Wonders All Around Us:

A Walking Tour of

St. Paul United Church of Christ,

 Taylor, Michigan

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A "Bricks and Mortar" History of St. Paul United Church of Christ

Serving the Downriver communities for well over a century, St. Paul United Church of Christ is one of the oldest and more historic churches in Taylor.  Founded by German farmers who settled in Taylor, Romulus, and Ecorse Townships, the congregation has grown along with the local communities its serves.  Today, it continues to offer an active, vital ministry in the name of Jesus Christ to the Downriver and Dearborn communities. 

St. Paul United Church of Christ had humble beginnings.  It started when a group of local residents asked the Reverend C. Fitzer, pastor at St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wyandotte, to conduct worship services for them at the Sand Hill School, located at the southeastern corner of Telegraph and Pennsylvania Roads.  Within a short time, however, a decision was made to formally organize as a church.  Accordingly, a meeting was called for March 26, 1883.  Twenty-five families signed a charter on that occasion establishing "St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church." At another meeting on April 18, 1883, a decision was made to construct a church building on ground donated by Mr. Joseph Miller in Taylor Center on Goddard Road, near Telegraph.  A white 30' x 50' white frame building with a seating capacity for 225 worshippers was erected at a cost of $1205.29 and dedicated to the service of God on May 4, 1884.  The first parsonage, a Victorian-style frame structure, was built in fall 1885.

Sadly, the original frame building was struck by lightning on May 31, 1911 and burned to the ground.  Undaunted by this calamity, however, the congregation gathered for a special meeting on June 18, 1911 and voted to rebuild.  The cornerstone for the new church, engraved with the German words Erbaut im Fahre des Herrn 1911 (English language translation: "Rebuilt in the Year of the Lord 1911"), was laid on August 20, 1911. The new red brick church, consisting of a 36' x 50' sanctuary and a 14' x 24' classroom, was dedicated on May 12, 1912.

During the following decade the growth of the congregation necessitated the construction of an adjoining parish hall, which was finished in 1925.  The exterior and interior of the church building proper were also remodeled in summer 1929, just months before the onset of the Great Depression.  At that time, the church's spire was removed, leaving only a crenellated or scalloped bell tower.  A chancel was simultaneously added to the front of the sanctuary, displacing a raised pulpit, two religious wall paintings depicting the nativity and Jesus at Gethsemane, and an altar adorned with a statue of Jesus.  The church organ was removed from its original location in the balcony and placed in the new chancel.  New furnishings were acquired, including an altar, two ceremonial chancel chairs, pews, light fixtures, and stained glass windows.  The total remodeling costs were $15,000.  Despite this considerable expense and the difficult economic times which soon followed, the congregation was subsequently able to replace its original, adjoining white frame parsonage with a handsome Tudor-style residence.  Financed by the St. Paul Ladies' Aid Society, the new parsonage was dedicated September 17, 1933 as part of the congregation's fiftieth year anniversary celebrations.

Further change for the St. Paul congregation came in 1946 when Wayne County decided to widen Goddard Road, seeking and acquiring from the church body street frontage running twenty ­seven feet deep.  Rather than move the existing church building further back, the congregation voted to raze the church and the separate parish hall, replacing both with a single, integrated facility.  The old parish hall was the first to go.  It was demolished on April 14, 1947, creating the space necessary to begin work on the new church building and hall.  On October 5, 1947, the congregation gathered for its last worship service in the old sanctuary.  Thereafter, services were briefly held in the new fellowship hall until the new sanctuary could also be readied.  Finally, on May 23, 1948, the new church building and fellowship hall, designed in a Colonial Revival style by architect Earl L. Confer (see brief biography below), were officially dedicated to the glory of God.

The new church structure was further enhanced by the addition of a substantial Christian Education wing at its west side.  Plans for this addition were initially approved by the congregation on April 24, 1955.  Ground was broken on June 26, 1955 and the cornerstone was laid with appropriate ceremony on August 7, 1955.  Dedication services were held on February 12, 1957.  One further addition to the church facilities was made in 1971 with the construction of a more ample kitchen.  At the same time, a breeze-way and garage were also added to the parsonage next door.

The St. Paul congregation continues to make active use of its facilities for Christian worship, education, mission, and fellowship.