
which to present his plans, asking all the Sunday schools to take
one or more Ten-dollar shares of stock in the new spiritual enterprise. The Children's Memorial Church of Kansas City soon become well known all over the General Synod. The success of the
plan was evidenced from the way in which shares were rapidly subscribed for the new Kansas City mission. The popularity of the
mission led to the regular appointing of Luther Day as a day in
which our Sunday schools took offerings for the Board of Home
Missions.
Through the general appeal to the Sunday schools help was given
sufficient to warrant the purchase of a church site, and in the
spring of 1885 lots were purchased at the northwest corner of Sixth
street, (now Admiral boulevard) and Tracy avenue, at a cost of
S3, 100. Upon the lots purchased a chapel was erected during the
summer of 1885, and dedicated November 8th of that year. The
cost of the chapel was about $3,500 and the church was grateful,
both to the schools of the church at large, and also to
the Board of Church Extension for timely aid in securing
their church home in the rapidly growing commercial metropolis
of the southwest. Great joy filled the hearts of the members and
faithful workers of the Children's Memorial on the day of dedication of their new chapel. Revs. Jacob A. Clutz, Samuel B. Barnitz,
S. S. Waltz and James M. Cromer of the Lutheran church, and Rev.
D. Schley Schaff of the First Presbyterian church of the city assisted the pastor in the dedicatory exercises. Rev. Troxell resigned
in September, 1888.
Rev. George Daniel Gotwald, of Salina, Kansas, was elected as
the second pastor, and took charge December 1st, 1888. Before
his arrival on the field the congregation paid off a note of one thousand dollars held by the Mutual Building and Loan Association of
the city. In March, 1889, full settlement was made with the Board
of Church Extension. The fifth annual congregational meeting
showed a membership of 115 and the yearly contributions amounted to $1,688.48. During five years death claimed but one member.
In the fall of 1889 a furnace was installed at a cost of $115, and
paid for. The congregation also co-operated with the First church
in publishing a parish paper, "The Lutheran Banner." Plans were
also discussed looking toward the building of the main auditorium.
These were halted by the sudden death of the pastor which occurred January 12th, 1890. A cold contracted in attending to pastoral duties developed into pneumonia which proved fatal. This
sad event deeply affected the members who were closely attached
to their pastor. Rev. Gotwald carried an Insurance Policy in favor
of Midland College, which yielded about twenty-five thousand dollars to that institution for the endowment of the presidential chair.
After a short vacancy, Rev. Frank De Graff Altman was chosen
pastor and took charge April 16th, 1890. In the annual congregational meeting held June 1st, the Secretary reported 98 resident
and 36 non-resident members, with the yearly contribution amounting to $1,046.56. Of this amount $180 was for benevolence. Work
on the main building was begun the following year and on August
23d, 1891, the corner stone was laid. Dedication took place February 14th, 1892. On the first of August Rev. Altman resigned
as pastor and Rev. J. S. Detweiler, of Omaha, was chosen
as his successor. He took charge October 15th, 1895. This relation continued until July 20th, 1896, when the pastor resigned, but
continued to act as supply, receiving only the voluntary freewill
offerings of the people as support. This arrangement lasted only
until October, 1896. It was decidedly un-Lutheran, as were other
methods and views into which Rev. Detweiler had developed, so
much so that he received a dismissal from the Lutheran ministry
by the action of the Kansas Synod, at his own request, and made
an effort to establish himself in an independent way as a holiness
and faith-healing leader, in a location not far from the Memorial
church which he had been serving as pastor in Kansas City. His
efforts there finally failed, and he left for Texas and other parts of
the country; but the reader may imagine what a hard and trying
experience it was for a comparatively young city church to stand
the strain of his vagaries and near-by association in the very vicinity where he had been called and supported as a pastor and a supposed loyal leader in the Lutheran church.
After this hard strain Rev. Edward P. Schueler was called and
installed as pastor and served the congregation from June, 1897, to
June, 1900. Out of the previous period of discouragement the
church under his ministry came again into hope and activity.
In July, 1900, Rev. Jesse W. Ball, became pastor. During April
of 1903 application was made for aid a second time from the Board
of Home Missions, and aid was granted. There was also an effort
made to sell the property and move the church to the eastern part
of the city, into a supposed better resident district. This effort
was not successful and the pastor resigned.
Rev. Frank Heilman became pastor June 15th, 1904, and retired
May 1st, 1905.
On August 1st, 1905, Rev. A. B. Shrader took charge and continues as pastor up to the present time, 1907. The church reports
80 members, a property valued at $20,000 and a debt of $5,500.
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