History of
St. Mark's Lutheran Church
in Oshkosh, Nebraska

St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church is a part of the Nebraska Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). It was organized in September 1906 by Rev. Wm. Heidenreich, and was accepted at that time as part of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Nebraska, which, through several mergers with other Lutheran denominations, became part of the ELCA in 1988. The congregation erected its first church on West 1st. in 1909. It is still standing, although not in good repair. The first parsonage is standing south of it. A new church was built at 200 East Ave E in 1971 and a new parsonage was purchased in 1967.

At the beginning, and for most of the 100 years of its existence, St. Mark's was yoked with Grace Lutheran Church of Lewellen, and they shared pastors. However, from 1930 to 1939 and since 1998 the congregations have not been yoked. Due to a shortage of ordained ministers and a loss of population in the area, St. Mark's joined with eight Lutheran and two Presbyterian congregations to study the feasibility of forming a multi-congregation parish, with shared ministers. The proposal put forth in 1997 was not accepted by most of the congregations, but St. Mark's took part in discussions with three of the congregations which were in favor of forming a parish. In 2000, the four congregations voted to form the Tri-County Lutheran Parish, and share ministry. The parish called a couple, Revs. Jack and Dawn Coffey, and employed a full-time Parish Ministry Associate to round out the staff. Keeping the positions staffed has been a challenge; none of the original staff are now in the parish, but we have an interim Pastor, the Rev Tim Rahn; a part-time PMA, Wayne Fraass, from Lodgepole and a PMA in training, Sharon Paulsen of Oshkosh, to do the ministerial work of the Parish. The other congregations are: Berea Lutheran Church, south of Oshkosh on Hwy 27, Grace Lutheran Church, Chappell, and Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Lodgepole. There is a parsonage at Berea, which is centrally located, and the other congregations assist with utilities. St. Mark's sold its parsonage in 2005. The Parish office is at St. Mark's.

The pastors have been active in the ministerial associations of respective towns, helping with charitable projects such as the angel gift tree at Christmas, and holding services at the local nursing homes and assisted living facility on a rotating basis. Members of the congregation have also helped them with the projects.

Loss of population in the area has been a challenge to the churches as well as to the schools, but St. Mark's is still active and important in the life of its members and of the community. We invite you to come and worship with us.

In 2006 we celebrated our 100th year as a congregation. Our main day of celebration was Sep. 10, with a worship service and a catered dinner. followed by a program which recognized members for over 50 years. We also had a celebration on Nov. 19, 2006, when Bishop deFreece of the Nebraska Synod joined us for worship and a pot-luck smorgasbord which commemorated the many years that the smorgasbord was a part of the Christmas season in Oshkosh.

Regular Sunday Schedule:

Worship 9:00 AM
Coffee and Social hour after Worship
Sunday School

Telephone 308-772-4154

St. Mark's Lutheran Church
200 East Avenue E
Oshkosh, Nebraska 69154

(308) 772-4154