Original Trinity Lutheran Church
With God's blessings, we got our start on June 28, 1875, when a meeting of Lutheran men of Algiers was held in the home of Mr. F.A. Lahusen. The Pastors from three Lutheran Churches then in existence, Zion, St. John and St. Paul of New Orleans were present.
After a resolution had been made to begin services at once, Reverend Frank volunteered to serve the congregation with the Word of God every Sunday afternoon. One week later, on July 4, 1875 at 3 in the afternoon, the first service of Trinity Lutheran Church congregation took place on September 19, 1875. At that time, a roughly executed constitution was drawn up. The first Elders were elected at another meeting on September 24th. Two important resolutions were passed providing for the purchase of two lots at Olivier and Eliza streets and the building of a church. The cornerstone was laid on October 24th of 1875. On January 2, 1876, the dedication of the church took place amidst the rejoicing of the diligent hard working little congregation. It is note-worthy that this small band of workers accomplished so much in a short period of six months. It took a total of ten weeks to build the first church.
By 1911, the Old Church which had so faithfully served its purpose since 1876, had depreciated considerably and early in the year 1911, steps were taken to remodel the old structure. The corner-stone was set March 12, 1911 and the church rededicated June 25th of the same year.
The present church Center located next to the church on Olivier Street, was erected with funds contributed by Mrs. Louise Sturm in 1897. It served as a parsonage for 40 years, then as a Christian Day School and is now used as a multi-purpose building. The "old' parsonage at 620 Eliza Street was converted into a church office building in 1989, after Mr. Orville Roberts left his home in the Tall Timbers section of Algiers as a Parsonage in memory of his beloved wife Ora.
As the church reflects on almost 130 years of service to Algiers, the following pastors are remembered:
1876-1878 Rev. E. Eirich
1879-1881 Rev. G. Buchschacher
1881-1883 Rev. C. A. Geyer
1883-1885 Rev. G. Franke
1886-1892 Rev. H.T. Gahl
1893-1898 Rev. F. Evers
1891-1905 Rev. C. Neirman
1905-1911 Rev. F. Wambsganss
1911-1915 Rev. G. J. Schliesser
1915-1917 Rev. C. Kuegele
1918-1924 Rev. W. H. Hafner
1924-1962 Rev. A. E. Widiger
1962-1965 Rev. A. Eichelberger
1965-1982 Rev. E. A. Coyner
1974 Rev. W. Rinnert / Vicar J. Simons
1981-1993 Rev. F. P. Duff
1994-2002 Rev. Ronald M. Loesel
2002- Rev. Leo Symmank (interim pastor)