Folder 3

A valuable addition to the history of Lutheranism in Illinois, the Trinity Lutheran Church Records document the growth and history of perhaps the oldest German Lutheran Church in the state.  The collection is divided into eleven series: minutes; annual reports; correspondence; financial records; building records; office files; membership records; newsletters and bulletins; church organization records; Illinois Synod and other churches; and photographs, scrapbooks, and drawings. Series I includes a complete set of church council meeting minutes (1857-1972) which details the monthly administrative concerns of the church leadership.  These minutes include pastoral, treasurer’s and various committee reports, and record discussions of plans for community projects and church improvements.  A series of congregational minutes (1857-1968) supplement the council minutes and contain information concerning church budgets, council nominations, and reports from church organizations.  Trinity Lutheran Church annual reports (1942-1971), located in Series II, summarize the yearly activities of the pastor, committees, church organizations, and Sunday School, and also includes financial reports and membership lists. Correspondence and financial records comprise the third and fourth series in the collection.  Receipts/disbursements journals, expense and benevolence journals, tax records, church organization transfer files, and invoices provide information on donations to charities, various expenditures, and weekly offerings.  Of special interest is the fifth series, building records, which documents the construction of the new church dedicated in 1952.  Building committee minutes (1947-1952), architectural and contractor correspondence, and equipment and supply invoices contain schedules, building material lists, and financial statements, illustrating problems encountered during the seven year project. A substantial series of church office files details specific church programs and projects such as educational aid, congregational surveys, and fund-raising drives.  In addition, these files contain various records ranging from membership and pastoral correspondence to news releases and guest registers.  The membership records contained in series seven include transfers, lists, communion, and confirmation records.  For documentation of weekly Trinity activities, newsletters (1953-1955) and a large set of Sunday bulletins (1941-1977) highlight past church accomplishments and announce organizational and committee activities for each week. Church organizations played a major role in gathering Trinity members for social and community functions.  Meeting minutes and financial records for many church organizations such as the Chancel and Altar Society, Glad Hand Club, and the Ladies Aid Society illustrate the efforts of these groups to provide service to the sick and underprivileged.  These societies also sponsored bazaars, lectures, dinners, and picnics for the congregation. In addition to documenting the history of Trinity Lutheran Church, this collection contains Illinois Synod records and annual reports of other churches in northern Illinois.  The last series includes photographs, architectural drawings, organizational charters, scrapbooks, and parish registers.  The photographs provide a valuable visual record of past church buildings, ministers, organizations, and confirmation classes.   Persons interested in the history of Illinois Lutheranism, and also the strong German ethnicity among people of this region, will find that the Trinity Lutheran Church Records provide valuable documentation of one of the oldest German churches in the state.