[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 81 (Tuesday, June 18, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1089]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        TRIBUTE TO HOLY TRINITY LUTHERAN CHURCH IN TOLEDO, OHIO

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MARCY KAPTUR

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 18, 2002

  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to recognize a momentous 
occasion soon to be celebrated by Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in 
Toledo, Ohio. On June 11, 2002, the church will have achieved its 100th 
year. A special anniversary celebration commemorating this milestone 
will be held on Sunday, June 9, 2002, when the bishop of the Northwest 
Ohio Synod E.L.C.A. will conduct a centennial church service.
  Soon after its 1902 inception, Dr. G. Neiffer was installed as the 
church's first pastor in 1904. Having outgrown its initial site, the 
present building's cornerstone was laid in 1924, followed by a 1949 
groundbreaking. In 1951, Pastor C.A. Hackenberg formally dedicated the 
church. Through the years it has grown to meet the needs of its 
congregation, so that the church facilities include an education wing, 
a multi-purpose gymnasium, and a day care center. Youth and senior 
activities, intergenerational services, small group ministries, and 
retreats serve today's active membership.
  Holy Trinity Lutheran Church's mission states the church is 
``committed to follow Christ's command to be fishers of men and to feed 
His sheep so that Christ may be alive in the lives of all.'' Living 
this calling, Holy Trinity's faithful have maintained a consistent 
Christian presence in the neighborhood and our community, seeking to 
live the Gospels and Christ's teachings so that all are made whole. At 
the same time, the church has evolved with an ever-changing society 
over the century, so that it has remained a vibrant and integral part 
of the lives of its congregants and our community.
  For the members of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church both past and 
present, this anniversary will be a time of introspection, remembrance, 
and reflection. But even as its members look back across a century of 
worship, good works, and communion, I know that they will also look 
forward to a new century fulfilling its mission to ensure ``that Christ 
may be alive in the lives of all.''