Beginning (1929)
Emmanuel began out the desire of the Ohio Synod the United Lutheran Church of America (ULCA) to establish a presence in Elyria. The first service of worship was held on September 9, 1928 at the Elyria Women's Club. The Synod's Missionary Superintendent, Dr. J. S. Herold delivered the sermon and First Evangelical Lutheran Church of Lorain provided music.
Pastor Sayles (1929–1934)
The preliminary development was done by Harold A. Sayles, who was still a seminary student at Hamma Divinity School in Springfield, Ohio. During the winter months, he commuted each Sunday to conduct worship services in Elyria. As a name was being considered at a congregational meeting in February 1929, Mrs. Charles Garford, first president of the Ladies Aid, suggested the name Emmanuel because it meant “God With Us.” Twenty-eight charter members formally established the congregation on Easter Sunday March 19, 1929. Following his graduation from Hamma in May, Pastor Sayles accepted a unanimous call to become Emmanuel's first pastor. He brought with him his new wife, Ruth, whom he married June 19, 1929.
By that time the congregation was searching for an appropriate building site. Several properties in the Eastern Heights area were considered and final selection of the present property was made on August 16, 1929. The three lots that made up the site cost $12,350. A house standing on one lot was later moved slightly to make room for the new church building. This house became the parsonage into which the Sayles moved on New Year's Day 1930.
Building plans were in full swing just as the Great Depression hit and the fledgling congregation struggled to meet its building goals. But ultimately the building was completed and the new facilities dedicated in December 1931. Pastor Sayles remained five years before resigning in part due to the severe financial burdens plaguing the church. He went into hospital administration and changed jobs frequently.
Pastor Urich (1934–1953)
Dr. Jussen L. Urich began his ministry at Emmanuel in December 1935. He was a serious, scholarly man, with firm convictions and deep sense of duty, who brought the congregation through its near collapse. Across his 18 years of service, the church membership had multiplied over five times and a solid financial foundation was established. Upon his retirement in the summer of 1953, Dr. Urich was honored by the title Pastor Emeritus.
Pastor Lumadue (1953–1961)
The call to James L. Lumadue to become the third pastor at Emmanuel was extremely controversial because he was a "“son of the congregation” and had grown up at Emmanuel. Many wondered if this young man from the congregation could minister effectively to it. But Pastor Lumadue's warm, easy style of ministry quickly proved these worries baseless. Jim Lumadue was widely known throughout Elyria (his family had owned a local service station) and he strolled through the streets bringing many people in and drawing much activity into the church. Aiding him was his wife, Sally, whom he had met when they were both students at Wittenberg College.
It was during these years, that Emmanuel embarked upon a second building program adding a wing for Sunday School classes, a pastor's study, a lounge, and restrooms. This new wing (named Luther Hall) was dedicated in December 1956 marking the twenty-fifth anniversary of the church's founding. Pastor Lumadue left Emmanuel to go to First English Lutheran Church in Shelby, Ohio.
Pastor Hall (1961–1974)
The Rev. Robert F. Hall became the fourth pastor to serve at Emmanuel in 1961. A new parsonage was built for his large family on Hartford Avenue during the summer of 1962, and he and his family moved in on August 5. During that year, the Lutheran Church in American (LCA) was formed as the ULCA merged with Lutherans of the Swedish, Danish and Finnish tradition. And so, Emmanuel was now a congregation of the LCA.
Pastor Hall left a lasting mark on the congregation's worship life, shaping it to include many of the grand vestments and actions and items that unfortunately all too many Lutherans had dismissed as being “too Catholic,” but which are tremendous aids in worship. He reinstituted the preferred Christian practice of Holy Communion every Sunday long before that became the norm in other Lutheran churches. He oversaw the installation of a new Hillgreen Lane pipe organ and the awesome set of stained glass windows which grace the sanctuary. Early on, he saw an opportunity to reach out into the needs of the community. With the leadership of his wife, Marie, a week day church school was started for preschoolers ages three to six.
In January 1969, another mission congregation was established in the northern section of Elyria which is now Redeemer Lutheran Church located on the corner of N. Abbe and College Park near Lorain County Community College. A number of families transferred from Emmanuel to Redeemer in order to help with this growing mission project.
In the early seventies, the double house rental property located on Garford directly north of the church, which had originally been purchased by Alfred Fenner (a charter member) and used as a residence for Dr. Urich when he became Pastor Emeritus, was torn down and turned into a parking lot.
Pastor Hall resigned his call to Emmanuel in 1974 in order to go to Saint Michael Lutheran Church in Mifflin, Ohio and so that he could return to a simplified lifestyle back on the family farm where he still resides.
Pastor McKinley (1974–1986)
Pastor James H. McKinley came to Emmanuel from the east coast in 1974 with his distinctive New York accent and a strong sense of “social justice.” He sought to minister to sick, needy and the impoverished in the Elyria community both through the congregation and local service agencies. He served on many boards of social institutions and was a “trouble-shooter” for the synod in the area of social ministry. He spent much time at Elyria Memorial Hospital and served as a pastor to many who were hospitalized there but unchurched in a way that is no longer possible today due to the current privacy restrictions. His wife, Jane, took an active role in the Christian Day school and developed a much appreciated “card” ministry as an offshoot of her work with the American Greetings card company.
In June 1978 the congregation undertook a major renovation of the church basement and installed a new heating system. In October 1978, the congregation began using the Lutheran Book of Worship quite quickly after its first publication in September.
Pastor McKinley left in 1986 in order to be closer to his family on the east coast. He went to a parish in Dumont, New Jersey.
Pastor Jaster (1986–present)
Pastor Paul E. Jaster, originally a member of the AELC (Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches, an offshoot of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod), came to Emmanuel on March 15, 1987 shortly after his marriage to Laurie A. Miller, a pastor of the LCA (Lutheran Church of America) on July 26, 1986. Their marriage was a precursor of what would soon happen on a much larger scale when on January 1, 1988 the AELC, the LCA, and the ALC (American Lutheran Church) merged together to form the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America). Thus, Emmanuel, a former member of the LCA, became a congregation of the ELCA.
Just prior to his coming, the congregation under the leadership of the Church Council was already beginning to work towards a new perception of their role as the baptized people of God. The people of the congregation were trying to see themselves as the “ministers” and the pastor as the one who equips them for their ministry by the preaching of the Word of God and the administration of the Sacraments. For more than a decade, the people in the congregation have been taking ownership for the ministry that happens here, a movement which Pastor Jaster strongly supports.
Much time and effort now is devoted to reaching out to and shaping the believers of the next generation. Pastor Jaster loves to preach, teach, visit, travel, mix it up with children, lead songs at Vacation Bible School, and mold the minds of those in confirmation class.
In January 2000 (the beginning of a new millennium), the congregation created a Master Plan Task Force that helped to design a building expansion which would better serve Emmanuel's ministry in the twenty-first century. A very successful major capital fund campaign called “Faith Odyssey: 2001” was begun in the spring of 2001 which allowed construction to start in the spring of 2002.
Building goals included (1) a new entry on the parking lot side, (2) an internal elevator for handicap accessibility, (3) handicapped accessible bathrooms, (4) a place for gathering before and after worship, (5) additional classrooms and enlarged preschool rooms, (6) and new office space. In order to better accommodate the new entry, the sanctuary was reoriented and reversed. The new construction achieved a warm, welcoming look while still keeping the original style of an English Wayside Chapel and blending in with the existing neighborhood. Construction was completed in June of 2003.
Since then the congregation has been reviewing and renewing all of its ministries. Special attention is being given to worship, learning, youth, communication, social service ministry and reaching out as good neighbors into the community immediately around us.
In September 2003, Emmanuel became part of a Community Meal program with a number of area churches to ensure that a free hot meal is served in Elyria every day of the year. It also started an annual tradition of a “Neighborhood Fun Day” as an enjoyable summer gift to the neighboring community. In November 2006, Emmanuel began using Evangelical Lutheran Worship, the latest core worship resource of the ELCA.