John Blankenbaker's Germanna History Notes

Note 2076

The St. Mary's Lutheran Church building in London was destroyed during World War II.  It was the dream, after the war, that a new building could be obtained.  Increasing prices for land and building made this almost impossible.  By combining with the International Lutheran Student Centre, it became possible to have facilities which could be identified as belonging to St. Mary's.

This was the fifth Church building in the history of St. Mary's Church and it was consecrated in 1978, on the 284th anniversary of the congregation's foundation.  The congregation was solid, but the numbers were insufficient to insure a strong financial base.  In 1994, the church had about 93 members.  Sunday attendance, with a social gathering afterwards, was averaging about 21 people.

The trend since WWII has been for some stronger ecumenical ties.  In Germany, the Lutheran and Reformed Churches became the Evangelical (meaning Protestant) Church.  In England, the Lutheran Churches developed English branches.  Additionally, stronger ties were developed with the Church of England.

Throughout its history, St. Mary's received support from the Church of England.  The Lutheran, Reformed, and Free Churches in England were accepted as alternatives to the Church of England, even though in Virginia, during the Eighteenth Century, the Church of England was the official Church and the Free Churches were persecuted.

I found the history of St. Mary's reflected some limited observations about Churches here in modern America.  Many of the same problems occur despite a difference of language and time.

Of course, I am especially drawn to St. Mary's because many of my ancestors worshiped at St. Mary's during the time they were in London, especially in 1717.  A few of our Germanna ancestors are mentioned in the records of St. Mary's.

This mini-series was possible because Andreas Mielke brought the role of St. Mary's to the attention of Sandra Yelton.  When she was in London, she was able to obtain a copy of the history of the Church from 1694 to 1994.  (Fortunately, for me, there are two parts to the book, one in German and one in English.)  I hope that I was able to present the material in a way that was interesting to you.
(25 Mar 05)

We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.