Church Celebrates 125 Years in Cedar Rapids

By Nicole Agee, Anchor/Reporter

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By Nicole Agee

Story Created: Aug 16, 2009 at 11:28 AM CST

Story Updated: Aug 16, 2009 at 5:56 PM CST

CEDAR RAPIDS - For the congregation of Trinity Lutheran Church, Sunday's celebration service was more than reaching a milestone. It was also about moving forward into the future.

Jack Ilten has been a member of Trinity Lutheran for years. His family has a rich history in this church that dates back generations. "We go back way [to] when the old church was down on 6th Street."

"Trinity has been here for generations and impacting this community," says Pastor Jonathan Offt.

That impact begins with the youngest members of the church and mentors like Mary Becker, a long-time kindergarten teacher at Trinity Lutheran School. "I've seen lots of children and lots of families come and go throughout the years," she says. "Many of them have come back today to make this a special day."

She's looking forward to what the next 125 years will hold. "We know our future is in God's hands and he keeps supplying many new families and students to come and worship with us."

Of all the Sunday's Ilten has sat in the pews, he says he'll remember this day. "I think this is gonna be one of the highlights of the church. We're growing, we're coming back."

Sunday's service was supposed to be outdoors, but the rain pushed the event inside the church. Staff set up extra chairs to accommodate the larger-than-usual congregation.

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