St. Paul History: The Second Church Building
In 1975 the congregation burned the mortgage for the Nehm property. The attention of the congregation now became fully focused on the creation of the new church. The road to the new facility, however, was anything but smooth. Some of the members saw the new church building as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be a part of building a church. However, others were emotionally attached to the existing building. Disharmony is apparent whenever decisions regarding the matter needed to be reached. On May 6, 1976 the congregation decided to build our present church. The current parsonage was purchased in 1978, providing a new home for the pastor and a required sewer easement for the church property. Construction of the new church began in the fall of 1978. The church we now know was dedicated to God's glory in the fall of 1979.
Once the church was finished, much of the land which the church had purchased was subdivided and put up for sale. Plans were to use the lot sales money to pay for the capital improvements as well as principal and interest payments. However, interest rates were high in the early 1980's and lot sales were slow. Study of the Word of God on the subject of giving provided the encouragement to the congregation to support the payments through contributions. The last of the lots were sold in 1987. Through the substantial increase in giving, the cancellation of several private notes at the deaths of the holders, and lots sale proceeds the entire church and subdivision was paid for in nine years. The final payment was made in December of 1988.
With the main task of his call accomplished, to aid the congregation in building a new church, Pastor Horneber accepted a call to Texas in early 1980. By June of 1980 St. Paul had a new Pastor, a former son of the congregation, Pastor George Enderle.
In February of 1985, Michael and Sharon Burow approached the congregation with a proposal to start a preschool. It was a joint venture. The congregation would allow the use of the basement and held the license. The Burows handled the administration and finances. Tuition revenue would pay for all teachers' salaries and reimburse the congregation usage fees for increases in the cost of heat, electricity, insurance and several other items. St. Paul's Little Learners Smile Center prospered and was at capacity by the 1989-90 school year.
In 1989, Sharon Burow accepted a call to teach kindergarten at Peace Lutheran School in Hartford. She again approached the congregation with a proposal. Mr. and Mrs. Burow would donate all the preschool items to the congregation if the congregation would assume ownership and control of the preschool. Sharon Burow remained administrator through the 1989-90 school year.
To address this issue on July 17, 1989 the congregation decided to call a full-time Minister of Education for the 1990-91 school year. In addition to the preschool he would work with the Sunday School, Vacation Bible School and Youth Group. At this time the congregation also called it first Sunday School Student Assistant in Phillip Enderle. He would work part-time while also attending classes at the Seminary. Furthermore, the congregation committed itself to Christian Education by including tuition assistance in the congregation's budget for any students attending a parochial elementary school at a sister congregation. This item would help reduce the cost of tuition for parents wishing to send their children to a parochial school.
The Lord answered the call for a Minister of Education in Dale Marquardt who began his work in the summer of 1990. Tuition from the preschool provided approximately half of his salary. The balance was paid by the congregation who also provided housing for him and his family. By 1993 difficulties arose including a drop in preschool enrollment. The congregation made a very difficult and painful decision to terminate the position of Minister of Education.
The preschool would continue with a part-time Administrator-Teacher. This would again allow the preschool to pay all it's own costs. Angela Weber was called to serve as the Administrator. She was succeeded in 1995 by Kim Mueller.
Senior Seminary Student Assistants also continued through the 1990's. They usually assisted the congregation in several ways. Some taught Bible classes, some worked with the Board of Elders, and some worked with the Sunday School.
In 1989 the congregation decided to build a Bell Tower addition onto the church. This would be the new home for the two church bells which were removed for the old church. These bells which had called the membership to worship since 1893 had been in silent storage since the church was built in 1979. Included in the Bell Tower addition were two new offices on the main floor, one for the Pastor and one for the church secretary, and in the basement a classroom and an additional storage room. The previous Pastor's office then became the council room/library and the council room in the basement became an office for the preschool. The building began in 1990 and on Easter 1991 the Bells again called the faithful to worship at St. Paul.
By 1994 St. Paul's of Slinger and Cedar Lake were both growing. Due to an increasing workload, Pastor Enderle made the decision he could no longer serve both congregations. He asked both congregations to contemplate calling their own individual Pastors. Both congregations agreed. Pastor Enderle would continue to serve at St. Paul Cedar Lake and St. Paul Slinger would call a new Pastor. A 70 year association between the two St. Paul's would come to an end. Pastor Enderle preached his farewell sermon on August 13, 1995 and on August 20, 1995 Pastor David Cooper was installed as the new minister.
The musical program was in hardship when Pastor Cooper arrived. In 1996 the choir was faced with the retirement of its accompanist. Church musicians are increasingly hard to find today. Pastor Cooper recommended the congregation bring the music program into the computer era. A new electronic synthesizer was purchased. This keyboard was then attached to an old unused computer. The result was astounding. Any kind of musical accompaniment was now possible from simple piano to full orchestral tracks. This instrument reinvigorated the musical programs of the congregation and in the fall of 1996 a children's choir was again formed.
Pastor Cooper also helped the congregation to focus on the importance of Christian education. In early 1997 the congregation joined the Kettle Moraine Lutheran High School Federation. Also in that same year an Elementary School Research committee was formed to study the feasibility of starting an elementary school here at St. Paul. As a result, our Kindergarten opened in 2002.
In 1998, the congregation celebrated 125 years of God's Grace in Slinger. May 17, 1998 marked the actual date of the spiritual founding of St. Paul, but it was decided to spread the celebration out across four separate dates. The first date, January 18, 1998, focused on St. Paul's history. The second date, May 17,1998, the actual anniversary date, focused on the overall anniversary and our place in God's church and in the WELS. The third date, August 30, 1998, focused on our church today. And the final date, November 1, 1998, Reformation Sunday, focused on our church in the future.
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