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No. 14
Christ, NoackSubmitted by Rev. James Kretzmann Christ Lutheran Church was organized at Noack (formerly known as Hochkirch) in the spring of 1891. Prior to 1891 several families of Lutherans living at Hochkirch (Noack) were served by Rev. G. Birkmann, who was at the same time serving the Lutherans at Thorndale. On November 29, 1891, the newly organized congregation at Hochkirch dedicated their church building to the glory of the Almighty Lord and dedicated themselves to the service of their King. The church building was built on four acres of land which was donated by Mr. Peter Zieschang. The cost of the building was about $200.00. Mr. Zieschang also donated land for a cemetery, located about 1 mile southeast of the church. The oldest headstone with a date of death is 1878, the last burial was in 1956. The cemetery is no longer used due to the difficulty in getting to the cemetery. In the fall of 1891, Rev. E. P. Gesterling was called by the Texas Board of Missions to Thorndale, Hochkirch, Taylor and Austin. Pastor Gesterling lived in Thorndale, from where he served this large area, until he left in 1893. Shortly after Pastor Gesterling left, at a meeting on September 10, 1893, St. Paul congregation in Thorndale decided to reduce the area size of the parish and to become self-sustaining with the help of the brethren of Hochkirch. The congregation at Hochkirch was to contribute $100 per year toward the salary of a minister. In November of 1893, Rev. A. W. Kramer was called and after accepting the call began his ministry in Thorndale and Hochkirch in March of 1894. Pastor Kramer faithfully served the Hochkirch congregation until the small congregation at Hochkirch decided in 1896 to call a pastor of their own. Rev. Kramer was subsequently elected as the first President of the newly formed Texas District in 1906. At this meeting a call was sent to Rev. C. A. Waech, who had graduated from Concordia Seminary in Saint Louis in 1895. Pastor Waech accepted the call to Texas and thus began his work of serving the Lord as an ordained minister. His ministry was to lead him to organize the Texas District of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and to become President of the Texas District in 1909. Before the calling of Pastor Waech as their resident pastor, the congregation at Hochkirch had no need of a parsonage, as their previous pastors had their residence in Thorndale. It was decided in a meeting of the congregation on December 10, 1896 to build a parsonage for Pastor Waech at a cost of $285.00. A two-storied parsonage was then constructed in the early part of 1897. On Sunday, June 6, 1897, misfortune came to this young congregation—during a heavy windstorm their church was blown down. Without funds, during this same year a new church was built, the building being 18x50x16 with a tower 10x10x55 feet tall. This new building was dedicated to the Lord on January 2, 1898. This church building served the congregational needs for the next eighteen years as their house of worship. Then after the present church building was dedicated on October 29, 1916, it served as their educational building until it was destroyed by a fire in 1927. A new educational building was constructed. Later an addition was made to that building to provide more classroom space. The addition of a third tower in 2003 to the 1916 church building provided space for an indoor bathroom and storage. A one-storied parsonage was constructed in 1947 to replace the two-storied parsonage built fifty years earlier. This parsonage is still in use and has been updated since then. The Rev. C. J. Appel was the last pastor to live in the parsonage until Rev. Kretzmann’s arrival. In the interim members and friends of the congregation lived in the parsonage. In October, 1949 the Rev. Gustave A. Zoch began conducting services in the town of Taylor. Early in 1950 about sixty-five members of Christ, Noack received a peaceful release from the Noack congregation to form Trinity Lutheran Church in Taylor. Pastor Zoch left to become pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, Taylor. The Rev. C. J. Appel was called to Christ Lutheran Church, Noack and served until his retirement in 1963. The Rev Louis W. Boriack was called out of retirement to serve Christ Lutheran Church, Noack in 1967 and served until 1979. He resided in Thorndale. The Rev. Vernon M. Appel, Rev. C. J. Appel’s son, after serving at St. Paul Lutheran Church, Thorndale for twenty years served both St. Paul Lutheran Church, Thorndale and Christ Lutheran Church, Noack from 1979 until his retirement in 1991 and then solely served Christ Lutheran Church, Noack until his death in 2002. He maintained his residence in Thorndale. Retired pastors, Rev. Duane Florschuetz from Georgetown and Rev Victor Kilian from Temple, served as interim pastors from late 2002 – early 2005.
The Rev. James P. Kretzmann after graduating from Concordia Seminary in Saint Louis received his first call to serve Christ Lutheran Church on January 19, 2005 and was installed as pastor on February 6, 2005. He resides in the parsonage, which was updated and refurbished prior to his arrival.
The following pastors have served Christ Lutheran Church since its organization: Rev. E. P. Gesterling 1891 – 1893 (served Thorndale, Hochkirch (Noack), Taylor, and Austin)
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