St. James Lutheran Church of Columbus, Ohio - Making an impact on our community through the Word of God.

The St. James Lutheran congregation was formed in 1847 by nine German settler families and was originally named St. Jakobus Gemeinde ("St. Jacob's parish") . The cemetery now located adjacent to the church reflects the local German roots and heritage, and contains the gravestones of prominent local German family names such as Phillippi, Renner and Tinapple. An old urban legend amongst some of the church parishioners indicated that the landowner who provided the land for the church did so with the understanding that German would be required to be spoken and sung at the services. Maurer said he is not sure if this story is fact or just folklore, but he and others in the church enjoy carrying on the story. Originally all services were in German but English was adopted in the early 1900s and eventually replaced German as the standard language of worship at St. James Lutheran. Today, as always, St. James Lutheran Church stands as a place of worship for all Christians, regardless of race or national origin.

The church building itself underwent a incredible transformation/renovation in 2005 to 2006, practically doubling its size with modern worship and fellowship space added to the original structure. The new addition features dressing rooms, a large foyer, a universal PA system, state of the art construction and lighting, yet maintains the same classic late 1800's-early 1900's brick architecture which makes St. James Lutheran Church a Columbus, Ohio landmark. Photos of the addition and shots taken at the dedication ceremony may be found in our photo gallery here.

The St. James Lutheran Church pipe organ is a Hinners and Albertsen model built in Pekin, Illinois in 1926. It was shipped to "Camp Chase" Ohio via flatbed rail (Chalk writing under the pedal board reads, "St. James-Champ Chase, Oh.") There was no electric service yet in the area so the blower located in the steeple was powered by a Delco Unit generator located on the south front of the church. No one living recalls the organ that this one replaced; however, when the Hinners was removed for restoration a couple of years ago there was an outline on the floor of a much smaller organ. The Hinners' predecessor was still a "box" style , indicating that it was either a pipe or reed organ. The 1926 Hinners (our present organ) was custom built for our church and was selected by Dorothy Pennekamp, daughter of Pastor Paul Pennekamp.

John L. Hinners, co-founder of Hinners and Albertsen Organ Company. Click here for more info on the company.

Dorothy was a teenager at the time who went on to graduate from Ohio State, marry Russell Phillippi and became the first female school principle in Columbus. Dorothy was an exceptional organist and many honors relative to her musical talent including President of the American Organ Guild. Dorothy and Russ had 4 children and unfortunately died in childbirth for their 5th child in the 1950's. We have her to thank for our outstanding instrument; the chimes were installed in her memory. The history of organists following Dorothy involves other pastors' family members including Pastor Grugle's wife Helen and son Lee.

Pipe organ history courtesy of Steve Dodson, SJLC organist (below)