REDEEMER LUTHERAN CHURCH
Archives of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Redeemer are steeped with significant history leading to the founding of the church. The following includes excerpts from a written account (prior to 1930) authored by Frank Burkhardt, the first secretary of the congregation.
The first settlers of the Lutheran faith in what is now the village of Burkhardt were the Christian Burkhardt family. They arrived in St. Croix County in 1868, and soon other Lutheran families began farming in the area, including the Julius Beer family. These early families began attending church in Stillwater, but the Burkhardt sisters organized a Sunday school for the children near home (cira 1880). The German language was used in Sunday school until 1895, and then English was adopted. This offered all children of the community an opportunity to attend. The Burkhardt sisters went on to teach Sunday school for 50 successive years.
Homesteading of more Lutheran families in the vicinity led to making Burkhadt a regular preaching place. Pastors from Stillwater churches and professors and students of Luther Seminary (formerly in Afton, Minnesota, not in St. Paul) conducted church services in various homes and in the district schoolhouse. In the fall of 1903, Rev. F. Ebert, who had served the field for 14 years, accepted a call to Ohio. In January, 1904, Rev. A. C. Ernst (married to Elfrieda Burkhardt) of Chicago took charge of the Stillwater parish, including the missions at both Burkhardt and Somerset.
It soon became apparent for the need to organize a congregation and establish a church home. On Sunday, April 10, 1904 Pastor A. C. Ernst announced the Christian Burkhardt offered to donate a lot plus $500 toward building a church. The enthusiasm and contributions of those attending services that day brought the sum up to $1,010. Two weeks later a decision was made to erect a church building costing about $1,500.
A building committee was appointed, which consisted of Julius Beer, Christian Burkhardt, John Beer, Fred Ullrich and Pastor Ernst. By resolution, the name chosen for the church was the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Redeemer.
After nearly 108 years in the original church, the little church with the big heart dedicated the new facilities on January 15th, 2012. We squeezed approximately 285 people into that worship service and used every chair in building. It is beautiful, open, and spacious, giving us work to do in filling it up every Sunday, which we fully intend to do.
The Lord blessed this congregation with many helping and skillful hands that poured their sweat and blood into the new church. While all of their individual work and sacrifice can never fully be appreciated, it can be felt in the vibrancy of the new sanctuary. You can sense it in the shiny new kitchen and “parlor” (as Rev. Thurber likes to call it). And we look forward to the youth that will fill the south wing with laughter and praise. Learning, as their parents before them, what it means to be full of the Lord. And also what it means to be a proud member of the Little Church with the Big Heart.