Zion Lutheran Church Willshire (Schumm), Ohio Van Wert County in Northwestern Ohio was a pathless wilderness of primeval forest when a small group of pioneers arrived in 1838. The first founding father to arrive was John J. Dietrich, followed weeks later by the devoutly Lutheran John George Schumm, who had actually walked 160 miles from Holmes county in search of an area to bring his family. They arrived with their Bibles, Hymnals and Prayerbooks, eager to build their log cabins and begin their new lives in this land of religious liberty. The family worshipped among themselves and were blessed within a year by a visit from Pastor Wyneken, from whom they heard their very first sermon preached by a Lutheran pastor in this new land. The Schumm family set aside an acre of their land for a church and cemetery where the settlers were able to erect a log hewn church in 1840, only two years after their arrival. Meanwhile in 1842, Rev. Loehe sent two young men to America to prepare for work as pastors. These two men were Adam Ernst and John G. Burger, who was later to become Zion's first pastor. He was ordained in 1845 and called to Zion in June of 1846. Eager to maintain a firm foundation based on the Word of God and the Lutheran confessions, Burger immediately went to work writing a constitution which was adopted three months later. The congregation and Burger were aware of the plans for a new synod and fully desired to become members. This desire was expressed in the constitution and financial support was pledged before the synod was even formed. Burger attended planning meetings for the synod and eagerly anticipated the day he could report that Zion was ready to join. However, he was called to rest in March 1847 at the age of 31. In April 1847, the congregation called John G. Streckfuss, a student at Ft. Wayne Seminary, to be their next pastor. Later that same month, Streckfuss attended meetings of the new synod as a representative for Zion. Because of this, Zion had the honor of becoming a charter member of the Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States. In June, Rev. Streckfuss confirmed the first class of ten children who had been taught by Rev. Burger until his death. In July, he was ordained and installed as their new pastor. Zion has kept complete records of all baptisms, confirmations, marriages and burials since they began meeting. From the time the first settlers arrived in 1838, until 1846 when Zion was established, 49 souls were baptized. During the first year under Pastor Burger, there were 15 baptisms, 2 confirmations, 1 marriage and 5 burials. In December of the first year, the congregation numbered 70 souls. The first year also saw the establishment of Zion's school which enrolled 19 children. A careful study of records indicates that the school was in uninterrupted existence for over a century until it closed in 1950. ______________________________________________________________ This text was converted to ascii format for Project Wittenberg by Debbie Harris and is in the public domain by permission of Rev. Manfred K. Rembold. You may freely distribute, copy or print this text. Please direct any comments or suggestions to: Rev. Robert E. Smith of the Walther Library at Concordia Theological Seminary. E-mail: bob_smith@ctsfw.edu Surface Mail: 6600 N. Clinton St., Ft. Wayne, IN 46825 USA Phone: (219) 452-2148 Fax: (219) 452-2126 ______________________________________________________________