St. Paul's Lutheran Church moves ahead on plans to demolish 1905 building in Muskego

MUSKEGO - Nearly two years after its congregation first voted on the possibility, and despite continued opposition, St. Paul's Lutheran Church has taken another step toward a now-planned autumn demolition of its historic 1905 building.

Church leaders announced in April that the 119-year-old church, the oldest remaining building on the campus and the place where all St. Paul's worship services were held until 1978, will be formally decommissioned in a July 21 event. It represents a chance for the congregation and the community in general to honor the building's place in Muskego and Tess Corners history, they said.

People will also have a chance to tour the old church one last time before a process begins to remove items and furnishings ahead of demolition, which officials now say will take place sometime in September or October.

"This will be a sad day at St. Paul’s. All of us here love this building and the spiritual history that it represents," St. Paul’s member Chuck Thompson said in a news release announcing the decommissioning service. "It is also a day to celebrate the many lives God touched by the gospel in this building during its 73 years of regular use."

St. Paul's members twice voted to demolish the 1905 church

The sequence of events leading to this moment dates back 46 years, with a finality emerging in the last two.

In the late 1970s, church leaders elected to build a new worship center on St. Paul's growing campus — a decision based on the physical space limitations of the 1905 church, S66 W14325 Janesville Road, whose facade sits close to Janesville Road just east of Tess Corners Drive and is surrounded by the historic church cemetery. The new church to the east became part of the complex, which includes a school, a child care center and a counseling care center.

The old church had still been used for limited purposes by the congregation until recently. But in the spring of 2022, church leaders brought the proposal of demolishing the old church to a congregational vote, arguing that the costs of maintaining the 1905 church outweighed the practical value of keeping it intact.

In a May 2022 letter, they cited a lack of parking, handicapped accessibility, adequate bathrooms and air conditioning as costly needs that would have to be addressed if the building was going to be used again.

In April, church leaders also noted that major costs of tuckpointing, roof replacement, and steeple repair would be needed to preserve the building's exterior.

According to various sources, the first vote was 38-14 in favor of demolition. Because the congregation consists of an estimated 2,700 members, some felt that vote count was too shallow to definitively reflect the congregation's feelings on the plan, and began a campaign to save the church from demolition.

Based upon the request of five congregational members, a second vote was held in August 2023. While the turnout was greater and the margin of support smaller, the congregation still voted 84-77 to reaffirm the demolition.

Demolition opponents still push for alternatives for 1905 church

The opposition to church leaders' demolition plans didn't go away with the second vote, though it's unclear how much fervor remains now as the church heads toward decommissioning in the weeks ahead and demolition in the coming months.

John Archibald, a former member of the church who now resides in Arkansas, said a group of congregation members and others are continuing in their efforts to create a foundation or nonprofit entity to take over maintenance of the 119-year-old building, using grants and a new stream of revenue. From his perspective, the group, for which he is working as a preservation consultant, is intensely focused on the cause.

"The Friends of the 1905 St. Paul's Lutheran Church is far from loosely organized," Archibald said in an email. "It stands ready to form a non-profit organization. Its members want to commit to manage the 1905 church without demands on the budget of St. Paul's of Tess Corners."

Individuals have also shown support through Facebook posts on the topic, with some seeking legal advice and assistance from the Wisconsin Historical Society. One legal avenue that the group has researched, in part through Archibald's help, is whether the land deeded to the congregation more than a century ago must revert to previous ownership, the Tess family heirs, if the church is torn down.

"It appears that the seller of the land, Jacob Tess, made clear the land could only be used for 'church and cemetery purposes,'" Archibald said. "That's not unusual in historical preservation. Deeds all across America have that phrase. What is unusual is that he wrote a reversion clause and how he wrote it."

He questions whether the Friends group should even be regarded as the "opposition," given what he views as a broad base of support among the congregation.

"The Friends also have made clear to me that if there is opposition, it is against keeping the 1905 church," Archibald said. "The longtime church members want to save it. The opposition consists of those who want to demolish it. It’s a worthwhile distinction."

Special service will include Muskego and preservation information

St. Paul's Church, affiliated with the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, and Muskego share a common point in history. The church erected its first building in 1838 in Tess Corners, on the same site as the 1905 church and during the same year Muskego became a town.

Thompson, who is coordinating the decommissioning service, noted that residents in and around Muskego can get involved. "We hope many of our neighbors in the community can join us for the decommissioning service on July 21," he added. "Help us celebrate our spiritual past and ask God’s blessings on our ministry in the future."

Church leaders noted that the decommissioning service itself, to be held at 9:30 a.m. in the 1978 church's sanctuary, will address the old building's history.

Among other facets, the service will show a video titled "We Preach Christ Crucified" that church leaders say will include exterior and interior images of the building, along with memories St. Paul’s members have of the 1905 church building. The decommissioning ceremony itself is based on a letter by the late Rev. Robert J. Zink, the last pastor to serve in the building.

A memorial booklet is also in the works.

Congregation members will get the first opportunity to remove items and mementos from the church, but the community will also be given a chance to retain some elements, including furnishings.

But if it's preservation church leaders want, the Friends of the 1905 St. Paul's Lutheran Church can help in a meaningful way, Archibald noted.

Among the ideas that have been considered is making the old church a Lutheran museum. A Change.org petition that already has reached its goal of 1,000 signatures is now seeking an additional 500, reinforcing an atmosphere of community support favoring the church building's preservation, Archibald said.

"I think we all can agree that if this church falls, it won't be because of the building," Archibald said. "The noted Milwaukee architect Charles Lesser designed it to withstand Wisconsin summers and winters. The building is straight, dry, clean and well maintained. It has succeeded and admirably so. To quote Terry Laib, the famous Wisconsin preservation contractor based in Oshkosh, once we stop seeing the buildings of our past we begin to forget our past."

Contact reporter Jim Riccioli at james.riccioli@jrn.com.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Muskego to be decommissioned in July