A BRIEF HISTORY OF CHRISTIANA EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH
1871-PRESENT

Christiana Evangelical Lutheran Church was organized January 22, 1871, in the home (shown at right) of the Nathan Brown family.  Nathan Brown was the great grandson of Michael Braun, a large landowner in eastern Rowan County.  The home was handed down through the Brown family, remained on the family farm and is now located behind the church cemetery on South Main Street (formerly Old 80, Granite Quarry). The Rev. Simeon Scherer, pastor of Union Lutheran Church, organized the congregation with the following persons listed as charter members: Nathan Brown, Henry Brown, Daniel Frick, Moses Lingle, Charles Lyerly, Adam Miller, and Miles (Milus) Miller.

Within six months, the group outgrew the Brown home and the members decided to build the first of three structures to house their congregation. (No present church members recall seeing a photo of this structure.) The cornerstone for the building was laid July 25, 1871 and it was completed in 1874. The dimensions of the building were: length - 53 feet; width - 35 feet.  The land for siting the church, approximately 5.5 acres, included a beautiful grove of oak trees and was given by Nathan and Jane Brown (his wife) and Mrs. Amy Miller Brown (Nathan's mother).

During its first 40 years, Christiana was ministered to by at least five pastors assigned to sister Lutheran churches in the area. However, since 1918, Christiana has been self-sustaining and has had the full-time services of its own pastor.

In 1898, a second Church building (shown below at left) replaced the original structure. This building was 65 feet in length by 50 feet in width. In 1925 two transepts, housing ten Sunday School classrooms, were added to the church.

In 1931, a new brick parsonage was consecrated for the Church.

On March 11, 1945, while the congregation was assembled for Sunday School classes, the second Church building caught fire and was completely destroyed.  Fortunately, everyone escaped without injury, with the exception of a man whose arm was cut while tossing church belongings out of a broken window.  A week later the congregation decided to rebuild the church.

The new brick structure (shown below),  completed in 1949 (debt free), measured 125 feet in length by 43 feet in width and included a classroom wing at the rear that measured 76 feet in width by 44 in length.

As the congregation expanded, it gradually outgrew the gathering and kitchen space in the basement of the main structure and, in 1953, a one-story free-standing building, known as Fellowship Hall, was built at the rear of the church property..  At the same time, improvements were made to the grounds and a church office was built and furnished in the main structure.

The driveway at the church was paved in 1955.  Five years later, in 1960, a two-story structure was built at the rear of and adjacent to the main structure in order to meet the need for additional classroom space.  This building, known as the Educational Building, also contained a larger space to meet the expanding needs of the church office.  

In 1971, a Senior Citizen's Statue and Garden of Prayer was erected in the church cemetery almost exactly on the spot where the second church building had stood.

In the late 1990's, a steeple was finally added to the church as a result of a generous donation from the Hamilton family.  The original church design called for a steeple but budget constraints placed it on hold at the time.

As the congregation grew and members aged, church leadership recognized the need for better access to all areas of our facility.  In 2003 an elevator was installed in the church along with a new exterior entrance to the church office and an adjacent covered walkway.  Elderly and handicapped members may now access their vehicles without fighting the elements and may easily reach classrooms and the sanctuary.

On March 17, 2003, the church extended its physical presence to the World Wide Web, by launching its new website: http://www.christianaelc.org

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