Worship: Sundays at 9:00 a.m.
301 S. West St.
Ceylon, MN
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Between the years of 1885-1895, at the request of Heinrich Diekmann of Lake Belt Township, the pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church of Welcome, MN, Rev. C.G. Eisenberg, came south to Lake Belt Township to hold services for a group of 8 or 9 families there. This group of families was also briefly in conversation with a local Missouri Lutheran congregation but joining with them did not materialize. They eventually agreed to call Rev. Eisenberg as their pastor, and on August 12, 1895, they drew up and signed the constitution forming St Peter Lutheran Church. August Schueler donated the land for the first church building to be built on the north shore of Clear Lake in Lake Belt Township.
Two years later, the congregation built a parsonage with a school room upstairs and called a resident pastor. Rev. H. Zapf served the congregation from 1897-1904. He visited his home country, Germany, for several months in 1900 and Rev. E. Goeringer served St Peter during that time. Rev. P. Liedtke served the congregation from 1905-1909, and during these years a church school house was built, as well as two horse barns – one for the use of congregation members and one for the pastor.
In 1909 Rev. A.W.E. Guetzlaff served the congregation, until he retired in 1923. In 1915 the church building was enlarged and a bell tower added. The bell (which served for many decades) called people to worship on Saturday evenings and also rang out the age toll whenever a member of the church was called to their eternal resting place. Rev. Guetzlaff ordained a member of the congregation, Rev. Walter Nassen, whom he had also confirmed, on June 15, 1919.
Rev. S.F. Bredow came to the congregation in June 1923 and stayed until May of 1950. A Sunday School was established in 1924, a Ladies Aid Society in 1925, and the Luther League in 1929. He conducted services in both German and English, but during his time there, the German service was reduced to once a month, and then discontinued. In the 1930s electric current became available to the church building, and the horse barns were sold to make way for automobiles. In 1944, the Ladies Aid Society became the Women’s Mission Society.
On Sunday, August 26, 1945, St Peter celebrated their 50th anniversary. Rev. A.E. Guetzlaff, son of a former pastor, was the guest speaker in the morning; Rev. Walter Nassen, a son of the congregation, spoke in the afternoon; and Rev. Edward Goeringer, who had served the congregation in 1900, also gave a short address.
Between 1944 and 1948, it was decided to relocate the church and parsonage into the village of Ceylon. A house was bought there for the parsonage and an adjacent lot was donated by Albert Detert for the building of a new brick church, construction for which was begun in the spring of 1951. The first service was held in the new church basement on March 2, 1952. The old church building was torn down and the lumber sold. The first funeral held in the new church was for Mr. Fred Fenrich, Sr, who was the only charter member of the congregation still living when the building program was started, and shrubbery was donated to the grounds in his memory.
The new church was dedicated on June 8, 1952. Rev. W.O. Langholz, who served St Peter between 1950-1955, gave the dedication. Rev. Bredow, a previous pastor of the congregation, Rev. Walter Nassen, a son of the congregation, and Rev. A.E. Guetzlaff, son of a previous pastor of the congregation, spoke at the day’s services.
From 1956-1961, Rev. H.C. Kaphingst served St Peter. The Art Glass windows were installed in the church in 1957 and a sound system was installed in 1958. Pastor Kaphingst started serving Dolliver, IA on a trial basis. Rev. W. Storm began serving Ceylon and Dolliver, IA in 1961. On June 11, 1961, a mortgage burning service was held, with Rev. W. Langholz as guest speaker. In 1962 the old church bell was installed in the new building. A new parsonage was built in 1966, and Rev. W. Storm left for a new call in 1967.
Rev. S.S. Sill served St Peter and the community of Dolliver, IA from 1967-1975. Rev. Mark Bents served both communities from 1976-1980. Rev. Gerold Sevig served both communities from 1980-1984. Rev. Randy Chrissis served both communities from 1984-1988. In 1987, the Women’s Mission Society became the Women of the ELCA. Rev. Jerry Lanes served both communities from 1988-1994. Pastor Todd Nelson began serving St Peter in 1995.
In 2001, St Peter Lutheran Church of Ceylon, MN and Trinity Lutheran Church of Welcome, MN voted to establish a two point parish. The parish’s joint history can be found on the “Our History” page of this website.
