History Timeline

The first building was erected--a small, sturdy temple of forest-hewn logs. A steeple was soon added. For a hundred years this congregation witnessed for Christ without a regular pastor. Missionary pastors, such as Rev. Peter Muhlenberg, served these Lutherans during this period.

Washington D.C. was founded as our nation's capital.

The original log building was replaced by a frame structure in 1835. This building was used for worship and a parish school until after the Civil War.

American Samuel Morse developed the first, commercially-viable telegraph system in 1837 revolutionizing long-distance communication.

The American Civil War broke out at Fort Sumter, South Carolina.

The cornerstone was laid for a new, one-story, stone building. The gavel used for this special service was the same one which President George Washington used to lay the cornerstone of our nation’s capitol building. The new church building consisted of one large room heated by a pot-bellied stove.

Rev. Dr. John J. Suman was formally installed as our first pastor. This same year, the congregation joined the Maryland Synod with 25 communicant members, 10 officers and teachers, and 60 students in the Sunday School.

In October 1870, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Georgetown was constitutionally organized as an English-speaking congregation.

Rev. Dr. George A. Nixdorff was installed at Georgetown Lutheran Church.

Scottish-born innovator, Alexander Graham Bell is credited with inventing the first practical model in 1876.

Several inventors created rudimentary versions earlier in the century, but the first practical incandescent light bulb for the mass market was patented by Thomas Edison in 1879.

On May 29, 1886, representatives of the church filed a certificate of incorporation for the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Georgetown, D.C. This is the name under which we are incorporated today.

Rev. Dr. Stanley Billheimer was installed at Georgetown Lutheran Church.

Aviation pioneers Orville and Wilbur Wright are credited with inventing the world's first airplane, which they flew for four miles over South Carolina in 1903.

Rev. Dr. David B. Floyd was installed at Georgetown Lutheran Church.

Rev. Dr. Luther H. Waring was installed at Georgetown Lutheran Church.

The fourth and present church edifice of grey stone was erected in 1914 using the same cornerstone as the previous church on this sacred lot. This building was made possible by a $50,000 bequest by Mr. Daniel Eli.

Rev. Dr. N. J. Gould Wickey was installed at Georgetown Lutheran Church.

The United States declared war on Germany, beginning the U.S.'s involvement in World War I.

Rev. Dr. George D. Clark was installed at Georgetown Lutheran Church.

The Möller pipe organ was installed and dedicated as part of the 150th anniversary observance.

Rev. W. H. Hilbish was installed at Georgetown Lutheran Church.

An eight-room parsonage was built beside the church on the current site of the fellowship hall.

Rev. Harold E. Beatty was installed at Georgetown Lutheran Church.

In September 1928, Scottish physician Alexander Fleming first isolated penicillin in his basement lab at St Mary's Hospital in London.

In 1937, the old bell, which is believed to have hung in the steeple of the original log church but was likely sold to keep the church open, was found and recovered in Aurora, W. Va. The bell had faithfully served St. Paul’s Lutheran congregation in Aurora for 25 years, until it cracked and was retired. The bell was reacquired for $25 and erected in a mini-steeple in the church garden. We still have the bell and hope to have it on display soon.

U.S. forces were attacked by a Japanese armada at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, drawing the U.S. into WWII.

North Korean troops invade South Korea. Within a week, U.S. troops were involved in the fighting.

Rev. J. Glenn Boliek was installed at Georgetown Lutheran Church.

The Beatty Educational Building was dedicated on September 20, 1959.

President John F. Kennedy was assassinated while riding in a motorcade in Dallas.

The first American combat troops arrived in Vietnam adding to the 23,000 U.S. military advisors already on the group.

Civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated while on a motel balcony in Memphis.

The Washington Free Clinic, a community-controlled free clinic, began operating in the basement of Georgetown Lutheran Church.

Rev. Daniel L. Pierotti was installed at Georgetown Lutheran Church.

In November 1973, the Gay Men's Venereal Disease Clinic was established as part of the Washington Free Clinic. This was the precursor to Whitman-Walker Health.

Rev. William E. Wegener was installed at Georgetown Lutheran Church.

This ministry, initially known as the Street People Project, is a year-round ecumenical program serving those in need. Church volunteers make sandwiches and pack individual meals on the 2nd and 5th Sundays of every month.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) was created nationally by merger of the Lutheran Church in America, the American Lutheran Church, and the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches. The Metropolitan Washington, D.C. Synod was also established.

Georgetown Lutheran Church is considered a founding member of the Georgetown Ministry Center and today remains on its board of directors.

Georgetown Lutheran Church hosted its first congregation-based winter shelter in 1994. This legacy continues--for two weeks each winter, about 10 residents make the church their temporary home. Church and community volunteers prepare and share a hot, nutritious meal each evening with the residents. The sanctuary then becomes their safe haven and shelter for the night.

Georgetown Lutheran Church officially became a Reconciled in Christ Congregation whereby we fully accept, welcome, and include people of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and expressions in all aspects of the life of our church, congregation, and community.

Rev. LeeAnn Schray was installed at Georgetown Lutheran Church.

GLC's annual tradition and ministry continues each year with the congregation serving a free Thanksgiving Eve dinner in its fellowship hall. Everyone in the community is invited--the homeless and lonely, those in need, and those simply searching for a friend or fellowship. More than 100 meals are served each year.

The new Howell tracker pipe organ was dedicated in May 1998.

Rev. Phillip A. Gaines was installed at Georgetown Lutheran Church.

Nineteen terrorists hijacked four planes and crashed them into the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon, and an open field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, killing 2,996 people and injuring over 6,000.

Rev. Dr. Janice E. Mynchenberg was assigned as a long-term, intentional interim pastor to Georgetown Lutheran Church.

Pastor Brett M. Wilson celebrated her first Sunday with Georgetown Lutheran Church on September 10, 2017. She was officially installed on December 10, 2017.