St. Paul's Lutheran Church sits at 505 Westminster Avenue SW in Watertown, a small Carver County town about thirty minutes west of the Twin Cities. The congregation is a member of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, and over more than seventy-five years it has built an unusually broad ministry footprint for a church its size. Two Sunday morning worship services anchor parish life, but the building and its people are just as busy on weekdays and weeknights, hosting Christ Community Lutheran School, a year-round slate of Bible studies, youth gatherings for grades 6 through 12, and the Barnabas Meal - a free monthly dinner that served 3,351 plates in 2025.
Sunday Mornings at 505 Westminster
Worship is held in the Sanctuary at 8:00 AM and 10:30 AM. Both services follow a traditional Lutheran liturgy, and on the second Sunday of each month contemporary music is added to both services. The 8:00 AM service is livestreamed on the St. Paul's Lutheran Church - Watertown, MN Facebook page, and the recordings stay available for the next month. Pastor George William Morris serves as the congregation's pastor; Gerald A. Schwanke serves as preaching assistant and Pastor Colgrove serves as visitation pastor. Brenda Cox is the organist.
Between services, from 9:15 to 10:15 AM, the building hums with education. 9:15 Connect opens the hour with a fifteen-minute lesson in the Fellowship Hall that applies God's Word to everyday life and is meant for all ages. Sunday School classes for children ages three through fifth grade, Junior Youth Bible Study for grades 7 and 8 (in the Fireside Room), and Senior Youth Bible Study for grades 9 through 12 (in the Youth Room) all run during that same hour. Pastor Morris leads an adult Bible Study that picks up at 9:30 AM in the Fellowship Hall. All four Sunday-morning classes break for the summer and resume in the fall.
The congregation practices close (LCMS) communion, teaching that Holy Communion is the true body and blood of Christ in, with, and under the bread and wine. Visitors who are unsure about partaking are encouraged to speak with the pastor or one of the elders.
Christ Community Lutheran School and Mayer Lutheran High School
Christian education is one of St. Paul's core missions, and has been for more than seventy-five years. The congregation helps support Christ Community Lutheran School (CCLS), a preschool through grade 8 school located right in Watertown. CCLS is known for smaller class sizes and individualized learning, and its student body draws from a range of social, economic, and religious backgrounds. The school office can be reached at (952) 955-1419, and Principal Jeff Boehlke offers personal tours and educational consultations.
For high school, St. Paul's partners with Mayer Lutheran High School in nearby Mayer, which serves grades 9 through 12. MLHS draws students from across the western and southwestern suburbs, including Watertown, Waconia, Minnetonka, Mound, Shakopee, Delano, Chaska, Carver, and New Germany. Director of Admissions Eric Turner can be reached at (952) 657-2251, extension 1011.
SPYRIT, Confirmation, and Vacation Bible School
St. Paul's youth ministry is called SPYRIT - St. Paul's Youth Rooted In Truth - and serves students in grades 7 through 12. The program centers on Christ, builds positive peer relationships through fellowship and group activities, and encourages serving others in the church and local community. SPYRIT meets monthly and also attends the LCMS National Youth Gathering, held every three years for youth ages 14 to 21.
Confirmation instruction is offered for grades 6 through 8 on Wednesday evenings from 5:30 to 6:30 PM during the school year, drawing on the Bible and Luther's Small Catechism and using video, music, art, and service to help young teens apply biblical teaching to daily life.
Vacation Bible School runs one week every summer, Monday through Thursday from 5:30 to 8:30 PM, with dinner included. The program is open to children age 4 through incoming fifth graders, with older youth encouraged to volunteer. Each evening includes Bible stories, games, skits, crafts, and music.
Adults Around the Fireside Room
Small-group Bible study is a hallmark of St. Paul's. The congregation offers a study for nearly every schedule:
- Women's Bible Study meets Tuesdays from 9:30 to 11:00 AM in the Fireside Room, led by Jayne Cambronne.
- Men's Bible Study meets Fridays from 7:00 to 8:00 AM in the Fireside Room, led by Richard Schimmel and Doug Hoese. The group works through the lectionary readings for the upcoming Sunday.
- Lunch Bunch Bible Study meets Wednesdays from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM in the Fireside Room, led by Pastor Morris. Participants bring a lunch and a Bible. The group is on break for the summer.
- Sunday Bible Study meets at 9:30 AM in the Fellowship Hall under Pastor Morris's direction, immediately following 9:15 Connect.
Each winter the women of the congregation gather for a one-day Women's Retreat at the church, with Bible teaching, fellowship, and worship.
Barnabas Meal and the Food Shelf
On the first Thursday of every month, St. Paul's opens its doors at 5:30 PM for the Barnabas Meal, a free home-cooked dinner served to anyone in the local community. Serving begins at 5:30 PM, and take-out meals become available at 6:00 PM. The program has grown steadily: 2,261 meals were served in 2022, 2,529 in 2023, 3,115 in 2024, and 3,351 in 2025. Volunteers also collect non-perishable food and monetary donations for the Watertown Friends For Life Food Shelf, with collection bins kept outside the church office.
Quilts, Daily Devotionals, and the Heritage Festival
Several smaller groups round out parish life. St. Paul's Quilters meet on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons to hand stitch, tie, cut, and sew quilts that are later sold to support mission projects; no prior experience is needed.
Pastor Morris records daily devotionals that are posted on the church's Facebook page, and the most recent month of Sunday services is also available to watch there.
Once a year the congregation hosts the Annual Heritage Celebration, a church-and-community festival featuring celebratory worship (with the CCLS Children's Choir singing at the late service), a silent auction, a Sweet Treat Wheel, balloon art, face painting, kids' games, and a famous chicken dinner served from 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM.
Missions Farther Afield
St. Paul's supports a roster of local, national, and international mission partners chosen by the congregation. Locally, that means Christ Community Lutheran School, Mayer Lutheran High School, and the Watertown Friends For Life Food Shelf.
Nationally, the congregation supports Orphan Grain Train, gathering goods during the month of March to be sorted and shipped to people in need across the United States and abroad, and collects LWML Mite Boxes for the Lutheran Women's Missionary League, funding local and national mission grants.
St. Paul's also partners with missionaries around the world:
- Megan (Schilling) Silva and Caleb Silva serve with Action International Ministries in Lisbon, Portugal, partnering with local churches to disciple youth and young adults.
- Rachel Bonhoff teaches at Dakar Academy in Senegal through the Mission of Christ Network, supporting the children of missionaries, UN and embassy families, and other local and expatriate households.
- Pastor Bruce Laabs is preparing for a preaching and teaching trip to Liberia.
What the Congregation Believes
St. Paul's teaches the historic Lutheran confession summarized in the three solas. Grace alone: God loves sinful people and sent His Son to love the unlovable and save the ungodly. Faith alone: by His suffering and death as the substitute for all people, Jesus purchased forgiveness and eternal life, and the Holy Spirit creates that faith. Scripture alone: the Bible is God's inspired and inerrant Word and the sole rule for Christian doctrine.
The congregation also teaches that God conveys His grace through Word and Sacrament. Holy Baptism is water combined with God's command and promise, and Holy Communion is the true body and blood of Christ in, with, and under the bread and wine, instituted by Christ Himself for the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. St. Paul's is a member congregation of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod.
Leadership and Pastoral Care
The congregation is governed by a council that includes a Board of Elders, a Board of Trustees, a Board of Education, and a Parish Planning and Finance team, all working alongside the pastor. Neil Kuhnau serves as congregation president, Dan Schuette as treasurer, and the church secretary position is open. The Board of Elders assists the pastor with the spiritual oversight of the congregation, prepares and assists with Holy Communion, and supports pastoral ministry.
Visitors are cared for by a Bereavement Team that prepares reception meals after funerals, by Coffee Bar Attendants, by Greeters, and by Ushers and Communion Assistants who serve during services. Other teams manage music, video, quilting, and the monthly Barnabas Meal.
Visiting St. Paul's
The church office at 505 Westminster Avenue SW is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 AM to noon. The office phone is (952) 955-1498, and the email is office.stpaulswatertown@gmail.com. For after-hours emergencies, the pastoral phone is (989) 414-0817. Sunday services are at 8:00 and 10:30 AM, with Christian education for all ages between them. Online giving is available, and the 8:00 AM service is livestreamed on Facebook along with daily devotionals from Pastor Morris - no Facebook account is required to view the page or the videos.