HOLY TRINITY LUTHERAN CHURCH

HOLY TRINITY LUTHERAN CHURCH. Started in 1939 as a home mission of the Iowa District of the American Lutheran Church, Holy Trinity Lutheran Church held its first services in the home of its pastor, William Zibell. (1) Although the congregation was officially organized in 1939 as Trinity Lutheran Church, the congregation did not grow. Sunday worship service had twenty-five members with attendance at Sunday School of twelve.

By 1941, just before the Mission Board was to close the mission, Professor John C. Mattes of Wartburg Seminary agreed to serve as the mission's pastor for no salary if the congregation was given a place to meet.

The congregation rented and began meeting in the old Miller Meat Market, now Comprehensive Physical Therapy. The name was changed to Holy Trinity in 1943, and property next to the meat market was purchased. In 1945 the church was the scene of the organization of a Dubuque chapter of the Lutheran Students Organization. Students expected to affiliate came from the UNIVERSITY OF DUBUQUE, Finley School School of Nursing, and WARTBURG THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. (2) In 1949 the second annual Lutheran Leadership school taught 130 students how to better serve the church. The outline of the course was written by Rev. H. C. Hafermann, pastor of Holy Trinity. (3)

Continued slow growth in attendance and wartime building restrictions kept the congregation from building a church until 1948. The building of a church was encouraged by the transfer of many members of ST. JOHN'S LUTHERAN CHURCH. Before the end of 1948 the membership of Holy Trinity had doubled.

On June 5, 1949, the congregation moved into its new church. On April 26, 1952, a new parsonage adjacent to the church was dedicated. Continued growth in church attendance led to remodeling which included a new narthex, a double story parish unit, and extension and widening of the church-all dedicated on April 21, 1963. The nave was doubled to allow seating of 280 with overflow permitting seating of 400. The expansion of the educational wing increased Sunday School classrooms to 31. (4)

The church announced its participation in the UNITED CHURCHES OF DUBUQUE, a ecumenical organization of churches and religious institutions, in 1978. (5)

In November 2000 a further expansion of the church doubled the size with space for more programs, ministries, activities and educational opportunities. (6) A junior high outreach program during the summer of 2001 offered adventure trips, tutoring, art and music classes, mentoring, multi-cultural activities and optional faith-based programs.

The congregation supported seven choirs, four youth groups, an adult choir and brass and handbell choirs. Youth choirs traveled to other communities to perform. Youth are each partnered with an adult congregation members for a year-long "Secret Pal" program. The health of the congregation were attended to by a part-time employee who visited shut-ins and those temporarily incapacitated, coordinated volunteers, and established programs to promote wellness through educational programs. The church also offered periodic "healing services" with prayer, laying on of hands, and anointing with oil. (7) In 2017 the church offered Dubuque's Memory Cafe for people with dementia and their caregivers. (8)

The church was a meeting place for many groups including the Women's Brown Bag Ecumenical Bible Study in which participants read and discussed the Gospel reading for the following Sunday. (9) The Embroiders' Guild of America Fleur-de-Lis Chapter met there as did Take Off Pounds Sensibly (TOPS). In 2009 a Financial Peace University was offered for people interested in how to handle money, live debt free, and build wealth. Holy Trinity was also the location for Noah's Ark Preschool.

The 1987 through 2014 Dubuque City Directory listed 1755 Delhi.

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Source:

1. Nevans-Pederson, Mary. "Reaching Out to the Region," Telegraph Herald, April 28, 2001, p. 22

2. "Lutheran Students Plan Organization," The Telegraph-Herald, October 10, 1945, p. 6

3. "Night School Teachers 130 How Better to Serve Lord," The Telegraph-Herald, November 14, 1949

4. "Holy Trinity Lutheran Church," The Telegraph-Herald, April 21, 1963, p. 5

5. "New Ecumenical Group to Organize," Telegraph Herald, October 1, 1978, p. 5

6. Nevans-Pederson

7. Ibid.

8. "Community," Telegraph Herald, June 8, 2017, p. 9

9. "Tri-State," Telegraph Herald, June 4, 2017, p. 21