Interactive Floor Plan Staff History

About Us

Mission Statement

Trinity Church is a community of faith. We
+ Reach and rejoice
+ Seek and serve
+ Worship and witness

the Good News and redeeming power of Jesus Christ.
Our mission is to proclaim God's love to all people.

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Staff

Senior Pastor		The Rev. Dr. John J. Santoro pastor.santoro@tlcvalpo.com
Associate Pastor		The Rev. Dr. Freda S. Scales pastor.scales@tlcvalpo.com
Minister of Worship and Music		Cheryl Dieter cedieter@comcast.net
Handbell Director		Jeff Doebler
Adult Choir Director		Janet Wade
Joyful Noise! Director
Youth Ministries Director		Kristin Lewis kristin.lewis@tlcvalpo.com
Tender Loving Care Preschool Director		Cynthia Mueller
Sexton
Office Manager		Carol Barber carol.barber@tlcvalpo.com

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Interactive Floor Plan

(Move your mouse around the floor plan and click both interior and exterior areas to view.)

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History

Trinity Lutheran Church of Valparaiso, Indiana, was founded on May 27, 1934, in a home at 257 Michigan Avenue. The organizational proceedings and the worship service which accompanied them were conducted by the Rev. George Schutes.

Within a matter of days, Mr. John F. Sievers, a member of the new congregation, exercised an option to buy a large house at the northwest corner of Washington and Chicago streets. This building (the “old Vincent place”) became Trinity’s church home on June 10^th and continued to serve the congregation in that capacity for the next eighteen years.

At first, Pastor Schutes led his parishioners in worship from atop a box in a doorway that commanded a view of all the rooms of the first floor of the mansion. His only equipment was a music stand to hold his Bible and his sermon notes. But, after extensive remodeling by the members of the congregation, the building became a very serviceable chapel. When dedicated on December 9, 1934, it consisted of a worship area which seated 200 persons, an assembly room, a pastor’s study, a church office, and a kitchen—all on the first floor. In addition, it housed a five-room apartment on the second floor that was used as Trinity’s parsonage until 1944.

For the first two years, the growing congregation worshipped with the aid of a melodeon organ. A single-manual Orgatron was purchased to replace it in 1936, but was, in turn, replaced by a two-manual Orgatron that was dedicated at the Easter service of 1937.

Sorrow filled the hearts of the members when pastor Schutes died on February 9, 1938, after a lingering illness. In his memory, a set of twenty-note electric chimes was purchased through the efforts of the Luther League (later identified as the “Tri-Service League”). The chimes were consecrated on Trinity Sunday in 1938.

During the pastorate of Paul W. Schrope (1938-1940), the debt on the first church home was eliminated, and a fund for a new church was established. By the time of Trinity’s fifth anniversary, in 1939, the congregation’s membership had reached 217. Pastor Schrope resigned in 1940 to accept a call to serve as a chaplain in the United States Army Reserve. Later he went on active duty with the Army.

In 1941, because of the growth of the Sunday School, the previously unused attic of the church house was transformed into a chapel for the Primary Department. This added room helped to relieve congestion in the main auditorium and was equipped with a portable organ in 1942.

The congregation bought another house just north of the church, at 203 Washington Street, in 1944. The $7,350 residence was used as a parsonage, freeing the second story of the church building for Sunday school classes. At the same time, this acquisition increased the congregation’s land holdings to a full quarter of a city block, providing ample space for future expansion.

Plans for a new church edifice were approved by the congregation on March 5, 1947. An ensuing building fund appeal yielded $40,000 in gifts and pledges by February, 1949, and sixteen months later ground was broken for the proposed building. During the two years of construction, Trinity collected an additional $70,000 for that project, bringing the total contributions of the congregation’s 175 families to $110,000 over an eight-year period. Through diligent supervision and a careful purchase of materials, plus the extensive use of volunteer labor, the cost of the new church (including fixtures, furnishings, and architect’s fees) was held to $180,000. $70,000 worth of bonds were sold to finance the unappropriated balance.

The gray, split-faced, Indiana limestone house of worship was dedicated on Trinity Sunday, June 8, 1952. Featuring a modified English Gothic design, it had seating capacities of 195 in the nave, 60 in the rear gallery, and 30 in the divided choir section. Additional seating was also available in the parlor and in the Mother’s Room behind the rear gallery, both of which permitted worshippers to view the nave through windows and to listen to services over a public address system. The interior of the church was furnished and trimmed with oak timber and paneling, except for the white marble altar and baptismal font. A two-manual Wicks pipe organ, formerly used in a convent near Springfield, Illinois, was installed as a gift.

Trinity’s long-range building program anticipated further enlargement of the church’s facilities as a congregation grew and prospered. In 1957 and 1958 the church acquired two more properties northwest and north of the new house of worship. (The old church house had been razed in January, 1952). Further, in 1959, in conjunction with the congregation’s silver anniversary observance, steps were taken to meet the needs of the Sunday School. The parsonage of Washington Street was converted to an educational annex, while the pastor was given a housing allowance and loan in lieu of another parsonage.

During the pastorate of the Rev. Frank L. Stevenson, who came to Trinity in 1963, the congregation’s plans for a permanent educational wing for the church plant were developed and implemented. Soon after approving a general proposal for such a unit in 1966, the church proceeded to engage the assistance of Lutheran Layman’s Movement fund organizers to expedite the financing that it required. A month-long campaign in the fall of 1967 brought in a substantial amount of money in donations and pledges. Subsequently, in 1968-69, the construction of a spacious, well-designed, $250,000 parish education building was carried out.

The celebration of the congregation’s 35th anniversary, on June 1, 1969, was a very significant day for Trinity. The activities on that occasion included a special communions service, the setting of a date stone, and the dedication of the new educational unit. The Rev. Dr. Walter Wick, President of the Indiana-Kentucky Synod, participated in these events.

Membership as of December 31, 1970 had grown to 989 baptized members, 681 confirmed members, and 375 active communing members.

Prior to its incorporation into the newly formed Lutheran Church in America (L.C.A.), Trinity was affiliated with the Indiana Synod of the United Lutheran Church in America (U.L.C.A.), from its founding in 1934 until 1962.

In 1979, Trinity Church dedicated a new pipe organ. A church Vocations Scholarship fund was established in 1983 to aid students preparing for church vocations. In 1984, Trinity Church celebrated its 50^th anniversary, and the parish burned the mortgage on the education wing of the church building. By December 31, 1986, the membership of Trinity Church had continued to grow to 1,211 baptized members, 882 confirmed members, and 600 active communing members.

Trinity expanded it's outreach program with TLC Nursery School begun in 1989 and Project Neighbors in 1990. In addition Trinity Lutheran Church (TLC) has lived up to its name with various 'TLC' projects that helped individuals in need and also built several houses for modest-income people.

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