Brief Background
St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Congregation was formally organized on on April 18 1895. The original church building was located on Kokomo St. in Depew, New York, but was moved to 67 Litchfield Ave. on March 6th, 1913. In 1948, the average attendance jumped and by September 1950, a new Sanctuary was dedicated. The current congregation worships in the 1950 Structure.
The Pastors of St. John’s:
Rev. F.T. Ruhland (1895-1913)
Rev. C.H. Franke (1913-1919)
Rev. J. Nestol (Interim 1919)
Rev. E.C. Miller (1920-1922)
Rev. P.O. Schultze (1923-1925)
Rev. E.L. Witte (1925-1927)
Rev. H. Wind Sr. (part time-1927-1937)
Rev. E.W. Krentz (1937-1941)
Rev. L.G. Leonard (1941-1948)
Rev. A.J.H. Frinke (1948-1958)
Rev. R.J. Neeb (1958-1965)
Rev. R.L. Erickson (1965-1980)
Rev. G.M. Karkau (Vacancy-1980-1981)
Rev. M.C. Blackwell (1981-2011)
Rev. G.M. Purpura Jr. (July 2008 – Present)