For 105 years, almost to the day, St. Matthews Lutheran Church on Kline Street in Benton Harbor has provided open arms, hearts, and doors to the community. Offering the Gospel of Jesus, fellowship, love, and refuge, the church has been a blessing to the thousands of congregation members, and thousands of students that have passed through the halls of its school.
St. Matthews has sadly announced its final service, to be held on Sunday, January 29th at 3 p.m, as the decision to close their doors has been finalized. While the congregation remains committed to sharing the Word of God, the church sees this as a blessing, as this has given them the chance to merge with Benton Harbor’s Good Shepherd Lutheran Church.
“Many families have roots at St. Matthew’s, but their children have moved to other parts of the area, other cities and states,” says Pastor Nathan Buch of St. Matthews. “Many of those extended families, children and grandchildren can be found in the other WELS Lutheran congregations in the area. This left St. Matthew’s with an aging membership that simply could not accomplish the many tasks of ministry effectively. When the discussions occurred with the congregation and the leadership, it was felt that the two congregations would be in a much better position to reach out to the community with the Gospel as one congregation, rather than two separate ones.”
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church says, “While we look back fondly on the Lord’s blessing, we also look forward with joy and expectation to the blessings of the future with the beginning of our new, merged congregation. We stand secure in the hands of our God, trusting as he has blessed us in the past, he will also bless us in the future.”
The new combined congregation will be called Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church, and will be located at 1965 Broadway in Benton Harbor, the current location of Good Shepherd. The closing service of Good Shepherd will also take place on Sunday, January 29th, at 9:30 a.m.
Over the years, St. Matthew’s started six other Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod congregations in Southwest Michigan. These include: St. John’s in Dowagiac, Grace in Eau Claire, St. Paul’s in Sodus, Grace in St. Joseph, St. Paul’s in Stevensville, and Good Shepherd in Benton Harbor. St. Matthews also offered a food pantry, thrift shop, and multiple programs and activities within the community.
“The grade school, which opened in 1950 and served the area for nearly fifty years, was one of the biggest ways St. Matthews preached the Gospel,” says Pastor Nathan Buch. St. Matthews also helped start Michigan Lutheran High School in St. Joseph, which continues to enroll and educate students today.
The St. Matthew’s property, a stunning brick church with towering steeple and intricate stained glass windows, a house, and parking lot land across the street, are up for sale. The idea of preserving the building as a museum or space for the community is ideal, though if there is a growing church in the area in need of a larger space, the St. Matthews leadership is interested in conversing.
“God has certainly blessed St. Matthew’s. We look forward with optimism to the new congregation, where the heart of Gospel ministry will live on. As God has given a blessed history to St. Matthew’s, we are sure that we will have a blessed future.”
Good Shepherd’s closing service (1/29 at 9:30 a.m) will have guest preacher Pastor Paul Naumann, retired Pastor of Good Shepherd preaching, and St. Matthew’s closing service (1/29 at 3 p.m) will be led by Pastor Michael Biedenbender, son of former Pastor Kermit Biedenbender.
The opening service of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church will take place at 1965 Broadway, on Sunday, February, 19th at 3 p.m, where District President Snowden Sims will preach. Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church will offer a weekly Sunday service at 9:30 am with Bible Study at 10:45 am. You may reach out to speak with Pastor Nathan Buch, who has been serving both congregations and will continue for Beautiful Savior, anytime at 269-925-5186 or beautifulsaviorbh@gmail.com.
By Jocelyne Tuszynski, MOTM Contributor
