This is another in a series of occasional articles about our Congregation’s history in honor of our 95th Anniversary year.
In our last installment of “A Moment from Trinity’s History”, we looked at how our Congregation was “birthed” by our “mother church”, First Trinity Lutheran in Washington, DC. Following that story, it seems fitting then that we should look at how our Trinity Congregation also became a “mother” of “daughters” as well.
Having been “born” out of the mission-mindedness of the Congregation of Trinity-Washington, it seems that Trinity-Mount Rainier would have the same in our own churchly DNA. Both the congregation and Pastor Pieplow became known for their desire to reach out to the communities around them with the Good News about Jesus. When he spoke about the door-to-door canvassing done both in reaching out to new members and in the preparatory work in beginning new churches, Pastor Pieplow described it in this way: “You keep your feet to the ground, your finger on many a doorbell, and your heart and mind on the Lord.”
Noticing the need to spread the Word further out beyond Mount Rainier as the suburbs around Washington also grew, Trinity and Pastor Pieplow desired to see how branch mission churches could be established. The first community which became the location for outreach work was in Greenbelt, Maryland. After a successful outreach canvass, the first worship service of the new Greenbelt Mission of Trinity was held on Easter Sunday, April 9, 1944 in the home of Mr. & Mrs. E. Trumbule, with an attendance of 123. After some discussions with the Federal Public Housing Authority, permission was given so that the Mission could hold its services in the auditorium of the Greenbelt School. By 1947, the Mission numbered over one hundred communicant members, and around 326 persons in worship each Sunday.
Not long after the establishment of the Greenbelt Mission, Trinity was called to go through a door which the Lord opened in the community of Landover Hills, MD. Invited by Mr. & Mrs. Donald Rindt, Pastor Pieplow gathered a group together in the Rindt’s home on January 14, 1945 for the first worship service of the Landover Hills Mission. After the Rindts transferred to another city, Mr. & Mrs John Bennick opened their home for the Mission to continue their worship services. With the growth of this new church came the need for a more permanent home. Trinity, which at the time was also working on the construction of a new building for its school, stepped out with faith and courage, purchasing a home in Landover Hills to be renovated to serve as a chapel and rooms for Sunday School and other Christian education purposes. The renovations were completed and the first service in this new chapel were held on Ascension Day, May 30, 1946. Also by 1947, this Mission numbered 150 members, with a rapidly growing Sunday School, and well attended Confirmation classes for both children and adults.
In December of 1947, Trinity dedicated its new building for the school she had begun in 1944, holding classes in the Mount Rainier church building. The new school building was located at 38th and Longfellow Streets in nearby Hyattsville, MD. The decision was made to put the school building into use as the site for yet another Mission plant. On February 15, 1948, the first worship service of the Hyattsville Mission was held in the school auditorium.
From 1948 until 1951, Pastor Pieplow served Trinity and all three of the Missions, preaching at six services each Sunday. The schedule for Trinity and the Missions was: Services at Trinity, 8 AM, 11 AM, and 8 PM; at Landover Hills, 9:15 AM; at Hyattsville, 10:15 AM; and at Greenbelt, 12:30 PM. On Sundays, Pastor Pieplow could be seen fully robed leaving one worship service, and getting into a waiting car to be driven to get to the next service.
In 1951, two of Trinity’s Missions became their own Congregations. The Greenbelt Mission became Greenbelt Lutheran Church, later taking the name Holy Cross. They were able to build a church building on Greenbelt Road upon land acquired from the Federal Government. They still worship in that building today. The Landover Hills Mission became Ascension Lutheran Church, who built their own sanctuary on Buchanan Street off of Annapolis Road and began their own Lutheran School ministry. Their congregation remains active as well.
From 1951 until 1956, Trinity was seen as one congregation in two locations: Mount Rainier-Hyattsville. She was served by three Pastors during this time: Pastor Pieplow until 1952; Pastor Kenneth Hoffmann, 1952-1954; and Pastor William Kohn, 1954-1956. Pastor Kohn also served as the President of the Southeastern District of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod while being Trinity’s Pastor.
On February 13, 1956, Trinity’s Voters’ Assembly passed a resolution, which read in part, “…resolved, that Trinity Lutheran Church of Mount Rainier and Hyattsville, Maryland, effect a voluntary division of its membership, and thus form two congregations, one in Mount Rainier and the other in Hyattsville”, and also “…be it resolved that our School be operated as a joint effort by the Mount Rainier congregation and the Hyattsville congregation.” This restructuring of ministry was hailed in the Southeastern District’s newspaper as “Multiplication by Division”, creating from one congregation three ministries.
The Mount Rainier congregation retained the name of Trinity, and 244 communicant members chose to remain at the mother church. The Hyattsville congregation had 357 communicant members who chose to go with the new congregation. This congregation formally organized itself on April 22, 1956, and took the name of Redeemer Lutheran Church. Redeemer then called Pastor Kohn to serve as Redeemer’s first Pastor. A ministerial candidate from the Saint Louis Seminary, Mr. Roy Maack, was assigned to receive the Call from Trinity to become the fourth Pastor in its history, being ordained and installed on September 9, 1956. Redeemer went on to build its own church building at East-West Highway and Queens Chapel Road, dedicating it in 1960, where she remains today.
By God’s grace, the work of the Lord continues in all four of our congregations, and we pray that He will continue to make use of us as long as He wills.