Immanuel Lutheran Church was a mainstay of the Pflugerville community for nearly 100 years before it even officially became a city in 1965. The church’s initial members were pivotal in forming the town and have been instrumental to it throughout its history.

“It was members of the church that started the volunteer fire department. It was members of the church who were the first mayor and council people of the town,” said Vernegene Mott, the head organist at Immanuel Lutheran and the great-granddaughter of Conrad Pfluger, one of the founding members of both the church and the town. “It was kind of the only church in town in those early years.”

On Sunday, Immanuel Lutheran will celebrate its 150th anniversary by welcoming both current and former members. The sesquicentennial celebration will include a reading of Immanuel Lutheran’s historical marker, a worship service and a meal for ticket holders.

The church was formed in 1874, predating both the University of Texas (1883) and Texas A&M University (1879). It has been in the same location at 500 Immanuel Road since it was built in 1875. The facility was rebuilt larger in 1910 to accommodate the growing community, which had swelled to 500 residents by the mid-1890s. After burning down in a fire, the church was again rebuilt in 1929, just as the Great Depression was beginning. That building still stands today and serves 688 members.

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Despite the rebuilds, the church still carries signs of its storied history.

“When I go back through the cemetery,” Mott said, “I can see the flu epidemic back in 1918. World War I, World War II. We have people buried who were in those wars.”

A church with this long of a history is fairly uncommon in the area. Matthew Groenke, Immanuel Lutheran’s senior pastor, said he has never been in a church with so much history.

“I’ve been to places where they maybe had a 50th or a 75th (anniversary), but never a 150th. Honestly, not many churches can have that kind of staying power,” Groenke said. “I really feel the presence of power of the Holy Spirit at work amongst the people and members of our congregation as they’re sent out to serve and to love people and use their gifts and talents to make a difference in this world.”

Mott credits the church’s staying power partly to the volunteerism and sense of community held by Immanuel Lutheran.

“The core Christian values and community, that’s what kept people,” Mott said. “They are always out there with a kind heart and willing to serve their fellow man and community in whatever they do.”

Mott serves on the 150th Anniversary Committee, which is planning the event. She also served on the 125th anniversary panel. One event the committee has decided to repeat from 25 years ago is the burial of a time capsule containing different objects submitted by various church groups, such as the youth group and choir.

“A couple of things that I actually submitted was a pair of solar glasses and a picture of the different stages of the eclipse, April 8th, because that’s a once in a lifetime event. Just like 150 will be a once in a lifetime event,” Mott said.

Another item to be placed in the time capsule will be the signatures of some members of the congregation.

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Iowa-based Pastor Sid Bohls will preach at the celebration. Like Mott, he is descended from another founding member of the church. Bohls attended Immanuel Lutheran his entire life before leaving to attend seminary and becoming a pastor. While at seminary, he helped out at the church and preached on some Sundays.

“I feel like I grew up there. … My parents went to many church events for grown-ups, and there were many kids around, so my Sunday school class was many of my best friends growing up,” Bohls said. “I remember walking through my uncle’s cow pasture to get there.”

For Bohls, this celebration is especially meaningful because of his family history. Bohls’ father served as head usher and his mother was a choir director. But the center of the church for him was his grandmother, who taught Sunday School at Immanuel Lutheran for more than 70 years and was a member for 100 years.

“To know that she has been there for two-thirds of that history makes me feel like it’s not that long. I feel like there’s still connections to the earliest part of the settlement of the community and the beginnings of faith there. And so I think the history isn’t just past; I think it’s still alive, and I think there’s more history to happen there.” Bohls said.

Groenke said Immanuel Lutheran has a history of members going on to serve in the church.

“I think that’s a testament to how people are developed here,” he said, “and how they’re cared for and nurtured and supported.”

Many of those children who are now pastors are expected to return for the 150th celebration.

The event is a way for the congregation to honor what Immanuel Lutheran has meant to both them and the community.

“There’s nothing in Pflugerville that’s 150 years old,” said Mott, who also serves on the Pflugerville school board. “It’s kind of a once in a lifetime event, like the eclipse was once in a lifetime, to celebrate something that’s still vibrant and exciting and functioning very well and making a difference in people’s lives.”

Celebrating what the church has survived and experienced also serves as a positive beacon for the future.

“We honor the past, we love the present, and we have great hope for the future of this conversation,” Mott said.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Pflugerville’s Immanuel Lutheran Church to mark 150 years of service