Holy Cross Lutheran Church celebrates 75 years as parish
Seventy-five years ago, Rudolph and Bertha Repke set out to start a Lutheran church in the Onaway area. It took two people to start a parish that has continuously grown ever since. Holy Cross Lutheran Church was founded on faith, and today, it is that same faith that keeps it strong. On Sunday, Holy Cross will commemorate its 75th Anniversary ? remembering its past, and celebrating its future.
IN THE beginning, sometime prior to 1923, the first Holy Cross services were conducted at the Repke home, which was known as the ?Chandler House? on the corner of Michigan and Washington Streets. Pastor Harold Schmidt of the Posen area traveled to Onaway every two weeks in order to conduct the first Lutheran mission in the area. Soon, the Repke?s home became too small for the number of parishioners they had attracted.
Pastor Harold Ott, a graduate of St. Louis Seminary, became the congregation?s first pastor. Holy Cross services were held in the Tower Public School. Pastor Ott also served a parish in Cheboygan where he lived.
In 1933, the Great Depression forced the small Holy Cross mission to hold its services in the basement of the Tower Baptist Church, as well as at the Episcopal Church on the corner of Shaw and Lynn Streets in Onaway. Despite the continuous uprooting, Holy Cross managed to organize its first Christmas program presented in 1933 by 20 Sunday school students, as well as its first Communion Service.
When Pastor Ott left the parish in 1936, the church had grown to 46 members. Pastor Herman Heinecke of Moltke served the mission for four years, watching membership grow to 55.
IN 1940, during the pastorate of A. E. Kreuger, the Episcopal Church was purchased and served the congregation until 1961. Pastor Heinecke was called upon once again to serve until 1947. At that time, the congregation boasted 75 parishioners.
Reverend Charles F. Boerger began serving Holy Cross in 1947, and became the parish?s first resident pastor in 1951 when he and his family moved to Onaway. The year of 1958 became a turning point for Pastor Boerger and his parish when members began to discuss a new House of Worship, and by 1959 the Michigan District Mission Board approved the plans for a larger church to be built at the corner of Ninth (Glasier)and East State Streets ? a plot of land given to the parish by Mr. and Mrs. John Hoxmark.
In 1961, Ted and Pat Wall gifted a piece of property at the corner of Shaw and South Seventh Streets for a parsonage. Funds from the sale of the old church were used for construction, which was dedicated in 1962
. From 1965 to 1971, Pastor David Schilling was installed to lead Holy Cross. It was during this time the Cheboygan and Onaway parishes divided ? each with its own pastor. Several pastors diligently served Holy Cross from 1972 to the late 1990s. In 1998, an addition was made to the church building, providing a fellowship room, a pastor?s office, a nursery, and a space for other children?s programs.
IT WAS in December of 2000 when present pastor, Stephen E. Schilke, was installed. Pastor Schilke not only acknowledges the constant growth Holy Cross Lutheran Church has achieved, but he also shows pride for the continued growth since he began in 2000. ?The first year I was here, the parish started a preschool, and that has been going great,? said Pastor Schilke. ?We have Marianne Dougherty, a certified early childhood teacher and member of our parish, as the teacher. Our attendance in the class has been growing ? we had about 18 students this past year.?
In 2001, Holy Cross started its Vacation Bible School, with this year?s planned for July 23 to July 26 from 9 a.m. to noon each day. ?VBS is a big success,? said Schilke. ?The kids just keep coming back.? This will be the third year the parish has sponsored a youth basketball clinic, which is open to any child in the county.
?The basketball camp has been a lot of fun,? said Schilke. ?My background was coaching and teaching before I went into the seminary ? I coached basketball and taught math for 30 years.? The parish also is proud of its Bible Study classes, held each Sunday at 9 a.m., as well as Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Schilke said not all of the successful programs at Holy Cross are necessarily new. He used a long-standing quilting group as an example. ?There is a group of women who come in every week to make quilts,? said Schilke. ?Every fall, what they?ve made is sent all over the world as part of the Lutheran World Relief program.
IN CELEBRATION of their 75 years, the Holy Cross Lutheran Church will conduct a celebration service on Sunday at 3 p.m. There also will be a regular service at 10 a.m. ?During the Celebration Service, we will have the president of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, Michigan District, here to preach the message. We?ll then have lunch following the service. The lunch is being catered by Manzana?s.?
Holy Cross Lutheran Church now has about 190 members, and Schilke said the parish is working hard to make its 75th Anniversary memorable.
?The 75th Anniversary Committee has done a wonderful job,? said Schilke. ?It is a joy to work with these people ? they are all very loving and caring. The people in our congregation are very giving and open.?