Our History
On August 29, 1955, eight families of the Springfield-Franconia area in Virginia petitioned the Mission Board of the Southeastern District of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod to initiate a program to make possible the establishment of a church in the Springfield area. The name "Franconia-Springfield Lutheran Church" was used. The Washington area Lutheran Committee allotted the Franconia area for the group to serve.
Chaplain Ottomar Tietjen, stationed at the Pentagon at the time and living in Springfield, agreed to serve as temporary pastor. The young congregation obtained permission to use the auditorium/cafeteria of the Franconia Elementary School on Franconia Road for service. The first worship service was held on January 15, 1956 with 52 people in attendance. The Sunday School met for the first time the following Sunday, January 22, with 17 children in four classes.
The congregation was officially organized on October 13, 1956. The official name, "St. John's Lutheran Church" was formally adopted along with the congregational constitution.
Dr. Martin E. Marty drew our church sigil in April 1958, taking the theme from John's Gospel, "these things are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and believing, you might have life in His name."
Following Chaplain Tietjen, who served the congregation as temporary pastor until September 1957, was Rev. Paul A. Meyer. He was installed in September 1957 as our first pastor, serving until 1968. Rev. Edward Bobb served as St. John's pastor from 1969-1976. Rev. James Roseman became our pastor in July 1977, serving until he retired in 1995. Rev. John S. Meehan served first as our Associate Pasator from 1988-1995, then was installed as our Senior Pastor in January 1996 and is still serving our congregation. Rev. Benjamin F. Nass served the congregation as Associate Pastor for almost ten years as Associate Pastor prior to his retirement, and Rev. Braun Campbell was called as our Associate Pastor in 2006.
Our current Fellowship Hall (the first sanctuary) was built in 1959 and served as our house of worship until our current sanctuary was built in 1966. As our congregation grew, so did our need for additional facilities. In 1988, the Parish Center was built to provide additional space for our expanding ministries. In the years ahead, we plan to develop our existing campus as we continue to serve as a Lutheran ministry outpost in the Springfield-Franconia area.
Since its beginning, St. John's ministry has included outreach programs to the community and provided for the needs of our congregation as well. We are now partnering with some of our sister congregations to reach out in Word and sacrament ministry to the Spanish-speaking community around us. Let us give thanks to God and pray for His continued blessings to the congregation of St. John's Lutheran Church as under God's grace we celebrate the past and prepare for the future.