MONROE — Following a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic, everyone is invited to the 48th annual ecumenical Deutscher Weihnachtsgottesdienst, or German Christmas Communion Service, on Sunday, Dec. 3 at 2 p.m. at St. John’s United Church of Christ, 1724 14th Street, Monroe. The service is rooted in the early traditions and heritage of St. John’s, which was founded in 1862 by Swiss and German immigrants. Services at St. John’s were conducted in German until the 1920s, with the Christmas Day communion service continuing until 1955.
The current German service, an outreach and function of St. John’s, was reinstated in 1972 by the Rev. Wolfgang Koehler, a German native who served the church from 1969-1981. His wife, Betty Koehler, directed the Monroe Swiss Singers from 1971-1976, and the choir has provided musical leadership for the service since its beginning. Deborah Krauss Smith, director of the Monroe Swiss Singers since 1985, also serves as organist for the service. Additionally, this year’s service will include music by violinist Robert Eversman.
Following Rev. Koehler’s retirement, a few German-speaking ministers led the service, most notably Rev. Dr. Fred Trost, former longtime President of the Wisconsin Conference of the United Church of Christ, and Rev. Erwin Pegel, a native of Bad Salzuflen, Germany who last served at Zwingli UCC in Monticello. Even in his retirement, Rev. Pegel and his wife, Dora, led St. John’s German Service through 2004, until his health began to fail.
The future of the service then became uncertain when it became increasingly difficult to find ordained ministers who spoke German fluently enough to conduct an entire service in German, especially a sermon. In 2009, the Monroe Swiss Singers offered to lead the service based on a format of “Nine Lessons and Carols”, with native speakers from the choir reading the nine scripture selections, and Karen Lüӧnd Fowdy, longtime German teacher at Monroe High School, leading the other parts of the service. The format was very successful and well received, and most importantly, St. John’s was able to continue offering the special Christmas service.
Attendees come from not only the area, but from Rock and Dane Counties and northern Illinois as well. It is one of very few such Christmas services in Wisconsin. An English translation of the entire service is provided and a fellowship time follows the service.
