The German Churches

LOOKING FOR A GERMAN CHURCH SERVICE?

Zion Lutheran Church of the City of Baltimore 

At the center of the early German community in Maryland was their church.  The church was the meeting place, not only to practice your faith, but to maintain your culture.  The church was the center of many of our ancestors' social lives.  Many of the early churches provided the immigrants with the service in their native tongue.  As you will see many of these churches maintained a German service and later added English services.  Estimates put early populations as one third Catholic and two thirds Protestant, primarily Lutheran and Reformed.  Zion Church in the City of Baltimore continues to offer a German service each Sunday morning.

Some notes about the early churches

What is a 'Union' Church?

In the first decade of the 1900s, 30 churches offered services in German. 

In 1929 there were 22 churches in and around Baltimore where the services were done wholly or in part, in German.

 John Foertschbeck, Sr. 'German Catholic Parishes of Maryland and Pennsylvania' .  For information or to purchase a copy, visit John's website.  Click here!