Bethany English Lutheran Church
Church History
15460 Triskett Road, Cleveland, Ohio 44111
Phone 216-941-7880 • Facsimile 216-941-4922 • www.bethanyenglish.org
Ministers: The Congregation
Robert Ferro, Pastor
Cassie Clouser, Choir Director • Thomas Hanson, Organist
Melissa Todd, Director of Christian Education and Youth Ministries & Church Secretary
Gerry Weiss, Custodian
For a century, Bethany English Lutheran Church has been a community of faith that helps people grow in their relationship with God and others by Knowing Christ, Worshiping Christ, Following Christ, and Sharing Christ.
An English language Lutheran Church for the west side of Cleveland
Bethany English Lutheran Church owes its start to the dream of one man for an English language Lutheran church on Cleveland's west side, and the faith and persistence to make it a reality. In 1892 a young printer named J. E. Johnson and his wife moved from Ashland, Ohio to the west side of Cleveland. The Johnsons were active church members in Ashland, and they wanted to worship in an English language Lutheran church in their new home. However, the only Lutheran churches in their neighborhood were German language churches, so they began to look for other families and a pastor willing to start a new English language church.
It took four years, but with Mr. Johnson's urging, in the fall of 1896, a downtown English language Lutheran church, the Christian Endeavor Memorial Lutheran Church, started a Sunday School Mission in a vacant storeroom next door to Mr. Johnson's printing shop. Classes met at 2:30 p.m. every week until the pastor resigned from C.E. Memorial in April 1897. The seed for a west side mission lay dormant for another five years, but in 1902 Mr. Johnson was able to interest a new pastor of C.E. Memorial, the Rev. William B. Lahr, in the idea. J. E. Johnson, speaking at the 40th Anniversary Banquet of Bethany, described Pastor Lahr's interest in wanting to start a west side Mission this way. "It seems Pastor Lahr, a handsome eligible unmarried man married a certain Miss Thomas and the disappointed girls of his congregation made it very uncomfortable for him so he decided to come to the west side." Pastor Lahr resigned from the C. E. Memorial Lutheran Church to devote all of his energy to the new west side mission.
In the Bethany Parish Record Book, Pastor Lahr wrote that he began work on Thursday, May 1, 1902. He probably held the first service on Sunday, May 18, 1902 in an Episcopal chapel at the corner of Clark Ave. and W. 84th St.. The founders of Bethany worshiped in this rented chapel for nearly two years. On July 6, 1902, twenty-three persons signed the charter roll and organized the church selecting the name BETHANY ENGLISH LUTHERAN CHURCH to emphasize the fact that it was an English language Lutheran church. The charter members were:
| Mr. J. E. Johnson | Mrs. J.E. Johnson | Mrs. W. B. Lahr |
| Mr. D.A. Hossler | Mrs. D. A. Hossler | Mrs. A.W. Robertson |
| Mr. P.N. Peterson | Mrs. P.N. Peterson | Mrs. Ida Smith |
| Mrs. Del Roy Thomas | Miss Elva Thomas | Miss Carrie Renff |
| Mr. Charles Hoffman | Mrs. Charles Hoffman | Mrs. Anna Suloff |
| Mr. M.S. Held | Mrs. M.S. Held | Mrs. Marie Hilborn |
| Mr. A.W. Stauffer | Mrs. A.W. Stauffer | Miss Ethel Stauffer |
| Mr. Herman Stauffer | Mrs. Wm. Nagel | |
The Young Church Struggles
With financial assistance from the synod, Bethany purchased two lots at the southwest corner of W. 89th St. and Willard Ave in Cleveland. On June 12, 1903 the congregation authorized the church council to proceed with building a new church. They broke ground on November 15, 1903 and laid the corner stone in January of 1904.
Times were tough and the congregation could only purchase building materials and hire workmen when there was enough money. Often Pastor Lahr and other members had to go out and collect money to pay the workmen at the end of the week. When there was no money, hired work was replaced with volunteer work done by members of the church. Yet despite the hardship, on April 19, 1904, the congregation dedicated the building. The total cost of the new church, including lots and furnishings was $7,200.00.
Three months after dedicating the new church, Pastor Lahr left the ministry to go into the construction business. The building enterprise of Bethany convinced him that he liked that work more than ministry.
The five years following the resignation of the organizing pastor were years of struggle. Three pastors, F.A. Dressel, J.H. Neuhauser, and J.A. Hanning, came and went within a four-year period leaving little record of their brief pastorates. However, a fifth pastor, the Rev. Oliver F. Weaver, led the congregation forward in his ministry that lasted from September 1, 1909 to March 31, 1915.
At Christmas time in 1912, Zion Lutheran Church, Wooster, Ohio gave Bethany a discarded pipe organ. Since there was no room for the organ in Bethany's sanctuary, the congregation built an annex to house the organ and a choir loft for a small choir.
The membership grew rapidly during the pastorate of Rev. Weaver, but in October of 1914 bad news stunned the congregation. A physician discovered that Pastor Weaver had contracted tuberculosis. He took a six-month leave of absence and moved his family to Denver, Colorado to treat the illness. The treatments were successful, but he decided to stay in Colorado. Later he would serve as the President of the Rocky Mountain Synod.
The next pastor, The Rev. Luther J. Smith, served Bethany only one year, September 1, 1915 to September 1, 1916. He was a widower with small children.
A Time of Growth
Bethany's seventh pastor, Dr. Allen O. Becker, served for two and one half years, October 1, 1916 to March 1, 1919. He came to Bethany from India where a breakdown in his health had forced him to give up work as a foreign missionary.
As it turned out his breakdown in health might have saved his life. The Beckers had booked passage on the "Unsinkable" Titanic, which struck an iceberg in the mid-Atlantic on her maiden voyage and went down before rescue ships arrived. The few lifeboats on board were quickly filled with mostly women and children. Most of the men went down with the ship. Mrs. Becker and her daughters were on the Titanic, but because Dr. Becker's fever was so high, his physician sent him to a hospital in northern India, forcing him to cancel passage. His family went on to America. Dr. Becker said he deeply resented this delay until he heard that the ship he would have sailed on had gone down. His agony at the news and great anxiety was ended only when he received a cablegram from his wife saying: "All saved."
During the pastorate of Dr. Becker, Bethany grew and stabilized: the remaining debt was paid off, the number of communicant members exceeded 200, and it went from being a Mission congregation dependant upon the Synod for financial support to becoming a self-supporting congregation.
In 1918, a house adjoining the church property went up for sale. After some deliberation, the congregation decided to purchase the home for use as a parsonage for $4,500.00. The 6% loan would be paid by July 1922, four years after purchase.
Parish papers from this period tell of the full life of the congregation. Bethany had a large Sunday School, a Ladies' Aid Society, a Missionary Society, a Men's Club, Luther League, Choir, Boy Scouts, and morning and evening services on Sunday. Dr. Becker's ministry continued at Bethany until he resigned in the spring of 1919.
Bethany's eighth pastor, James W. Ramsey, served from July 1919 until September 1923. In the spring of 1923, he led the church in a major re-modeling program. This program greatly improved the worship setting especially with the addition of a large stained glass window showing Christ kneeling in prayer in Gethsemane. This reproduction in glass of Hoffman's painting still serves as a beautiful and inspirational point at "old Bethany" where today a Nazarene congregation worships. Re-dedication services were held on May 6, 1923 and the pastor and choir set a new level of "churchliness" when they introduced the wearing of vestments in the service.
A New Pastor and a New Location
On April 1, 1924, Bethany's ninth pastor, John H. L. Trout, arrived to provide leadership to the congregation. He would serve as Bethany's pastor for 36 years and serve as Pastor Emeritus for 19 years until his death on November 11, 1980. Pastor Trout had an extensive ministry at Bethany. Most notable perhaps being the leadership he gave in guiding Bethany to her new location and in building the present sanctuary and later the educational unit. But his work would be known in more than mortar and stone. In the ensuing years he would officiate at some 800 weddings, 1,200 confirmations, and 1,000 funerals, and 1,200 baptisms. Add to these pastoral acts his active involvement in local church and civic organizations, as well as synodical committees. For his work in the Ohio Synod and at Bethany as well as for service as a Director of the Board of Wittenberg College, J. H. L Trout was awarded the honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Wittenberg in 1942.
"The Lord moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform" is a quotation that could be applied to the congregation's decision to move from W. 89th St. and Willard Ave. to our present site on Triskett Rd. near Lorain Ave. In the fall of 1926 Bethany received a proposal from the Teutsch Lutheran Church to purchase Bethany's Willard Avenue building. The Saxon group had been worshiping in the Bethany building on Sunday afternoons. The proposal was sudden and unexpected, but the church council decided to refer it to the congregation for a decision. Two main considerations motivated the congregation to move: (1) the Willard Avenue lot wasn't big enough to build a larger sanctuary, and (2) there were two other Lutheran churches within three blocks and six other Protestant churches within a mile radius, which meant that Bethany would probably never be much larger than it was at that time with 316 members.
Because of their past experience, many members were worried that Pastor Trout might leave the congregation after the new building was built. Pastor Trout assured the members that he would stay at Bethany for as long as the congregation needed and wanted him. So, on the first Sunday in May 1927, the congregation voted to sell the Willard Avenue property and relocate to a recommended site at the corner of Triskett Road and Rockport Avenue in the growing West Park area of Cleveland.
On July 21, 1929, the congregation began worshiping in the basement Assembly Hall, and worshiped there for three months until the pipe organ, chancel furniture and pews were installed. The congregation held a dedication service on November 3, 1929. At the time of dedication Bethany had 302 members and a seemingly insurmountable debt of $80,000.00. The "Wall Street Crash" occurred shortly before the dedication. Many members lost their jobs and the church struggled to make the monthly $300 payments on time. But the bank was patient and the membership was growing, and soon the congregation was able to make the monthly payments.
A Dynamic Ministry and a Growing Church
Bethany had no difficulty attracting either worshippers or Sunday School pupils to the beautiful new sanctuary "way out" on Cleveland's west side. In 3 months it enrolled 100 new Sunday School pupils, more than were lost by relocating. Before dedication day, the classrooms were filled to capacity (a forewarning of the fact that more educational space would probably some day have to be provided.) The church membership doubled in six years and in twenty years it quadrupled. The move was surely the Lord's doing. The fields were ripe unto harvest.
Bethany originally started as a Sunday School Mission, and Christian education has consistently been one of its greatest strengths. In the thirties, forties, and fifties, Bethany became known in the Ohio Synod for its educational program. From the beginning Bethany sought to provide quality Christian education urging teacher training, the best graded materials available, and a full staff for all ages.
Over the years many people have served Bethany part time or full time as Assistant or Associate Pastors, Deaconesses, Directors of Religious Education, and Student Interns from Lutheran seminaries, but special mention needs to be made of two women: Miss Dorothy La Croix and Sister Havana Amos. In the spring of 1929, in order to reach the children in our new community, we employed Miss La Croix as Director of Christian Education. She was probably the first full time professionally trained Director to be employed in an Ohio Synod congregation. Her door-to-door search for Sunday School pupils gave us a large Sunday School enrollment as soon as we moved. From 1941 until her death in an automobile accident on Thanksgiving Eve, November 24, 1948, Sister Amos guided the expansion of Bethany's Sunday School and helped plan a needed educational unit addition.
The growing education program that quickly outgrew the limited class space demanded some action to relieve the problem. In 1948 Bethany started a campaign to raise funds to build a much needed educational building. It broke ground for the new Christian Education Building on July 13, 1952. laid the cornerstone on August 17, 1952, and dedicated the building on January 17, 1954.
Bethany through the years has had the fine tradition of good choirs and good music. In our first church building the choirs were not as large as they would eventually be at "new" Bethany. . . but still faithful choir members as soloist, quartets, or in larger numbers lifted the souls of members in worship. Lucy Moeller Trout, the wife Pastor Trout, led the choir from 1924 through 1947. She set a high mark of excellence for music. Under her direction Bethany's choirs performed special cantatas and larger choral pieces that drew much acclaim. Even at her passing memorials to her enabled Bethany to start a new music tradition when a set of English Hand bells was purchased in her memory for use in worship. Mrs. Trout is pictured in the front row, center, of the 1927 choir.
In 1949 Bethany entered another strong era of choral music. Under the direction of Mr. Don Wilson the choir program continued to grow and music was prepared not just for Sunday services but also many special programs. Don served as Senior Choir Director for 19 years. During this time Bethany also had a Children's Choir and Junior Choir to sing at the early service.
Bethany became a pillar of the West Park community through its extensive outreach efforts. The West Park-Fairview Branch, YMCA was organized in our Assembly Hall in 1936. On March 12, 1937, the West Park Hospital Association was organized in our Assembly Hall at a Dinner meeting. Prominent citizens tried to encourage Lutheran Hospital or Fairview Hospital to place a hospital in our area. The move of Fairview Park Hospital resulted from this initial effort. The West Park Kiwanis Club met for fifteen years in our Assembly Hall, served meals by our women every Tuesday. Through the years Boy and Girl Scout troops, Brownies, Cub Scouts, and other youth groups have called Bethany their home.
Through the years strong lay leadership has assisted the clergy in making possible the active ministry of Bethany Church. Although women have always taken an active part in the life of the congregation, Bethany's Constitution did not allow them to serve on the Church Council until the congregation changed it in 1953. The first woman elected to Council was Vernelda Tucker in 1954.
Changing Times
The 1960's were indeed "changing times" in our American society and also for Bethany Church. After being led by Dr. Trout for thirty-six years, the congregation looked to a new Pastor, J. Elmer Leas, who came to Bethany on February 1, 1960 from Wilmington, Delaware. Dr. Trout continued to serve Bethany as Pastor Emeritus. The change in pastoral leadership led to changes in lay leadership that brought new ways and ideas to Bethany.
One of the major changes that confronted Bethany Church was the movement of members to the surrounding suburbs. At one time Bethany and the West Park area were on the western edge of population growth, but in the 50's and 60's that growth shifted to communities father west and south of the city. While many Bethany families who resided outside of the West Park community, still returned to Bethany for worship, Christian education and fellowship activities, many others chose to attend churches closer to their new homes.
During the summer of 1959 the student assistant at Bethany surveyed the Westlake area with some older boy scouts to study the feasibility of starting a Lutheran mission there. On March 15, 1960 a mission was organized, Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, with 98 members. About one-third of these were members of Bethany. To this day that congregation traces her roots to Bethany.
Despite the challenges, when 1970 arrived, Bethany was still thriving. Pastor Leas decided to return to his native Pennsylvania and a former congregation in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and he left Bethany in April of 1970.
For new pastoral leadership Bethany extended a call to Wilbur Volker. A declining and aging membership, wear and tear on a church building now over 40 years old, a need for new approaches to worship, education, fellowship, and outreach, called for strong leadership and hard decisions. Pastor Volker served Bethany for only 26 months, but in that time he laid out some more new directions for the congregation.
During this time, the congregation began a Christian Preschool and Day Care for families with young children. This Preschool would continue for ten years until the space it used would be needed for classrooms of the West Park Lutheran School.
During the 1960's, Bethany had converted two classrooms into a suit of offices. With the loss of the classrooms, there was a need for more classroom space. So after the receipt of a bequest from the estate of Mr. Ralph Kral in the amount of $44,000.00, Bethany entered into a program of plant renovation and improvement. Improvements included adding air conditioning, a church library and conference room, a nursery, choir room, and sacristy. It was completed just about the time Pastor Volker left in December of 1972 and its costs totaled about $116,000.00.
Reaching Back to Move Forward
For her twelfth pastor Bethany reached back in the truest sense from within her own ranks. John F. Uhle was a son of the congregation who had become a pastor. His wife Jean was also a daughter of the congregation. He served other congregations for 10 ˝ years, but as Bethany sought her next Pastor in 1973 she extended a call to Pastor Uhle. He initially declined the call, but after much prayer and reflection he realized that with his unique knowledge of Bethany's past and her needs for the future he might indeed be of help and accepted the call. Pastor Uhle served Bethany for 26½ years to become its second longest serving pastor.
The Holy Spirit guided well and helped abundantly in the ministry that Pastor Uhle and Bethany Church shared. Under Pastor Uhle's leadership, Bethany reached out in new ways to be responsive to needs of congregational members and the West Park community. Bethany started an active senior citizens group known as "Young-at-Heart". This group meets monthly for lunch, fellowship, fun, and service. Outside speakers and programs make for a variety of interesting, entertaining, and informative meetings. West Park Meals-on-Wheels, started in 1975 by Bethany and the West Park Kiwanis Club, has provided nutritional hot noon meals and sandwich suppers to residents of our community for over 25 years.
Seeing a great need in the West Park community for alternative educational opportunities, Bethany joined with Puritas Lutheran Church and Holy Cross Lutheran Church to found the West Park Lutheran School Association (W.P.L.S.). In 1981, W.P.L.S. opened its doors to 81 students in grades K - 4. Classes were located at Bethany and Holy Cross. By 1983 there were 185 students with classes at all three congregations. In 1989, Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church joined the Association, and the school had 241 students and classes at all four congregations. In 2001 the school celebrated its 20th anniversary with the theme "A Time to…Remember…Give Thanks…Go Forward."
In 1983, Bethany called Walter Heber to serve as Visitation Pastor. He began his service on January1, 1984 after retiring as the Pastor of Martin Luther Lutheran Church in Cleveland. Pastor Heber has had a faithful and caring ministry to the homebound and hospitalized members of our congregation. In 2001 he began his 17th year of service to Bethany making him the third longest serving pastor in its history.
Through the years, Bethany has always worked to keep its building maintained and beautiful, but in the early 1990's the congregation saw a real need to make its facilities accessible to everyone. The congregation started a campaign to improve the building and build a new addition that would house a large and inviting welcoming room, Elevette elevator, handicapped accessible restroom, small kitchen, and new Choir/Music room. This campaign was called "A New Look For A New Century", and succeeded in raising over $400,000. In 1993 the addition was finished and truly made Bethany a place for all people.
After 26 ˝ years of service to Bethany, Pastor Uhle decided to retire on June 27, 1999. An expected short time for the pastoral vacancy turned into 20 months. Bethany was well served during this period by Interim Pastors Maurice Gold and Kenneth Anderson, and by Visitation Pastor Heber. The congregation was reminded many times that in God's time the pulpit vacancy would be filled.
A New Century and A New Pastor
In January 2001, The Reverend Robert F. Ferro, Jr., accepted the Call to be Senior Pastor of Bethany English Lutheran Church. Bishop Marcus Miller of the Northeastern Ohio Synod installed Pastor Ferro on Sunday, March 11, 2001, in a memorable afternoon ceremony.
Originally from Boardman, Ohio, Pastor Ferro is a 1996 graduate of Trinity Seminary, Columbus, Ohio. Prior to seminary, he worked ten years as a Certified Public Accountant. Before coming to Bethany, Pastor Ferro served a church in central Illinois. Pastor Ferro and his wife, Linda, have three children. They live in the West Park community and the two older children attend West Park Lutheran School.
The Bethany English congregation has welcomed Pastor Ferro and his family into their midst along with a new enthusiasm for helping people grow in their relationship with God and others by Knowing Christ, Worshiping Christ, Following Christ, and Sharing Christ.
On July 22, 2001 Bethany English began a yearlong celebration of its 100th anniversary with an Anniversary Picnic. The theme for the year is "Sharing Christ … Yesterday … Today … and Tomorrow." Every month Bethany will hold different events and activities to highlight this theme. The year of celebration will end on July 7, 2002, with an Anniversary Celebration Service and Dinner.
Pastors who have served at Bethany
| Reverend | Date Started Serving | Date of End of Service |
|---|
| Rev. W.B. Lahr | May 1, 1902 | July 1, 1904 |
| Rev. F.A. Dressel | Oct. 1, 1904 | Jan. 15, 1906 |
| Rev. J.H. Neuhauser | Apr. 1, 1906 | July 1, 1908 |
| Rev. J.A. Hanning | Sept. 1,1908 | July 1, 1909 |
| Rev. O.F. Weaver | Sept. 1, 1909 | Mar. 31, 1915 |
| Rev. L.J. Smith | Sept. 1, 1915 | Sept. 1, 1916 |
| Rev. A.O. Becker | Oct. 1, 1916 | Mar. 1, 1919 |
| Rev. J.W. Ramsey | July 6, 1919 | Sept. 16, 1923 |
| Rev. J.H.L. Trout | Apr. 1, 1924 | Dec. 31, 1959 |
| Rev. J. Elmer Leas | Feb. 1, 1960 | Apr. 12, 1970 |
| Rev. Wilbur G. Volker | Oct. 15, 1970 | Dec. 31, 1972 |
| Rev. John F. Uhle | Feb. 1, 1973 | June 27, 1999 (Pastor Emeritus) |
| Rev. Robert F. Ferro Jr. | Mar. 1, 2001 | Present |
Assistant Pastors who have served at Bethany
| Reverend | Date Started Serving | Date of End of Service |
|---|
| Rev. Wm. E. Cox | June 1, 1947 | June 1, 1949 |
| Rev. James W. Miller | Feb. 15, 1950 | Jan. 1, 1951 |
| Rev. Vernon J. Miller | June 1, 1953 | June 1, 1955 |
| Rev. Geo. F. Shaffer | June 12, 1955 | Sept. 1, 1956 |
| Rev. James B. Huntley | Dec. 1, 1956 | Jan. 28, 1959 |
| Rev. J.H.L. Trout | Jan. 1, 1960 | Dec. 31 1960 |
| Rev. J.H.L Trout | Jan 1, 1961 | 1980 (Pastor Emeritus) |
| Rev. John H. Evans | 1978 | 1979 |
| Rev Walter B. Heber | January 1, 1984 | 2005 (Pastor Emeritus) |