A BRIEF HISTORY OF HOLY TRINITY
Holy Trinity organized itself as a congregation on March 19, 1874. This event followed almost twenty years of missionary activity among English-speaking Lutherans in Chicago by two early Lutheran bodies (the General Synod, through its Home Missionary Society in Baltimore, and the General Council, through its Pittsburgh Synod). The role of Dr. W.A. Passavant (1821-1894) in both this early missionary work and the founding of Holy Trinity was particularly critical. Passavant is known both as the “Father of Holy Trinity” and as a founder of St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, with which Holy Trinity merged in 1912. Our large upstairs space is named Passavant Hall in his honor. When its roots in the missionary activities of the 1850s are considered, Holy Trinity is one of the first four or five Lutheran churches in Chicago. It is the oldest English-speaking Lutheran church in the city and has held an important place in the history of Lutheranism in Chicago.
Holy Trinity has been in the heart of Chicago from the beginning. The first mission post (from 1856) was located near Clark and Monroe Streets. The mission disbanded in 1861 and the lot and building were sold to Mount Sinai Congregation (Chicago’s oldest Reformed Jewish congregation). Passavant revived the mission in 1864, this time further north in the parlors of his newly built hospital at 141 Dearborn Street. The first four church buildings of the congregation were in the same general area: the first two near Dearborn and Ontario Streets, the third at Dearborn and Erie Streets and the fourth at LaSalle and Elm Streets (now LaSalle Street Church). By the time Holy Trinity sold its lot and building at LaSalle and Elm in 1912, many of its members and prospective members had moved farther north. When St. Mark’s Lutheran Church invited Holy Trinity to share in ministry at its new Lake View chapel, then at Addison and Maple Square (later called Magnolia), Holy Trinity accepted and moved to a new neighborhood.
Holy Trinity has been described as a church of “firsts” and “mosts”. It was the first English-speaking Lutheran congregation in Chicago; the congregation with the closest connection to the Lutheran Theological Seminary of Chicago, originally on the site of Wrigley Field (even its commencement services were held at Holy Trinity) and now Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago in Hyde Park; the site chosen for the organizing convention of the Chicago Synod of the General Council; and, for a time at LaSalle/Elm Streets, the “millionaire’s church”. Yet Holy Trinity has also suffered periods of membership decline and financial problems. Fortunately, it has been blessed with support and aid when most needed. The General Synod supported Holy Trinity for many of its early years; and Holy Trinity was the first congregation to receive missionary support from the General Council. St. Mark’s Lutheran Church of Philadelphia (organized in 1850) provided moral and financial support in the 1870s. Both a Norwegian Lutheran Church (probably Bethlehem, then on North Sangamon Street) and Swedish Emanuel Lutheran Church offered their worship space to Holy Trinity when Holy Trinity had none. The Lutheran Theological Seminary of Chicago provided supply pastors when Holy Trinity needed them.
In 1923, Holy Trinity formally dedicated its new building at Addison and Maple Square. Since that time the congregation has been blessed and challenged by a constantly changing neighborhood for its ministry. Families with children of various ages, large choirs and yearly confirmation programs gave way to demographics in the 1990s of single adults, gay and lesbian couples, and younger married couples with no or very small children.
Following a period of decline, in the 2000s Holy Trinity entered a time of rapid growth as many young adults and others from the neighborhood and others from Chicago Northside’s responded to its unique emphasis on liturgy, music, spirituality, and social justice. Following its radical welcome to gays and lesbians in the 1990s, Holy Trinity also began attracting young straight singles and married couples, and eventually the church had 100 babies, children, and teens in its membership.
In 2013 Holy Trinity expanded its mission by launching a second site, HTLoop, in the South Loop. Between 2010 and 2024 the congregation embarked on two capital campaigns, and two periods of strategic planning. The pandemic brought many changes which led to worship and many other congregational events offered both in person and online.
We give thanks for our forebears who have brought us to this place as we mark Holy Trinity’s 150 years of ministry in Chicago, and trust that God will lead us faithfully into the future.
Thanks to Dale Hoiberg for material used in the 1999 125th Anniversary booklet. Bibliography of sources used:
A Brief History of The English Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity, Chicago. Chicago, 1906.
Bachmann, E. Theodore and Mercia Brenne Bachmann. The United Lutheran Church in America, 1918-1962. Edited by Paul Rorem. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, Publishers, 1997.
Gerberding, G.H. R.F. Weidner, D.D., LL.D. Waverly, Iowa: Wartburg Press, 1916.
Gerberding, G.H. The Life and Letters of W.A. Passavant. Greenville, PA: The Young Lutheran Co., 1906.
Leas, Joseph Allen. The Hoosier Pastor. Chicago, 1947.
Lovoll, Odd S. A Century of Urban Life: The Norwegians in Chicago before 1930. Northfield, MN: Norwegian American Historical Association, 1988.
Nelson, E. Clifford, ed. The Lutherans in North America. Rev. ed. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1980.
Major Events in Holy Trinity’s Life
1837 City of Chicago Incorporated
1843 First St. Paul’s Lutheran Church (German) Organized
1848 First Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church Organized
1853 Swedish Emanuel Lutheran Church Organized
1853 Planning for an English-language Lutheran congregation in Chicago was begun by the Home Missionary Society of the General Synod
1856 First English-language Lutheran mission in Chicago was begun by the Home Missionary Society of the General Synod; Rev. T.W. Kemp was called as missionary pastor and a frame church building and lot at Clark/Monroe Streets were secured
1859 August 12 Support for the mission was discontinued by the Home Missionary Society; Rev. W.A. Passavant assumed financial responsibility for the current missionary, Rev. G.A. Bowers
1861 Civil War Begins
1861 April 11 Church building and its lease were sold to Mount Sinai Congregation and the congregation disbanded
1864 Mission was begun again by Rev. Passavant; worship services were held in the parlors of the newly-opened Passavant Hospital at 141 Dearborn Street
1865 Civil War Ends; President Abraham Lincoln Assassinated
1867 August Rev. Frank Richards, working under the direction of the Pittsburgh Synod of the General Council, became missionary pastor
1867 October construction of a frame church building was begun at Dearborn/Ontario Streets; the congregation called itself the Church of Mercy
1871 Great Chicago Fire
1871 Holy Trinity’s building was destroyed by the Great Chicago Fire
1871-1872 Worship services were held at a Norwegian church (probably Bethlehem on Sangamon Street) for several months and then in a frame shanty at 65 E. Erie Street; Rev. Henry Reck of the Swedish Lutheran College, Paxton, acted as supply pastor while Rev. Richards collected money in the East for a new church building
1872 Storeroom at 178 N. Clark Street was purchased and moved to a lot at Dearborn/Erie Streets (SW corner); ownership of the building and lot was transferred to the Lutheran Mission and Church Extension Society of the General Council in exchange for the funds necessary to complete the purchase; dedication of the new building took place on December 14, 1872
1874 February 1 Rev. Edmund Belfour accepted a call as pastor of the Church of Mercy under the auspices of the General Council
1874 February 22 Committee of six was appointed to draft a constitution and prepare for legal organization of the congregation
1874 The congregation approved the constitution and organized itself as The English Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity, Chicago
1875 The Lutheran Mission and Church Extension Society of the General Council returned ownership of the church building and lot to Holy Trinity upon Holy Trinity’s assumption of its debt.
1878 Holy Trinity’s additional outstanding debt of $1163.71 with the Lutheran Mission and Church Extension Society of the General Council was forgiven upon Holy Trinity’s payment of $1.00; the Society continued to pay the pastor’s salary
1880 January 1 Rev. Belfour resigned and Rev. Henry Reck once again became supply pastor
1881 Rev. Charles Koerner accepted a call as pastor of Holy Trinity
1882 April 10 Lot on LaSalle/Elm Streets was purchased with money from the sale of the Dearborn/Erie property; Thiel College (Pennsylvania), also founded by Rev. Passavant, loaned Holy Trinity $12,000 as a mortgage on the property
1883 December 25 The first service was held in the lecture room of the new church
1884 First Skyscraper Built in Chicago
1885 Holy Trinity was received into the Indiana Synod of the General Council
1886 New church building was dedicated during the 19th convention of the General Council, which was hosted by Holy Trinity
1887 The congregation assumed payment of the pastor’s full salary
1896 Indiana Synod was reorganized under the name Chicago Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, at Holy Trinity
1892 Ellis Island Opens
1893 Columbian Exposition
1897 Rev. Koerner’s resignation as pastor was accepted
1898 Spanish American War
1898 Rev. William Evans became pastor, but resigned on August 14, 1900, to serve a Congregational church in Chicago
1900 Rev. R.F. Weidner, president of the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Chicago and member of Holy Trinity, became supply pastor
1901 Rev. William H. Hunton began work as regular pastor
1906 San Francisco Earthquake
1906 Rev. Hunton resigned to become manager of the literary department of the Board of Publication of the General Council in Philadelphia
1906 Rev. G.H. Gerberding, professor at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Chicago, became supply pastor
1911 Rev. Walter C. Davis became pastor
1912 Councils of Holy Trinity and St. Mark’s met to unite the congregations
1912 Union of Holy Trinity and St. Mark’s became effective under the name The Holy Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church of Chicago, Illinois; Rev. Walter C. Davis was called as pastor
1913 Constitution and by-laws of The Holy Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church of Chicago, Illinois were adopted
1914 Wrigley Field is Built
1916 Rev. Joseph Allen Leas became pastor
1917 World War I Begins
1918 World War I Ends, United Lutheran Church in America is Formed
1918 Congregation became part of the United Lutheran Church in America via merger of the General Council with the General Synod and United Synod in the South
1919 Congregation voted unanimously to start a campaign to raise funds for a new church building
1920 Prohibition Begins
1920 Chicago Synod (and Holy Trinity with it) became part of the Illinois Synod of the United Lutheran Church in America
1922 A service of ground breaking for a new building at Addison/Maple Square Streets (later Magnolia) was held
1922 A “farewell” service was held in St. Mark’s chapel
1922 Cornerstone of the new building was laid
1923 (May 6) Dedication of the new church (which cost $86,000) at Addison/Maple Square
1927 Charles Lindberg Crosses Atlantic in the “Spirit of St. Louis”
1929 Stock Market Crashes
1933 Prohibition Repealed
1941 Japan Attacks Pearl Harbor
1945 World War II Ends
1945 Rev. Clyde Steele became pastor
1950 Korean War Begins
1953 Rev. Clyde Steele resigned as pastor
1945 Polio Vaccine Tested on U.S. Children
1954 Building purchased for parsonage at 4232 N. Greenview
1954 Rev. Ernest Habig became pastor
1955 March Holy Trinity participated in the WGN-TV program “Faith of our Fathers” (also in October 1956 and February 1958)
1958 The congregation began using the Service Book and Hymnal
1959 Alaska and Hawaii Become States
1960 Rev. Ernest Habig resigned as pastor
1960 Rev. Eric Weber became pastor
1961 New organ was dedicated
1962 Lutheran Church of America Formed
1962 Congregation became part of the Lutheran Church in America, Illinois Synod, via merger of the ULCA with the Augustana Synod, the American (Danish) Evangelical Lutheran Church and the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America
1963 President John F. Kennedy Assassinated
1964 U.S. Civil Rights Act Passed; Gulf of Tonkin Resolution Passed
1966 Fellowship Hall in the education building was named Nelson Hall in honor of Sophie Nelson, member for over 60 years, who gave a bequest
1966 Rev. Eric Weber resigned as pastor
1966 Rev. Paul Hegstrom became pastor
1969 First Man on the Moon
1969 Estate Fund was established with funds from Kohlsdorf estate
1974 President Richard Nixon Resigns
1978 Lutheran Book of Worship was introduced
1980 Rev. Paul Hegstrom retired from the ministry
1981 Rev. Dean Bard became pastor
1981 April Congregation voted to celebrate Holy Communion weekly
1981 Congregation voted to sell parsonage for $72,000
1983 June Holy Trinity was a prime mover in establishing the Lincoln Belmont Pantry
1986 Rev. Dean Bard resigned as pastor
1987 Rev. Daniel Schwich became pastor
1988 Holy Trinity became part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, a merger of the Lutheran Church in America, the American Lutheran Church, and the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches
1989 Berlin Wall Comes Down
1990 Congregation voted to become a Reconciled in Christ congregation
1991 Gulf War; USSR Dissolved
1993 Free-standing altar was installed
1996 Proposal on unified ministry/merger presented to Holy Trinity and Lake View Lutheran churches
1997 Holy Trinity and Lake View merger was defeated by both congregations
1998 Rev. Daniel Schwich resigned as pastor
1999 Rev. Craig Mueller became pastor
1999 Refurbishing of sanctuary was completed for 125th Anniversary Celebration
2000 Holy Trinity began mentoring seminary students (totaling 50 through 2024)
2002 Rev. Michelle (Miller) Sevig became pastoral associate, and later associate pastor
2004 An early Sunday morning liturgy is added
2006 Evangelical Lutheran Worship is introduced
2006 – 2008 Expansive Faith capital campaign for new/renovated/expanded organ, and accessibility improvements
2011 Voices strategic planning
2013 HTLoop begins holding services in the South Loop
2016 Rev. Ben Adams is called as associate pastor and mission developer for HTLoop
2019 – 2022 Toward 100 capital campaign for stained glass window repair, air-conditioning for the sanctuary, a lift and accessible restroom in Passavant Hall, tuckpointing, and renovated offices and Gathering Space on the first floor
2020 Lakeview Lutheran Parish (Holy Trinity, Lake View, Resurrection, and Saint Luke) is formed
2021 Rev. Ben Adams resigns as associate pastor
2021 Livestreaming equipment installed
2023 Reparations and strategic planning task forces are formed
St. Mark’s English Evangelical Lutheran Church
1890 German mission work was started through the instrumentality of Rev. W.A. Passavant in a frame chapel on Addison/Clark Streets
1891 Pastor Merz began serving the mission for two years
1893 Professors of the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Chicago supplied the mission
1894 October Rev. G.H. Gerberding assumed charge as acting pastor
1896 March 1 Professor A.T. Clay became regular pastor; the congregation was officially named St. Mark’s English Evangelical Lutheran Church, after St. Mark’s Lutheran Church of Philadelphia
1899 Rev. Zenan M. Corbet became pastor
1909 May 15 Rev. C.L. Warstler became pastor, under whom a lot at Addison/Maple Square was purchased and a chapel built
Quotes About The Congregation In History
“This congregation [i.e., St. Mark’s] has the reputation of being the most liturgical Lutheran Church in all the West and it was the first English congregation in America to use the Gregorian music at all its services. . . . St. Mark’s Vested Choir enjoys more than a local reputation and is the only robed choir in the Lutheran Church of the Middle West.”
“At the present time the Music Committee of Holy Trinity Church owe to me as their Director of Music $133 and as far as I can see there has been no attempt of any magnitude on their part to make a payment of any size that would warrant my continuing with Holy Trinity in my present capacity.” Director of Music Charles E. Riddel in a letter to D.M. Schueren, May 18, 1908.
“The General Council had no field missionary in Chicago at the time, and although I was pastor of Holy Trinity, they asked me to take that on too and we started a mission on Marquette Park on the south side, until the Missouri Synod found out and organized a mission in the same block and we had to quit.” Rev. Walter C. Davis at a Holy Trinity anniversary dinner on October 24, 1961.
“When you celebrate an anniversary, you ought not to just speak of the past, but of the future as well. It is not only a time of thanksgiving, but a time of reconsecration.” Rev. Walter C. Davis at a Holy Trinity anniversary dinner on October 24, 1961.
“The new building on Elm Street, with its beautiful spire, was completed, and the congregation was very happy and began a long rest on their former laurels. They rested too long and the creditors said so.” Rev. Joseph A. Leas on the loss of the building at LaSalle/Elm Streets. From The Hoosier Pastor.
“Great sympathy was extended to us by the good Lutherans of the East, and much was done for us by these people. St. Mark’s congregation of Philadelphia especially deserves our love and kind remembrance for the ready assistance they gave us, not only during the trying times after the great fire, but also subsequent to this time.” Mr. L.M. Melander, a member of Holy Trinity, at the reception of Rev. William Evans, April 22, 1898.
“ . . . I am in duty bound to confess that I am not now in harmony with Lutheran doctrine and usages and hence do here and now, in accordance with and because of the above, tender you my resignation as Pastor of the Church of the Holy Trinity, Chicago.” Rev. William Evans in a letter to the Church Council of Holy Trinity, August 6, 1900.
“I am in sore perplexity about our affairs in Chicago. The Church of Mercy, the toil of so many years, and our little hospital, both with obligations resting on them for which I am responsible, are in ashes. The entire North Side for two miles is a smoking desolation. No less than seven Lutheran churches are in ruins . . . . My situation is a trying one indeed, but not worse than multitudes of others and God will open some way of deliverance.” Rev. W.A. Passavant in a letter to his brother, October 9, 1871. From The Life and Letters of W.A. Passavant.
Holy Trinity Pastors
Addison/Magnolia Streets, 1916 - 2024
Joseph Allen Leas October 1, 1916 – 1945; Pastor Emeritus to 1952
Clyde G. Steele December 1, 1945 – June 15, 1953
Ernest E. Habig May 19, 1954 – February 29, 1960
Eric R. Weber April 20, 1960 – April 11, 1966
Paul L. Hegstrom July 1, 1966 – September 30, 1980
Dean W. Bard January 4, 1981 – October 1, 1986
Daniel J. Schwich May 4, 1987 – January 31, 1998
Craig Mueller February 28, 1999 –
Michelle Sevig 2002 -
Organists/Choir Directors
1944 – 2024
Elizabeth Bain 1944 – 1958
Martin Argall 1949 – 1979
Michael Shawgo 1981 - 1983
Walt Horn 1983 – 1991
Douglas Williams 1991 – 2001
Donald Meineke 2002 – 2003
David Brackley 2003 -