A tree spanning generations
St. Paul Lutheran Church will forever have a memory of the past
By Neal Hogden The Tribune-Phonograph Trees are cut down every day and turned into a myriad of things. Paper, lumber, coffee filters, paper towel, toilet paper and even a treatment for cancer are all things that are made from trees.
A white pine tree that stood outside of St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church for 150 years might not be used to treat cancer patients, but it will stick with the 144-year-old building for years to come.
In 2018, it was determined that the tree that had provided shade for the cemetery and church below, needed to be taken down. Sections of the tree were rotting and rather than risking the safety of the headstones, church building or church-goers, the congregation decided to remove the tree.
Something so big and so old had been a part of the church’s identity throughout its existence. It was perfectly summed up by a member of the congregation.
Joyce Hamann wrote in an excerpt called, A Tree God Made in Time, “During Rev. H.C.F. Otto’s pastorate, the ‘Old Church’ was erected and beside it stood a young sapling which continued to grow next to our now existing church today, until tree deterioration called for its removal to prevent possible major damage to the church building.”
The entry was a visual representation of the way the tree grew with the church and congregation.
According to Hamann, the tree had overlooked many generations of the families of St. Paul who had enjoyed “Mission Festival” activities or vacation Bible school children who had spent a couple weeks out of their summer at the church.
After many long years, the church had to go on while the tree needed to be removed. However, the church was not ready to condemn the pine tree to a pile of firewood.
Richard Hamann said the tree had a rotten area about 20 feet up so the tree needed to be removed but at one of the first meetings after it was decided it would be removed, the board decided something needed to be done to preserve the tree’s historical impact on the church.
The congregation decided they wanted to save the wood and make it into something that would stick with the church for further generations.
“They said it was rare for a tree like that to be as solid as it was on the bottom of it,” congregation member David Sommer said.
After cutting down the nearly 100-foot tall tree, volunteers from inside and outside the congregation donated their time and equipment to get the boards made into various items that would be displayed throughout the church. The process of making those boards into something that was usable was one that took care. The longer logs were sawed into lumber and kiln dried. Two memorial discs made out of the thick trunk of the tree were made into a clock and timeline showing the history of the church. Cabinets for the church’s downstairs kitchen area were created along with two tables and a pie rack. Dave Sommer took the boards and created a bench that currently resides in the church’s Narthex. Additionally, a holder for photo albums and other books was created using wood from the tree. The tree held a special place in the congregations’ hearts and will now be visible for generations to come. The dates of important moments throughout the parish’s history are now etched in wood on a 50-pound slab that is mounted to a wall in the church. The timeline visualizes the church’s history that is digestible for all who enter the building.
The clock, made out of a slab of the tree, resides between metal sketches of the tree, both in 1860 and 2018 as well as the saying, “A Tree God Made in Time.”
As you walk into the church and up the stairs, the first thing you see mounted on a wall is the timeline. As people turn to their right, the bench and clock are visible. The clock is located on a wall above a hallway.
The visibility of the tree shows how much it means to those that grew up playing underneath and around it as kids, or the folks whose relatives are buried underneath the shade it provided.
Most of the work done to cut and create objects out of the tree was donated by members of the church and surrounding businesses. Oak Grove Custom Furniture and Engraving in rural Curtiss helped cut the boards and create the timeline and clock. DJ’s Metal Art out of Withee helped create the metal pieces for the wall.
The tree added to an already rich history and historic building that is St. Paul’s Lutheran Church. The first missionary came to Green Grove in 1877 and shortly after, St. Paul’s was incorporated in 1879.
The Narthex, built and dedicated in 2001, is built so that the original entrance of the “new building,” created in 1914, has been preserved and is visible from inside the Narthex.
“This, you don’t see,” said pastor Don Bruce. “The
See ST. PAUL TREE / Page 8
WHITE PINE CABINETS - The tree’s wood was used in the kitchen’s cabinets. The wood gives the cabinets a knot-like texture.
FROM OUTSIDE TO INSIDE - Dave Sommer stands behind a bench he created using wood from the 150-year-old tree.
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first time I walked in here, I was in awe because you don’t find these old country churches anymore. Especially those that are this well maintained and kept up.”
Members of the congregation expressed how proud they are of their place of worship. Many members have been baptized, confirmed and married in the church along with their parents or grandparents. Bruce said the congregation has a traditional style but they are always looking for more members to be invited in to hear the word of God.
The church worships on Sundays at 8:15 a.m. with Sunday School beginning at 9:15 a.m.
The church will be hosting a tree project dedication service on April 30 at 8:15 a.m. Projects made from the tree will be on display with a lunch and fellowship at the church from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Donations and proceeds from the Ladies’ Group quilt silent auction will go to missions and to help a seminary student from Athens with school-related expenses. White pine seedlings will be given for attendees to take home.
TIMELESS CLOCK - A clock that looks over the Narthex shows the time, but also the history of the tree that was used to create the clock.
