First Lutheran Church stands on the corner of Broadway and Wells Street on Knoxville's north side, between the historic Old North Knox and Fourth and Gill neighborhoods, two miles from downtown and three miles from the University of Tennessee. The Gothic-style sanctuary is the congregation's fourth home since 1869, and the parish is among the oldest Lutheran bodies in East Tennessee. It belongs to The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, a Synod founded by Saxon immigrants in 1847, and its members describe themselves as evangelical, sacramental, confessionally Lutheran, and rooted in the Reformation.
Worship: The Divine Service on Sunday Morning
The congregation gathers each Sunday at 9:30 a.m. in the sanctuary for the Divine Service, drawn from the Lutheran Service Book. The service follows the historic liturgy and includes hymns, a Service of the Word, preaching, prayers, and the Service of the Sacrament (the Lord's Supper) week by week throughout the year; on rare occasions when the sacrament is not celebrated, the order is hymns, the Service of the Word, preaching, and prayers. The three-year lectionary of the LCMS is used, so the readings rotate through Series A, B, and C.
The congregation practices closed communion. Communicant members of First Lutheran and Lutherans in fellowship with the LCMS who have been instructed and confirmed in the same faith are welcomed to the altar. Visitors who have not been confirmed in the LCMS or in a church in fellowship with it are invited to come forward with arms crossed to receive a blessing, and the pastors are glad to walk newcomers through the practice and the Bible passages (1 Corinthians 10 and 11) that shape it. The pastoral team encourages anyone interested to take the Adult Confirmation Class, which carries no obligation to join.
For those who cannot attend in person, parts of the Sunday services are posted on Facebook, YouTube, and the church's own pages, and a full archive of audio sermons stretches back to 2008, with a YouTube channel carrying the most recent weeks.
Sunday School and Bible Class
Immediately after the Divine Service, at 10:45 a.m., classes meet for every age from preschool through high school in classrooms organized by grade. The hour is treated as a genuine Bible study, anchored in the verse, "Let the Word of God dwell in you richly" (Colossians 3:16). Voters' meetings, the congregational assembly that holds supreme authority over the church's affairs, are also held at 10:45 a.m. on Sundays when business requires them.
Advent, Lent, and Ash Wednesday
Wednesday evenings at 6:30 p.m. carry the church's seasonal life. On Ash Wednesday the Ash Wednesday service is held; during the weeks of Lent a Lenten service is offered; and during Advent the midweek gathering takes the form of Evening Prayer (Vespers). Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday bring additional services each year.
A Christian Day School Since 1869
True to the historic Lutheran principle that there can be no real education without religion, a Christian day school was opened the same year the congregation was organized, in 1869. It was closed for a time and reopened in 1892. Today First Lutheran School serves children from age 3 through eighth grade, with before- and after-school care. A major renovation in 1979 added classrooms and a gymnasium. The school's stated mission is to provide a quality academic structure that educates children's spirits, minds, and bodies in a Christ-centered environment and prepares them as responsible citizens for Christian service and eternal life.
The 1869 Founding and Four Buildings
First German Evangelical Lutheran Church, U.A.C., of Knoxville, Tennessee, was organized on October 12, 1869, when about twenty Lutherans met in Peter Kern's Hall at No. 7 Market Square. (U.A.C. stands for "Unaltered Augsburg Confession.") Peter Kern, a former Knoxville mayor and businessman, was among the founders and is remembered in a framed photograph in the church's archive. Lutheran missionaries had been traveling through East Tennessee since 1813, but the Knoxville congregation was the fruit of a more permanent German settlement.
Because the founding members were of German heritage, services were conducted in German into the 1890s, when English services were added. The name changed to First German-English Evangelical Lutheran Church, U.A.C., in 1903 and to First Evangelical Lutheran Church, U.A.C., in 1919.
The congregation has known four buildings. From 1870 to 1901 it met at the corner of Broad and Asylum Streets (now Broadway and Western Avenue, on the old L&N Station site). The second building stood at the corner of Broadway and Fifth Avenue from 1901 to 1946. When that sanctuary was outgrown, the adjacent Francis house at the corner of Broadway and Wells was purchased, and the congregation worshipped in the house until the new school building was completed in 1947. The present Gothic-style sanctuary, on the corner of Broadway and Wells, was dedicated on May 15, 1955, and the Heins Memorial Education Building was dedicated in January 1969.
The congregation has produced four daughter congregations over its history: Grace Lutheran in the Bearden area in 1959; Holy Trinity (now Celebration!) in Seymour in 1964; Christus Victor in the Norwood-Powell area in 1967; and Christ of the Cumberlands in Harrogate, which began as a preaching station in 1974 and was organized in 1986. In 2005 First Lutheran adopted the Lutheran Campus Ministry at the University of Tennessee and called an associate pastor, who served both the congregation and the campus community until February 2012.
The Beckerath Organ and the Music Program
The instrument in the rear gallery is a Rudolf von Beckerath organ, built in Hamburg, Germany, and installed in 1974. The organ search committee, formed in January 1972, traveled to hear organs in Kingsport, Bristol, Louisville, Richmond (Kentucky), Orrville and Cleveland (Ohio), and St. Louis before settling on Beckerath, whose landmark instrument at Trinity Church, Cleveland, set the standard they wanted. The organ arrived in New Orleans on June 21, 1974, and reached Knoxville on July 2. Ten men of the congregation and two men from Hamburg carried the crates into the church, hoisted the six-hundred-pound console to the second floor, and completed the installation by July 31. Voicing and tuning began on August 19.
The organ is a classical instrument built along the lines of northern European organs and the "Orgelbewegung" philosophy: tracker action, low wind pressures, casework surrounding the pipes, and an integral self-contained design. The case is oak; pear wood surrounds the keyboards; oak or mahogany is used for the wood pipes; grenadilla for the keys; and the metal pipes carry a much higher tin content than is common in modern instruments. It contains 19 stops, 24 ranks, and 1,204 pipes, and the gallery is signed "Soli Deo Gloria."
The adult choir rehearses on Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m. (with summers off) and adds to the worship services throughout the year. A handbell choir is also part of the music ministry, and the church has a long tradition of organists and choir directors, including Wilbur Krause, Ron Royuk (1969-1989), and Ed Niedens (1989-2011).
Midweek Studies and the Wider Fellowship
Beyond Sunday morning, a number of Bible study groups meet through the week. A Men's Bible Study gathers on the first and third Saturdays of each month at 8:30 a.m. A Women's Bible Study meets in the meeting room from 5:45 to 7:00 p.m. on selected Wednesdays; the group has worked through books such as Meant for Good: A Study of Joseph from Concordia Publishing House. Confirmation classes for young people are offered at times that vary by year; the church office and Pastor Maanum can provide current details.
For older youth and adults, Theology on Tap meets after Sunday School on the second Sunday of each month for theological conversation and games like Ticket to Ride and Werewolf. A Young People's Group for college-age through early-forties adults meets socially once a month for bowling, dinner, camping, and other outings. The congregation also joins two regional retreats: F.A.L.L. (Fellowship Around the Lord's Love), held every September on a Friday and Saturday at First Lutheran Camp in Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee, for grades 7-8; and the Mid-Winter Gathering, held every February from Friday evening through Sunday noon in Pigeon Forge for grades 9-12. Senior high youth also participate in the National LCMS Youth Gathering every three years and in Higher Things conferences.
LWML, Quilting, and Mercy Work
The Lutheran Women's Missionary League has an active evening chapter at First Lutheran. The LWML gathers funds for mission projects, supports the work of the congregation, and hosts yearly events such as Advent by Candlelight and the LWML Lenten Tea. A separate quilting group meets periodically to make quilts that are sent to Lutheran World Relief.
On the broader mission field, First Lutheran supports the Siberian Evangelical Lutheran Church, the geographically largest Lutheran church body in the world. The connection is personal: the father-in-law of a former associate pastor serves as a full-time professor in Siberia, training pastors for mission and ministry. The congregation also supports LCMS Global Mission, Concordia Theological Seminary, Lutheran Hour Ministries, Issues, Etc., Higher Things, and KFUO AM radio.
GermanFest and the Annual Rhythm
Each August the congregation hosts GermanFest, a Saturday festival that runs from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and celebrates the congregation's German heritage while raising money for the church and school. Other recurring events include a Chili Cookoff hosted by the Elders during National Lutheran Schools Week, Advent by Candlelight, the LWML Lenten Tea, and periodic fellowship outings such as bowling, concerts, biking, and hiking trips, organized by Activities Director Shellia Byrd.
Becoming a Member
Anyone interested in joining First Lutheran is invited to take the Adult Confirmation Class, which explores what the church believes, teaches, and confesses. Taking the class carries no obligation to join. Members of an LCMS congregation who are moving to the area may transfer their membership by speaking with Pastor Maanum. Membership is structured in three tiers: baptized members, who are baptized in the name of the Triune God and place themselves under the congregation's pastoral care; communicant members, who have been instructed and confirmed in the Lutheran faith, live a Christian life, and partake of the Lord's Supper with due frequency; and voting members, who are communicant members at least eighteen years old and participate in the voters' meetings that govern the congregation's life.
The Pastoral Team
The congregation is served by Rev. Edward Maanum, who was installed at First Lutheran on May 31, 2020. Pastor Maanum is a graduate of Concordia College (B.A.) and Concordia Seminary (M.Div.), both of the LCMS, and can be reached through the church office at (865) 524-0308. Rev. John Schulz serves as Pastor Emeritus after a long tenure that began with his installation on January 11, 1981, and his retirement from active ministry on December 28, 1997. The church office is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and can be reached by phone at (865) 524-0308 or by fax at (865) 524-5636.
Finding First Lutheran
The church sits on Broadway between the Old North Knox and Fourth and Gill neighborhoods, right off the I-40 Broadway exit. From I-75 South, travelers follow I-275 South toward downtown, exit right onto East Woodlawn Avenue, turn left onto East Woodland, proceed three blocks to Central Avenue, turn right, then left onto Broadway; the church is three blocks ahead on the left. From I-40 East, drivers stay on I-40 E rather than taking the bypass, exit onto I-275 North toward Lexington, exit right onto East Baxter Avenue, turn right to Central Avenue, right again to Broadway, and left to reach the church. From I-40 West, drivers take the Broadway exit, turn right, use the nearest intersection to turn around, and head south on Broadway about two blocks; the church will be on the right.
On a Sunday morning, families with small children are welcome to bring their children into the service to learn to worship according to God's Word, and a cry room with audio of the service is available when needed. Visitors are encouraged to ask a neighbor for help finding their place in the hymnal, since parts of the service are recited from memory and the liturgy may be unfamiliar at first. As the congregation's own description puts it, this is a church that treasures "the truth and beauty of Biblical Lutheran theology and the culture of the Reformation Era as well as doctrinally pure expressions of the Christian faith and life from around the globe and throughout history."