Rev. CFW Meyer

The founders of Redeemer Lutheran Church first arranged to have services held in English on alternate Sunday evenings at St. Paul and Emanuel Churches. In the early fall of 1892 the small frame church at the corner of Washington and Fulton Streets was purchased from Plymouth Congregational Church and this became the church home of this courageous, determined group of families for the next thirty-two years. Services were held every Sunday evening. The pulpit was filled by various Lutheran pastors and Concordia College professors until the Rev. Albrecht, who had been their counselor throughout all of these proceedings, served until a permanent pastor could be called. This did not take long, for early in 1893 a call was issued to the Rev. C. F. W. Meyer of Gar Creek, Indiana. It was accepted, and on April 3, 1896, Rev. Meyer was installed at Redeemer. A week later the little congregation was officially affiliated with Synod. There followed a period of meeting and overcoming obstacles (not the least of which was financial), ringing doorbells for the church, knitting the small, but growing band together by frequent pastoral visits and pleasant little gatherings at homes, where church affairs were the main topic of conversation. A steady increase in membership was noted. Rev. Meyer stayed at Redeemer for almost ten years and prayerfully laid the firm foundation for what was to continue to be a growing church. On October 19, 1902 he accepted a call to Baltimore, Maryland. The vacancy pastor was the congregations's good friend, The Rev. Paul Stoeppelworth of Trinity Lutheran Church.