St. Peter Lutheran Church (Holgate, Ohio) records

St. Peter Lutheran congregation first met on January 17, 1906, in the home of F. H. Voigt. Some of the thirty-six charter members came from St. John Lutheran Church in Holgate, Ohio. On April [23], 1906, land was purchased at the corner of William and Section Line (Kaufman) Streets. Ground was broken in October 1906 with the cornerstone laid May 12, 1907. The Holgate Presbyterian Church offered the use of their edifice until St. Peter Lutheran Church was completed. The church constitution was recommended January 28, 1906. The congregation resolved on May 19, 1906, to purchase land for a cemetery, which adjoined that of St. John Lutheran cemetery. On June 1906, in a meeting of the Evangelical Lutheran District Synod of Ohio of the General Council, this congregation was received into the Evangelical Lutheran District Synod of Ohio of the General Council. Charter membership closed on April 21, 1907 with 56 communicants participating. On November 11, 1907, St. Peter Lutheran Church of Holgate and St. John Lutheran of Standley broke their shared pastoral relationship with Zion Lutheran Church of Defiance. The congregation of St. Peter Lutheran Church on December 8, 1907, participated in the consecration and dedication of their edifice where Reverend Engers preached the first sermon in German followed by Reverend J. H. Wannemecher's sermon, which was given in English. The St. John Lutheran Church in Standley, on January 1928, voted to merge with St. Peter Lutheran Church.

Approval was given by the congregation on November 9, 2003, to purchase land on Joe E. Brown Avenue in Holgate, Ohio. This land was subsequently purchased on January 13, 2004.The first service in the new edifice was the December 24, 2005 service. From Easter 2006 until October 22, 2006, thoughts and memories commemorating the past one hundred years were read after the Sunday church announcements. The one hundredth anniversary celebration culminated in a celebration on October 22, 2006, with former pastors attending the church service.

The above history was compiled based on information obtained from St. Peter Lutheran Church, Holgate, Ohio, the St. Peter Lutheran Church, Holgate, Ohio Record Book 1906-1927, and from Henry County, Ohio: A Collection of Historical Sketches and Family Histories, Henry County Historical Society (Ohio), Napoleon, Ohio : The Society, 1976-1979.