Concordia traces its history back to 1848 when the German preacher Theodore Wichmann arrived in Cincinnati and accepted the call to the Zion Church on Bremen Street. He was not there long, however, before there was dissension in the congregation whether the church should identify itself as Lutheran or Reform. According to church literature, this rift caused Wichmann to resign as pastor in November of 1849. Only three days after his farewell sermon, he and his fellow Lutherans met and organized Trinity Lutheran Church.
In 1871 the congregation dedicated the church at 1522 Race Street. In the years following the creation of Trinity Lutheran, various disagreements, controversies and difficulties arising because of the physical location of the church building led some members to split with the church and form separate congregations. Thus, Lutheran Church of our Savior, Cross Lutheran Church, Lutheran Church of Our Redeemer and Emmaus Lutheran Church were born. However in 1922 the pastors at both Trinity Lutheran and Emmaus Lutheran Churches decided to reunite under the name of Concordia Lutheran Church. In 1969 Concordia moved to a new A-frame church on Central Parkway where it continued honoring its German heritage with traditional celebrations and German language services until declining membership forced the church to close in August of 2009. The building will reportedly be taken over by The Sisters of Charity in order to open DePaul Cristo Rey, a Catholic High School for underprivileged children.
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Scanned image courtesy of University of Cincinnati Libraries, Archives and Rare Books Department
Bibliographical Sources:
German American Churches and Religious Institutions in the Greater Cincinnati Area, edited by Don Heinrich Tolzmann, German American Studies Program University of Cincinnati, 1999, pages 134-329
German Cincinnati, by Don Heinrich Tolzmann, Arcadia Publishing, 2005, page 48-49
New Catholic School Selects Site, by Denise Smith Amos, The Cincinnati Enquirer, 4th November 2009, accessed 10th November 2009.
