At 305 S. State Street in Fall Creek, Wisconsin, St. James Trinity Lutheran Church is rooted in two German Lutheran communities whose histories extend back to the 1860s. The congregation is known for its traditional 8:30 a.m. Sunday worship and for connecting worship with learning and service through Sunday School, confirmation, Bible study, mission outreach and volunteer teams. St. James Trinity welcomes people to worship Jesus as Savior and Lord. It belongs to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Northwest Synod of Wisconsin. Its mission is to respond in faith to the call of the Holy Spirit through the Gospel, gather around the Word and Sacrament for nurture and mutual strengthening, and reach all people with the Good News of Jesus.
Two Fall Creek Congregations Become One
Before 1864, German Lutherans in the Fall Creek area were served by occasional itinerant pastors who performed marriages and baptisms when they came through. St. John's, south of Fall Creek, was the area's first Lutheran church and the first one in Eau Claire County. Its first building was completed two years before a tornado destroyed it on May 5, 1870.
As the village area became well populated, the people closest to town formed their own congregation because the country schoolhouse was too small for the entire group. This congregation became known as Trinity Lutheran, and W.J. Friedrich served both it and St. John's. The two groups erected separate churches and dedicated them at about the same time in December 1872. Trinity's building stood in what is now Randall Park.
St. James Takes Shape in 1885
After about 15 years in Trinity, disagreement among members led a group to break away and form St. James in January 1885. The new congregation affiliated with the Iowa Synod and dedicated its building in August, with Carl Baumbach as pastor. Baumbach served until 1921, when J. F. Drewelow was called. Drewelow remodeled the church, dug a basement, added transepts, a balcony and a choir loft. B. Spaulding followed in 1926 and remained for 17 years, until his death in 1943. During his tenure, the congregation purchased a parsonage for $4,000.
The 1944 Merger and a Long Line of Pastors
By 1943, J. H. Abelman was pastor of Trinity, which was affiliated with the Ohio Synod, while St. James belonged to the Iowa Synod. Because the two national synods had joined together in 1930, both congregations voted to merge. At a joint meeting in January 1944, they called Pastor Bloede, who had served Trinity from 1930 to 1937 and was known by both groups. He remained until 1956.
Pastor Kolberg came in 1956 and retired in 1963. Pastor Wittenberg served until 1970, when Theodore Nystuen was installed. Nystuen retired in 1987, and Douglas Brandt was called. Brandt served until January 15, 2006. Joanne Sorenson was installed in January 2007 and served until 2016, when she moved into mission work on a larger scale. Rick Biederman began serving St. James Trinity in 2017 while also serving English Lutheran Church of Bateman in Chippewa Falls, leading the congregation through its transition to sharing a pastor. He retired at the end of 2023.
Traditional Liturgical Worship at 8:30
St. James Trinity worships every Sunday at 8:30 a.m. The service is both traditional and liturgical, with traditional hymns, sermons and a mixture of old and new music. Everyone is welcome to worship whether they are a member or not. Most services take place in the church on State Street, while occasional services are held at Keller Park in conjunction with a picnic.
Sunday worship is also livestreamed each week on Facebook and YouTube. The YouTube livestream begins at 8:30 a.m. For people watching from home, the service includes Holy Communion, and the church asks viewers to have bread or a cracker and wine or juice ready. A call-in option is available for people without internet access.
Sunday School Keeps Children with the Whole Congregation
Sunday School is a regular part of the Sunday rhythm for children ages 3 through sixth grade. It runs throughout the school year. Children are released for class shortly after worship begins, then return during the offering and sit with their families for the rest of the service. This arrangement lets children participate in both their own classes and the congregation's worship. The program also includes an annual Christmas presentation.
Wednesday Bible Study and Confirmation
Bible Study gathers at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesdays. Confirmation is for students in grades 7 and 8 and meets at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesdays throughout the school year. The confirmation program includes the affirmation of baptism and the rite of confirmation in worship. Students are asked to complete 15 sermon notes during the program year, and online attendance at services counts toward that requirement. That provision recognizes that students can participate in the worship offered by the congregation even when they are not physically present.
Mission Outreach on the Second Sunday
The second Sunday of each month is Mission Outreach Sunday. The congregation chooses a crisis or local program to support and takes a special offering during worship. Contributions can also be mailed to the church or made through online giving. Other community activities associated with St. James Trinity include battery recycling, plastic recycling and One Home One Future.
A Library That Began with Two Shelves
The church library began in 1965 at the urging of Pastor Wittenberg. Lorraine Schilling, Dolores Jungerberg and Suzanne Aiken started it with two shelves in the entrance to the basement. Aiken visited area libraries for ideas, and a dedicated library area was later established in the fellowship room. When a Sunday School room became available, the collection moved into the space it uses. Marian Westphal soon became another leader in its development, joined later by Carol Cance, Hazel Tumm, Earlene Dragseth, Ellen Smith, Doris Hennig, Denise Klopp and Stephanie Fredrickson.
The collection includes hundreds of adult, young adult and children's books, along with CDs and DVDs. Members and former members donate materials, while greeting card sales and gifts in memory of loved ones provide funding. Library volunteers purchase, catalogue and process the collection. Its purpose is to deepen understanding of the faith and offer spiritual guidance to young and old. The library encourages families to bring children and grandchildren for faith-based material that may be less accessible in public or school libraries.
Teams and Groups for Worship, Learning and Service
St. James Trinity organizes much of its shared work through teams and groups, including:
- Worship and Music Team
- Green Team
- Parish Education Team
- Altar Guild
- Community Outreach Team
- Tech and Streaming Team
- Property Team
- Mission Endowment Board
- Audit Team
- Nominating Team
- Debt Retirement Team
- Finance and Stewardship Team
- Library Team
- Quilting Group
- Church Council
- Covenant Board
- St. James & Friends
- Prayer Chain
These groups make room for service in worship and music, property care, environmental work, education, streaming technology, outreach, financial oversight and fellowship. The Quilting Group and Prayer Chain add opportunities for regular fellowship, while the Worship and Music Team supports the congregation's liturgical and musical life. Music is a visible part of the church: Mike Vagts serves as organist, and members also sing in the choir.
Pastor Justin Arnold and the Staff
Pastor Justin Arnold graduated from Luther Theological Seminary in December 2023 with a Master of Divinity after enrolling in 2017. Before seminary, he earned degrees in print journalism and vocational rehabilitation. His work included sportswriting, case management for employment and training programs, grant writing, and teaching job-search and cognitive-behavioral intervention classes at Stanley Correctional Institution and Chippewa Valley Correctional Treatment Facility. Arnold says he found his faith home in the ELCA in March 2017 after years of varied faith formation.
Around Arnold, Nicole Kaeding serves as office administrator, Sue Sell as treasurer, Elaine Sedgeman as financial secretary, and Mike Vagts as organist. Custodian Deb Burfield keeps the church clean, tends to light maintenance, lawn care and snow removal, and sets up and takes down for weddings, funerals and other gatherings. Burfield says the work gives her joy because it offers a clean and welcoming place to worship and allows her to share kindness, love and joy with people she knows and with strangers.
Giving and the Church Building
Giving can be made through the Vanco mobile app, by text message or online, with either a one-time or recurring contribution. The church uses online giving as an additional way to receive contributions. Its facilities support weddings and funerals, and the staff prepares the church for those services as well as for other groups that use the building. The Tech and Streaming Team helps carry weekly worship to Facebook and YouTube and provides a call-in option for people without internet access.
A Congregation Centered on Christ and Community
The life of St. James Trinity centers on worshiping Jesus as Savior and Lord, learning together and serving beyond its own walls. Its history joins St. John's, Trinity and St. James into one Lutheran congregation rooted in Fall Creek. Traditional Sunday worship at 8:30 a.m., the lectionary-driven church year, education from childhood through confirmation, monthly mission outreach, a volunteer-supported library and many teams all belong to that shared life. At its State Street church, St. James Trinity continues to gather around the Word and Sacrament while caring for one another and reaching out with the Good News of Jesus.