St. Paul’s Celebrates 100 Years in Operation
St. Paul’s Celebrates 100 Years in Operation
Special Service This Sunday, Upcoming Events in the Works
Photos / Jessica Schultz, ellicottvilleNOW
One hundred years is a long time for something to be in operation these days. (Things just aren’t built to last like they used to. Oh God, I sound so old.) But some places beat the odds and St. Paul's Lutheran Church (located at 6360 Route 242 E.) is celebrating a milestone of 100 years. There is bound to be a plethora of history behind that!
ellicottvilleNOW connected with Pastor Daniel Buringrud to discuss the upcoming celebration and of course, we felt it proper to start at the beginning. Pastor Dan said, “The beginnings actually go back as far as 1912, when the pastor from the Lutheran Church in Plato, Rev. W.F. Malte, began leading worship for a few families that lived in Ellicottville. The services were held in the homes of these families every other Sunday afternoon. After about ten years of this, Rev. Malte encouraged these families to find a more suitable place to worship so that more people might be invited to join them.”
Thus, in the spring of 1923 a church building that had been built in 1894 by the Seventh Day Adventist Society became available to purchase due to dwindling membership, and these founding members took advantage of that opportunity. They bought the building for $1,000, and the rest is, as they say, history. The members organized and St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ellicottville was born. That building, located on Elizabeth Street, is now a private residence.
Currently, St. Paul’s welcomes between 75 and 85 people at worship most Sundays at their long-standing location on Route 242.“It’s not always the same people, but we seem to be in that range pretty consistently recently,” said Pastor Dan. “I think people are attracted to the family feel of our congregation. Our members are warm and welcoming, our services are positive and upbeat, our musicians are amazing, and our building is beautiful.”
Worship Service is held every Sunday morning at 10:00am for anyone who would like to attend. All are welcome.
St. Paul’s is also widely known for their activities in and for our community. They have some great upcoming Fall events in the works (besides currently finishing off the final preparations for their 100th Anniversary Dinner this Saturday, September 23rd and their 100th Anniversary Worship Service at 10:00 the next morning).
On October 31st they will host their annual Trunk and Treat activities (which this ellicottvilleNOW writer will be participating in, so come say hello so I can snap photos of your kids and their amazing costumes). This year’s Trunk and Treat will be bigger and better than ever as they will be co-hosting it with the Rotary Club of Ellicottville. Pastor Dan advised, “We are working on exactly how that will look, but it will be a great opportunity to provide a fun and safe environment for the families and young people of Ellicottville, with Trunk and Treat outside and the Rotary Halloween Party inside. Our Trunk and Treat event always sees a lot of locals decorating their vehicles and many children both locally and from the surrounding areas participating. This is going to be an exciting event and more details will follow soon.”
Then they’ll be ready to usher in the changing season with their Annual Christkindl Market. This year’s market falls on November 4th from 9:00am - 4:00pm and will feature crafters, artisans, and a homey menu from the ever popular Nutcracker Cafe. For more details on this event, keep your eyes on future issues of ellicottvilleNOW.
Pastor Dan ended our meeting with, “The supreme commandment in scripture is to love. At St. Paul’s, we take that commandment seriously. We believe that we are called to love God by loving our neighbors and ourselves. So we love our communities. We have members from all over the area, and a few vacationers as well. We pray that God’s love would pour out from us and impact each of those communities in a positive way. That being said, we would be delighted to share our 100th Year Anniversary worship services with anyone in the community who would like to attend. See you on the 24th at 10:00am.”
If you would like more information on St. Paul’s 100th Year Anniversary and other upcoming church events, visit their Facebook page, call 716-699-2265, email stpaulseville@gmail.com or visit their website at stpaulsellicottville.com.