Messiah English Lutheran Church

The church, located at 1025 S. Potomac Street in the Canton neighborhood, was established first across the street from the Canton Market.  The property is bound by O’Donnell Street and S. Potomac Street. 

Its first Sunday School was established by Rev. Ephraim H. Felton in September of 1889 at the King’s Hall and it was less than two months later that the church was founded.  Messiah English Lutheran Church was chartered with 75 members on November 10, 1889, the birthdate of Martin Luther.  It was established with the direction and assistance of the General Synod of Baltimore Lutheran Church Extension Society, which existed to establish churches in neighborhoods with growing German populations. 

The physical structure of the church was approved on December 3, 1889.  The lot was leased from the Canton Company and the first simple brick church building was completed on January 9, 1990.  The church was also incorporated and accepted into the Synod on that date.  An annex to house the growing Sunday School was added.  It took the congregation three years to pay off the debt to the Synod and become financially self-sustaining. 

Less than a decade later, they had outgrown their simple church and it was determined that a larger new church building would be built.   The congregation purchased the land they were renting on March 1, 1900 for $1750.  The new church was constructed adjacent to the first (has since been razed).  The building cost was $16,000 and was constructed by Jacob Peters with Port Deposit granite.  The church is Gothic Revival in style.  The cornerstone is on the southern pilaster.  The church was dedicated on November 18, 1900.  The congregation had grown to 400 with Sunday School enrollment at 500. 

The interior was remodeled in 1906 and in 1909 the congregation burned the mortgage..this their 20th Anniversary.  The congregation continued to grow and in the 20s required another expansion.  The expansion was built at the location of the original church and annex at a cost of $54,000.  It was used to house a portion of the Sunday School, a gymnasium and a stage. 

As with other churches, by the late 20th century, the congregation had shrunk and the church could not maintain their school building.   With the communities blessing the building was converted into affordable housing for seniors, enabling the elders to continue to live in the community.  The building was sold and the conversion was completed in 1994.

In 2013, Messiah engaged the Neighborhood Design Center to make the façade of the building more inviting and applied for landmark designation to ensure its legacy. 

Messiah English Lutheran Church preached in the English language to assist those growing up in German households with German parents.  This allowed the German parents and American children to remain part of the Lutheran Church and also to maintain their German heritage and culture.  It also assisted them in learning the English language. 

After additional research, we find that the church has closed.  The church building now serves as the Church on the Square, established in 2014.

Pastors of Messiah English Lutheran Church

Rev. Ephraim H. Felton 1889-1915