[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 66 (Wednesday, April 15, 2026)]
[House]
[Page H2890]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   HONORING ST. JOHN EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH'S 150TH ANNIVERSARY

  (Mr. TIFFANY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. TIFFANY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor St. John Evangelical 
Lutheran Church of Merrill, Wisconsin, on its 150th anniversary.
  First organized by families of German immigrants in a meeting on 
April 24, 1876, services were held in a public schoolhouse in the town 
of Jenny, Wisconsin, which later became Merrill.
  St. John Evangelical has had two subsequent structures within Merrill 
and, since 1953, has worshipped within a beautiful stone edifice at 
1104 East 3rd Street.
  During its first years, it shared a pastor with neighboring churches 
and finally called on its first pastor, Reverend Paul Luecke, on August 
5, 1883.
  Today, the members of St. John are proud of their continued provision 
of a daycare facility and an educational resource for their community 
in a parochial school. During several decades of its existence, German 
was the church's primary language. With the close of World War I, the 
congregation had transitioned to holding its services primarily in 
English.
  For continuing its work of proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ 
through 150 years, it is my great pleasure to honor St. John 
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Merrill today before the United States 
House of Representatives.

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