History of St. Thomas Lutheran Church

History of St. Thomas Lutheran Church,
Streetsboro, OH

April 5, 1961, Rev. Frank A. Miller arrived in Streetsboro to begin a new Lutheran congregation. August 6, 1961 the first service for the young congregation was held in a rented house at 1412 Russell Drive. The initial congregation had 104 children and 79 adults.	, , ,
Here are some pictures of the first church council, Organization Sunday, and the organization reception held at the old Methodist church in Streetsboro.	, , ,
Very soon thereafter property for the new congregation was purchased and worship moved to the farmhouse located at 9042 SR 43. 103 persons attended the initial service in the “House Chapel.” The interior walls were knocked out and the “house chapel” became the “farmhouse chapel.” On April 20, 1962 a call was extended to Pastor William McCabe. The congregation had 113 children and 116 adults.
It wasn’t long, however that the new and growing congregation was out of space in the old farmhouse. So plans were made up and a building campaign was under way.	, , ,,
June 4, 1967 saw the dedication of new worship facility for the St. Thomas’ congregation.	,
Mr. Albert Edelman was the first church organist.
Pastors of the congregation have included:
Rev. Frank Miller 1961-62
Rev. William McCabe 1962-66	No Picture Available
Rev. Fred Michelson 1967-68
Rev. Phillip Tammaru
Rev. David Bliss
Rev. Duane Miller
Rev. Senia Taipali		Rev. Taipali & 3 previous Pastors
Rev. Gerald Bauer
Rev. Denise Sager 1996-2000 Pastor Sager came to St. Thomas on the heels of a dramatic congregational split and began a ministry of healing within the congregation while she worked on her Ph.D. from Kent State University in Psychology and Counseling.
Rev. Rob Taylor 2000-present Pastor Taylor came to St. Thomas as a full-time lay redeveloper and led the congregation through a 4 year revitalization program. While revitalizing the congregation, Pastor Taylor finished his MDiv. from Ashland Theological Seminary and was ordained in 2004. Through the revitalization program the congregation witnessed considerable growth and became financially self-sufficient, but due to deteriorating moral and theological conditions within the ELCA, the congregation voted unanimously to leave the ELCA, along with many other congregations, and joined the ELCM, a small Centrist group based in Altoona, PA. 3 years with the ELCM bore no fruit, but witnessed infighting, disagreements and splintering. The Pastor and congregation realized that for the sake of the mission of Christ, and for greater resource sharing, it needed to belong to the larger church. In 2007 the congregation made application to the English District of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod and on May 15, 2008, the congregation was approved for membership.

A new congregation in the English District of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod On June 18, 2008 St. Thomas Evangelical Lutheran Church and Pastor Rob Taylor were formally received into the English District of the LC-MS.
Above: LC-MS English District Bishop/District President David Stechholz presents Pr. Rob, Carl Lipscik, president, and other members of the St. Thomas council: Stephen Hlava, Kathy Pocket, Marcy Harrison, Deb Wolff, and Jan Bahle the new charter for the congregation joining the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.
Above: LC-MS English and Ohio District Clergy present to welcome Pr. Rob and the St. Thomas congregation are, beginning front row left: Circuit Counselor Rev. Bob Tauscher of Concordia Lutheran in Akron; (Rev. Rob Taylor of St. Thomas Lutheran), Bishop David Stechholz, English District President; Rev. Chris Just of Epiphany Lutheran in Northfield; (Back row left to right) Rev. Bob Mertz, interim Pastor at Calvary Lutheran in Parma; Rev. Peter Mills of Grace Lutheran in Akron; Rev. Lon Landsmann of Good Shepherd Lutheran in Akron; and Rev. Dean Kavouros of Christ Lutheran in Cleveland. ** Special thanks to Mrs. Carol Mertz, world-class organist, for blessing the evening with her wonderful talent in music.