About Us
Saint Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church was established in 1873 to be a congregation of God's people gathered around His Word and Sacraments near the little burg of Preble. The center of her proclamation has always been Christ, crucified and risen. This is her foundational teaching because this is the foundational teaching clearly portrayed in both the Old and New Testaments of God's inspired, inerrant Word, and it is the foundational teaching faithfully confessed in The Book of Concord, the official confessional statement of the Evangelical Lutheran Church.
What to Expect Sinners
At Saint Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church you will discover sinners, like yourself, who know they have been redeemed by Christ...who died for our offenses and was raised again for our justification...
God's People
God's people know they still need regular forgiveness, and so they come to God's house to be served with forgiveness and strength to live in a sinful, fallen world. You will find warm people, cool people and cold people...people in all stages of life, people in all stages of joy and heartbreak. Some will reach out to you, and others are in need of encouragement and support as they face life's trials.
Worship
As we gather around Christ's Word and Sacrament, our Lord serves us. Jesus repeatedly stated that He came to serve the lost. And so our gathering on a Sunday morning, uniquely the gathering for Holy Communion, is called the Divine Service. Here Christ serves us with wonders such as forgiveness, instruction, love and comfort, and He does this in what we call the Liturgy. "Liturgy" is really a Greek word for service, and it is appropriate not because we serve God, but because He serves us. The Liturgy is a powerful and ancient pattern for worship, having roots extending even into the Old Testament, and it is soundly drawn from Holy Scripture. Upon receiving Christ's gifts, we indeed praise and glorify our God--Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
History
Saint Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church was established in 1873 to be a congregation of God's people gathered around His Word and Sacraments near the little burg of Preble. The center of her proclamation has always been Christ, crucified and risen. This is her foundational teaching because this is the foundational teaching clearly portrayed in both the Old and New Testaments of God's inspired,inerrant Word, and it is the foundational teaching faithfully confessed in The Book of Concord, the official confessional statement of the Evangelical Lutheran Church.
Worship services are currently conducted on Sundays at 8am and 10:15am, with adult Bible Class and children's Sunday School held between services. The summer schedule has varied in recent years. Current Baptized membership stands at 535.
From 1853 to 1873 the parish school teacher who taught at Zion Lutheran School (Friedheim) also conducted classes at a Preble branch-school twice a week. Then on August 19, 1873 St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church of Preble was officially chartered as a member-congregation of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod. By 1881 the members had constructed a stately brick sanctuary to the glory of God. Though the church building was re-bricked in the 1940's, and was enlarged and refurbished in the 1980's, yet the basic structure of 1883 remains at the heart of the current building.
Originally the congregation supported her own Lutheran elementary school, and then in 1968 her members joined with the members of St. John Lutheran Church of Bingen and Zion Lutheran Church of Friedheim, to form the Wyneken Memorial Lutheran School Association. The "Wyneken School," located adjacent to St. John Lutheran Church north of Decatur, continues to be a vibrant tool of Christian instruction and a center for special Christ-centered activities. In 2003 the three "Wyneken Churches" joined hands to improve and enlarge their school, nearly doubling its floor space.
The Lord has truly blessed St. Paul Lutheran Church in its "long" history.
May the Lord of the Church continue to bless this congregation and all congregations with fidelity to His Word and Sacraments.