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- Rev. Edward Wiegner received
a Divine Call to the new congregation at St. Ansgar, Iowa. Rev.
Wiegner was born in Saxony, Germany, May 6, 1845, and emigrated
to America at the age of 25. He enrolled at Concordia Seminary,
St. Louis, Missouri and graduated in 1874. He became a regular
pastor for St. Ansgar, missionary to outlying stations and parochial
school teacher and organist. The outlaying areas were congregations
in Cedar Township, Osage proper, Riceville, Nashua, Rudd, Clear
Lake, Garner, Northwood and elsewhere. An accomplished musician,
he used the melodeon to accompany the singing in the church service
and the violin in the classroom. He passed away in May, 1890.
- Rev. E. Hantel of Hemlock,
Michigan was called to serve both Immanuel and St. John's in Cedar
Township. During Rev. Hantel's stay the English language was introduced
into the school and a new parsonage was built. He resigned in November
1895.
- Rev. Julius Drexler, a
former missionary to Nigeria, Africa, became Rev. Hantel's successor.
He was noted for his disciplinarian ability in his congregational
work as well as in the school. In November 1899, after three years
of ministering to Immanuel, he was forced to resign because of
a light stroke.
- Rev. William Janzow of
Lewiston, Minnesota and a graduate of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis,
Mo, assumed his duties at Immanuel in July of 1900 and stayed until
1906.
- Rev. Paul Brammer began
a tenure of Christian service spanning 39 years in St. Ansgar alone,
starting August of 1906. His education was received in a parochial
school at Lowden, Iowa where his father was pastor. At the age
of fourteen, he left for Concordia College, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
for academy training and entered the same school for his college
work in 1897 and graduated with honors in 1899, as president of
his class. Entering Concordia Seminary , St. Louis, Missouri, he
graduated in June of 1902, president of his class. Before his pastorate
at St. Ansgar, he served at Remsen, Iowa for four years. His marriage
to Clara Dornseif occurred September 10, 1903.
At the time of his resignation because of illness in December
of 1945, he had served this congregation for 39 years and 5
month. During this time, the parish had grown from 200 members
to 596 baptized members and 481 communicants. Numerically this
growth represented its highest figures for Immanuel Church.
He had the distinction of baptizing 432 persons, officiated
at 165 weddings, 222 burials, and confirmed 443 persons during
his entire pastorate. It was estimated that during his 43 years
in the ministry , he delivered more than 4500 sermons. A new
church was planned here and built in 1924 for $50,000 with
his help and was debt free at the time of its dedication. While
Rev. Brammer served Immanuel, the language of the church service
passed from German principally to English.
In addition to his local duties, he served as: Visitor of
the Waterloo Circuit of Lutheran churches for 25 years; Vice-President
of the District and member of the Board of Directors for 10
years.
- Rev. Theo. Eickelberg was
installed April 7, 1946 and served Immanuel for three years. The
congregation observed it's 75th Anniversary in 1949 and he assumed
the responsibility for writing the Diamond Jubilee Book for this
observance. It will be recalled that a recognition service for
homecoming men and women of World War II was arranged by him; A
Fellowship Club for husbands and wives was organized; and individual
communion cups were initiated. He accepted a call to Lowden, Iowa
in November 1949.
- Rev. Herman Wolters, a
St. Louis Concordia Seminary graduate, accepted the call to St.
Ansgar on November 20, 1949. He had vicared in Montana previous
to his final year at the seminary. His ordination took place at
Ogema, Saskatchewan, Canada and his pastorates included Ogema,
Estevan, Saskatchewan, Canada; Cole Camp, Missouri; Fall City,
Nebraska; Luzeme, Iowa; and St. Ansgar, Iowa. The Christmas programs
put on during his stay were planned by him and the final questioning
of the catechumens was conducted with no guide book. He served
as Visitor of the Cedar Rapids Circuit of Iowa District East and
of the St. Ansgar Circuit and Chairman of the Board of the Lutheran
Home for the Aged at Vinton, Iowa. He died suddenly December 17,
1953.
- Rev. Carl T. Wuerffel was
installed of on June 27, 1954. Pastor Wuerffel received his preparatory
training at Concordia College, Milwaukee, Wisconsin and graduated
from Concordia Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri in 1941.
He served congregations at Presho, Draper, and Murdo, South Dakota
and Marion, Iowa before coming to St. Ansgar. During his stay at
Immanuel a new amplifying system was authorized, a new brick parsonage
was built, a mimeograph and chimes for the organ were purchased,
the church furnace changed to oil, and a system of ushering for
the worship services was initiated. Pastor Wuerffel served as Counselor
for the St. Ansgar Circuit and for the LWML Zone. It was during
his pastorate that town and rural Bible study groups were formed
among the ladies of the congregation. Much time and effort was
expended on plans for an educational unit for the congregation.
In September 1965, he accepted a call to Immanuel Church, Lakefield,
Minnesota.
- Rev. Norman E. Betke, the
ninth resident pastor of Immanuel Church was born on Good Friday,
1934, in Detroit, Michigan. He grew up on the family farm in north
central Michigan. He prepared for the ministry at Concordia College
at Fort Wayne, Indiana. Seminary training was at Concordia Theological
Seminary of Springfield, Illinois. Vicarage assignment was to Behlehem
Lutheran Church, Colusa, California. In May 1958 he was united
in marriage to Doris Dommer. The first parish assignment was to
Grace Church, Fayette, Iowa.
In November 1965 he was installed as pastor of Immanuel Church where he served
for almost 30 years. Pastor Betke retired in August 1995. He and Doris returned
to the Betke family farm near Gladwin, Michigan. They have four daughters;
Rebecca, Rachel, Ruth and Kathryn.
- Rev. Edward H. Schmidt
The Reverend Edward H. Schmidt was born in Denver, Colorado on the 14th of
July, 1961, to Katharina
and Augustine Schmidt. He graduated from Pomona High School in Arvada, Colorado
in 1979. Two years later he enrolled at Concordia College of Seward, Nebraska
where he began studying for the holy ministry. It was there that he met his
wife, Mary Riese of Colo, Iowa. They were married in June of 1983. He graduated
with a BA in 1985 before enrolling at Concordia Theological Senlinary of
Fort Wayne. Indiana. In 1987 and 1988 he served as vicar at Our Savior Lutheran
Church of Sedalia, Missouri. Rev. Schmidt graduated with an M.Div.in the
spring of 1989.
After graduation, his first call and ordination into the holy ministry took
place at Grace Lutheran Church of Franklin, Nebraska where he served as Pastor
from 1989 to 1996. In December of 1996, Rev. Schmidt accepted a divine call
to be pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church of St. Ansgar, Iowa, with his installation
taking place January 19. 1997. In November 2001, Rev. Schmidt accepted a
call to Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Rifle, Colorado.
Pastor and Mary Schmidt have four children; Andrew, Abbey, Adrienne and Annie.
- Rev. Byron Northwick, PhD was
born to O. Byron and Charlotte (nee' Roehler) in Fairmont, Minnesota.
After graduating from high school, he attended Mankato (now Minnesota)
State University graduating with both a B. A. and M. A. Upon graduation
he worked for the state of Minnesota and then the state of California
in San Diego as a rehabilitation counselor for the deaf and hearing
impaired.
While in San Diego the Lord led him to enroll at Concordia
Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne (which meant it had to be
a call from God to leave San Diego for Fort Wayne, Indiana).
He vicared at Hope Lutheran Church in Whittier, California.
On graduating from the seminary in 1981, his first call was
to Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church in Wamego, Kansas.
During his pastorate in Wamego, he was able to pursue and
complete his Ph. D. program in adult and continuing education.
His dissertation was titled: The Growth of the Missouri
Synod, 1847-1872: The Use of Education for the Preservation
and Promotion of Lutheran Orthodoxy. He left Kansas to
work with Lutherans For Life in St. Paul and was later called
to serve Trinity Lutheran of Lake Johanna in Arden Hills, Minnesota.
In addition to his pastorate at Trinity, Pastor Northwick
has served on the Board of Regents for Concordia University,
St. Paul since 1997. He has also taught as an adjunct professor
in the master's degree program.
In 1990 Pastor Northwick married Melissa Loe at Redeemer Lutheran
in Ventura, Iowa. They have been blessed with two children,
Andrew and Erica.
Pastor Northwick has served at Immanuel since April 2002.
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