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The history of our church is linked closely to
the founding and growth of our community. After the Civil War, when many
people were hearing of the beautiful countryside of northern Alabama, one
man acted with vision and courage. His name was John G. Cullmann.
Johann Gottfried Cullmann-native of Frankweiler,
Bavaria- was one of America's heroic pioneers. In 1864, this staunch
advocate of democracy came to the United States. He was forty-one years
old with a burning desire to establish a free German colony. .
He
had expended all the resources of his two businesses in an attempt to keep
Bavaria free. Branded a revolutionary, he was forced to leave. He first
worked in Philadelphia as a clerk before moving to Cincinnati, where there
was a large German population. Determined to earn enough resources to
establish his colony, he studied law at night and was admitted to the bar
in record time In 1871, he came to North Alabama, searching for land in the
Tennessee Valley and finally decided to purchase 350,000 acres on each
side of the Nashville to Montgomery main line railroad. He then recruited
German families.
The actual settlement in Cullman began in late
April, 1873, with five families. By the next year, 123 families had
arrived. The town was planned carefully - wide streets: parks on each side
of the railway: land designated for churches.
In 1874, a year before the town was officially
incorporated, Colonel Cullmann and those first families founded the first religious organization in
the community and the area. The church was named St. John's Evangelical
Protestant Church, and a sanctuary was quickly constructed. The German families were people with deep
religious backgrounds and the church quickly thrived with services all
conducted in German.
In 1922, the present church sanctuary was
constructed with the labor of the members and with the inspiration of
God. The result was one of the most beautiful churches in North
Alabama with acclaimed and appreciated stained glass windows.
In fact, services continued in German until 1932.
The language was becoming a problem and leading to lessening attendance,
and that year the German services were limited to twice a month. The
arrangement continued until October, 1941, when they were finally discontinued.
St. John's is proud of its heritage. The
wonderful Evangelical heritage with the dignity of worship and a
commitment to education showed early when the parochial school was formed
in 1877.
Later in 1931, the Lutheran influence was tempered with
a merger with the Reformed Church to form the Evangelical and
Reformed denomination Then in 1957, that body merged with the Congregational Christian
churches to make up the United Church Of Christ.,
Today St. John's is a part of the new
Evangelical Association and our Senior Pastor, Bob Kurtz, is honored to
serve his second term as national President of that organization. True to our original charter, St. John's
is a community church, and welcomes people of all religious backgrounds
who desire to faithfully serve the Lord Jesus Christ.
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