The Indexed Marriage Records of St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church of Massbach, Illinois - 1859 to 1932
A Brief History:
From our cookbook introduction:
St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church, outside of rural Elizabeth, Illinois, near the community known as Massbach, is a worshiping comunity of about 200 people. Being of mostly German ancestry our ladies come from a tradition in which the women of the house cooked, and cooked, and cooked some more, for as many as five meals a day; every day. If it is true that "practice makes perfect" then some of our ladies must be nearly divine. In the early days of the congregation, almost all families had large gardens and the ladies were responsible for preserving much of the produce for use later in the year. It is a practice that is alive and well today as one of our ladies reports having canned over 250 quarts of tomatoes and juice this year alone.
Our talented ladies have ample opportunities to use their finely honed skills at our annual Ice Cream Supper, various potlucks, Easter Sunrise service breakfast, soup dinners, funeral lunches, fundraising projects, and the various community events for which they are invited to cook and serve. This is a collection of recipes from our mothers, from our mothers' mothers, from our daughters, from the families of our pastors, and from various friends and family members who have been members of the little country church of St. John Lutheran.
Over 150 years ago now, when the congregation of what was to become St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church was just being formed at a place known as "Rush Creek," the pioneers who were the founding members met for worship, study and fellowship in private homes, outdoors under trees, in school houses or wherever else that would accommodate them. The first house of worship built by the members of St. John was a log structure erected just south of Massbach Illinois where the church's cemetery is now located. It is believed that the log church was built in 1859, and served the congregation well until the membership swelled to the point where a new larger structure was required, and in 1900 the first of three frame church buildings was constructed. Unfortunately, on the night of July eighth, 1913, the relatively new church was struck by a lightning bolt, caught fire, and burned to the ground. The congregation, undaunted decided to build a new house of worship, this time in a new location, just north of the village of Massbach. The new church, which appeared very similarly to the previous one, was completed and dedicated in just six months time on January eleventh, 1914. Unfortunately appearance was not the only thing the new church had in common with the previous building, as this structure too had a startlingly short lifespan of only eight years. On April eighth, 1922 the church was destroyed by a tornado, and the members of the congregation again faced the heart rending question of whether to rebuild or not, for the second time in a decade. Again, with faith and hard work the congregation decided to rebuild, and placed the new church on the very same foundation the previous one had occupied.
As our first 150 years draw to a close, we look forward to the opportunities, and the struggles that await us, and our descendants, in the next 150 years, knowing that we will face it all with faith in Christ, and hopefully, a healthy dose of good taste.