On a single block between City Hall and the Baltimore Farmers' Market and Bazaar, the red brick of Zion Church of the City of Baltimore has stood at 400 East Lexington Street for more than two centuries. Within sight of downtown's busiest weekday traffic and the Sunday crowds of the bazaar, the building is the mother church of Lutheranism for the Baltimore metro region. Worship has been held without interruption in German here since 1755, and in English since the twentieth century. Today a bilingual congregation gathers each Sunday in a setting that is also a registered national historic landmark; through the rest of the week the building hosts German classes, a community feeding program, a choir rehearsal, and the city's last standing annual sour beef dinner.
Settling the Marshy Meadows of Jones Falls
German Lutherans began settling in Baltimore Town shortly after the town was laid out in 1730. Some came straight from the Old Country, others from the German settlements of Pennsylvania, especially York County. Their devotional life was centered first in private homes. Fathers led prayers as they had always done in Germany, and small groups of families began gathering for worship before long. Several of the well-thumbed devotional volumes they brought with them are still kept in Zion's library.
Legally, however, Maryland was a colony of the British crown, and the Church of England alone was established by law. The Lutherans of Baltimore fell under the Anglican parish of St. Paul's and had to support it with taxes even as they built their own separate worship life. In about 1750 the Baltimore Lutherans and their Reformed neighbors briefly shared St. Paul's for worship; the arrangement did not last. They were without a pastor they could trust, and several immigrant families complained of being exploited by "itinerant preachers of bad reputation and conduct" who had crossed the Atlantic.
A breakthrough came when the Reverend John George Barger, riding down from Pennsylvania, agreed to come six times a year for five pounds a year. On October 11, 1755, all those among the Germans in Baltimore whose faith was rooted in the Augsburg Confession organized themselves into the Evangelical Lutheran Congregation at Baltimore Town, the founding date that Zion still marks today. In 1762 the congregation built its first church, a wooden structure on Fish Street (now Saratoga) near Gay Street, a little north of where the present building still stands. Within that small house of worship the Lutherans met even through harsh winters, when the northwest wind pierced the thin walls, singing without an organ under the leadership of the schoolmaster Worschler.
The Mother Church of a Regional Synod
As Baltimore grew into the third-largest port in the young American republic, Zion grew with it. By 1804 the roll listed 318 communicants, and in 1807 the cornerstone of a new brick church was laid. On October 9, 1808 the red-brick Zion that still anchors the corner of Gay and Lexington was consecrated with three services of dedication. The sanctuary was completed within budget and opened debt-free, a feat Pastor J. Daniel Kurtz celebrated with prayers of thanksgiving that the new generation "can worship their God in well-constructed, beautiful temples."
Kurtz had served the congregation since 1795 and would lead it until 1832. He was the force behind Zion's national reach. In 1816 the University of Pennsylvania awarded him a Doctor of Divinity, the first such honor given to a Lutheran pastor in Maryland. On June 6, 1819 he welcomed the Pennsylvania Synod to the new Zion, and from his draft of a plan for a General Synod of the Lutheran Church in America came the national body of Lutherans that would eventually number tens of thousands. On October 11, 1820 Pastor Kurtz helped found the Maryland Synod at Grace Church in Winchester and was elected its first president. He went on to become the first president of the General Synod in America itself.
Zion was now the seat of both the regional Maryland Synod and the first national Lutheran body in the country. Theologians and lay people today refer to Baltimore's Zion as the mother church of Lutheranism in the metro region. In the founding document, the preaching of the gospel was to be conducted in German, and this clause "shall never be subject to change." German remained the only language of preaching and teaching at Zion for generations, and an uninterrupted German service has been held in this sanctuary every week since.
A Voice That Refused to Stay in One Language
That absolute commitment to German carried a price. In 1823 several families who had pleaded for English-language services left Zion and founded the first English Lutheran congregation in Baltimore, with the Reverend John Gottlieb Morris as pastor. In 1822 Kurtz had invited the Reverend Johann Uhlhorn from Mannheim to serve as co-pastor, and the conservative majority's approval of that call was the immediate cause of the split. Uhlhorn, embarrassed by his role in the disruption, offered to resign, but the council refused, and the two pastors served side by side until Kurtz's retirement in 1832.
The 1830s at Zion were stormy. The next pastor, J. P. Haesbert, an unusually orthodox minister, drew about 150 members out of the congregation; they founded a rival Second German Evangelical Lutheran Church in November 1835. Soon after, Henry Scheib, a young German who had just arrived from New York, was called to Zion and re-elected overwhelmingly in 1839 despite anonymous attacks labeling him a heretic. Scheib served Zion for sixty-one years, until his retirement at the age of eighty-eight, and during that long pastorate he reshaped the congregation. A rationalist in theology and a Romantic in spirit, Scheib taught that religion is life, telling his people, "Religion is more than a rush of words. Religion is life."
Scheib also did what earlier pastors had tried and failed to do. He turned Zion's school into a serious educational institution. The Scheib School opened in November 1836 with seventy-one pupils, taught in both English and German. By the Civil War, more than eight hundred students were enrolled, ranging from kindergarten to upper grades. Scheib created what is credited as the first parent-teacher association in the country, on January 3, 1839, and laid out his pedagogical philosophy in his own biweekly newspaper. When Baltimore's public schools began teaching in both English and German, the Scheib School declined and finally closed in 1895, but its graduates shaped the city and the region for a generation.
A Parish House, Two Wars, and the Wall
After Scheib's death in 1897 the church council turned to a new generation. The young pastor Julius Hofmann, called from Germany in 1889, gradually rebuilt Zion's inner life: he edited a parish newsletter that ran for decades, compiled a Zion hymnal first used at Christmas 1899 (still in use in the German services today), introduced a Kirchenmusikverein to lead choral music, and opened the Sunday School to the whole family. Most importantly he conceived the parish house, the red-brick Hanseatic-style building still called the Gemeindehaus, which opened in 1913 with a three-bell chime in its tower. The American sculptor Hans Schuler carved the eagle over the parish hall entrance, an American eagle carrying a German eagle on its shield, a tribute to the German immigrant at the heart of America.
World War I tested Zion's place in Baltimore. Members and their pastor were prominent in the German-American Alliance and the German-Austrian Red Cross Aid Society, which collected nearly a million dollars for widows and orphans in the Old Country through the parish house. After the United States entered the war in 1917, the congregation patriotically opened its doors to servicemen on leave, supported Liberty Loan drives and Red Cross sewing circles, and contributed an ambulance to the Red Cross fleet. Four Zion sons did not return, and a wrought-iron cross in the church garden still commemorates them. Hofmann himself collapsed at the altar in 1928 and died shortly after at fifty-nine.
His successor, the Reverend Fritz Otto Evers, came from Zion's sister church in Philadelphia in 1929 and led the congregation through the Depression and into a second world war. One hundred and fifteen men and four women answered the call in World War II, five of them lost, and the parish house was again thrown open to servicemen on weekend leave, more than fifteen thousand hosted before V-J Day. After 1945 the congregation contributed generously to Lutheran World Action. Both world wars confirmed Zion's reputation as the only German-speaking Lutheran congregation in Baltimore to maintain weekly German worship through both twentieth-century conflicts. A piece of the Berlin Wall now stands in the church garden; it was mounted in 1990 in a ceremony attended by Maryland Governor William Donald Schaefer.
Two Sunday Services, Side by Side
Zion Lutheran Church's mission is to be "a welcoming home for all by sharing God's word and blessings." It is a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), and a Reconciling in Christ congregation committed to the work of racial equity and social and environmental justice. Each Sunday morning the building runs two distinct services in the same historic sanctuary, with the same restored pipe organ and the same choir, so that worshipers at the second service often see their bilingual neighbors still at the rail: a 9:30 a.m. German service (Deutscher Gottesdienst) led by pastors who preach in their first language, and an 11:00 a.m. English service following contemporary Lutheran liturgical texts.
The form is a traditional Lutheran liturgy of word and sacrament. Communion is celebrated weekly at the English service and bi-weekly at the German service, and a Wednesday midweek service is held in the sanctuary at 12:20 p.m., with Holy Communion observed on the first Wednesday of each month. Confirmation classes are offered for youth, adult Bible study groups meet at various times, and a children's Sunday School runs alongside the German school term. On special days of the church year, including Christ the King, Reformation Sunday, Harvest Home, Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, the Feast of the Epiphany, and Christ the King, services are bilingual and draw both communities into one room.
From the COVID-19 pandemic onward, both German and English services have been livestreamed and recorded; the recordings preserve every sermon by name and date. Plenty of free parking is available on the church's parking lot directly next to the building.
Pipe Organ, Choir, and Bilingual Hymnody
Music has been a thread running through Zion since the first church was opened with an organ transferred from the old sanctuary. The newly restored pipe organ anchors worship from the rear gallery, played by the church's organist and choirmaster, Gregory Arment. Arment, a native of northern Harford County, holds a Bachelor of Music degree in music education from Susquehanna University and a Master of Music from Anderson University, and has been active as a church musician and music educator throughout Maryland since 2007. He also serves as Assistant Director of the Deer Creek Chorale, and leads a professional and volunteer choir at Zion in anthems that complement the lectionary each Sunday. The parish house contains a long tradition of choral and folk music through the Kirchenmusikverein, the choral society founded by Pastor Hofmann in 1894.
Zion's hymnal, compiled by Julius Hofmann and introduced at the Christmas service of 1899, remains in use in the German services, and Christmas at Zion features bilingual candlelight services, a bilingual family Christmas Eve service, and the singing of Lessons and Carols in two languages. A self-guided tour through the church building, with QR codes placed throughout the sanctuary, leads visitors past the organ, the altar painting of Martin Luther after Lukas Cranach, the church's well-thumbed German Bibles, and other pieces of worship history.
Door Ministry, Harvest Table, and Angel Tree
Zion's social ministry is rooted in the verse: "Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise" (Luke 3:11). The congregation operates the year-round Door Ministry, a small group of volunteers who purchase and pack brown-bag lunches for the hungry in the Gay Street and Lexington neighborhood. In late fall the Harvest Table is set up in the church; canned and prepackaged food is collected through early December and then distributed to shelters and organizations around Baltimore.
At Christmas the Angel Tree Project funds boxes assembled by volunteers for sailors in the Port of Baltimore who are far from home for the holidays, in partnership with the International Lutheran Seafarer's Mission. The congregation also hosts monthly Zion Garden Socials, outdoor community gatherings in the church's garden at the corner of Lexington and Holliday Streets. The social ministry is open-ended; anyone who wants to help, donate, or identify someone in need is invited to contact the church office.
German Language School at Zion Since 1929
Downstairs in the parish house, on Saturday mornings from 10:00 a.m. to noon, the German Language School at Zion has been teaching children, teens, and adults since 1929. It is one of the longest-running German programs in the Baltimore area and the spiritual heir of the old Scheib School a few hundred yards up the hill. Children are grouped by proficiency rather than age, in a program that runs from beginner conversation through reading, writing, vocabulary, grammar, culture, and creative projects. Adult classes range from absolute beginner through advanced, with a separate conversation group for those who want extra practice. A Wednesday evening online class, 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. via Zoom, serves beginners and anyone who cannot make Saturdays.
Experienced instructors, small class sizes, and a community that goes beyond the classroom are the school's trademark. The school's Maifest dance around the maypole on the first Saturday in May is the traditional closing of the school year, and many graduates return to Zion's annual events as adult volunteers. Registration opens each summer for the new school year, and students of all ages and backgrounds are welcome.
Sour Beef in October, Glühwein in November, Maypoles in May
Throughout the year Zion hosts a calendar of annual events that have grown into Baltimore traditions in their own right. Each fall the church holds the city's beloved sour beef dinner, served in the parish house's Adlersaal (Eagle's Hall) and a quieter downstairs dining room. The menu is marinated sour beef, homemade potato dumplings, rich gravy, red cabbage, green beans, and other classic German accompaniments. The dinner has been featured on Maryland Public Television and on WYPR's "On the Record," and is widely regarded as one of the last remaining annual sour beef dinners in Baltimore.
The weekend after Thanksgiving, Zion and the Baltimore Kickers partner on a Christkindlmarkt, an outdoor German Christmas market on the parish house grounds. Vendors offer handcrafted gifts and ornaments, the German Christmas Shop sells Lebkuchen, Stollen, Marzipan, nutcrackers, and ornaments imported from Germany, and there is German food, imported beer, and Glühwein. Sankt Nikolaus and the Christkind visit over the two days, and Zion's church building is open for guided tours. May brings Maifest on the first Saturday, with the Maipole dance, German food and beverages, family games, and music. In the warm months the church hosts Brats and Bier on the last Friday of each month from spring through summer: bratwurst and imported German beer on the garden patio, with members, neighbors, and downtown workers all welcome.
An Open Welcome in the Heart of Baltimore
Zion describes itself as "a welcoming home for all as taught to us by Baltimore's earliest settlers." The church's Affirmation of Welcome states: "At Zion Church of the City of Baltimore, all who have been baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, are welcome within the membership upon transfer or affirmation of faith." Zion has adopted the Reconciling in Christ designation, welcoming into its ministry people of every race, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, educational level, economic status, ability, or health status, and committing to the work of racial equity and social and environmental justice for all God's children.
The pastoral team is currently Pastors Anke and Eric Deibler, who share the call as a husband-and-wife team. Pastor Anke, born and raised in Germany, studied theology at the Universities of Kiel, Heidelberg, and Munich, and at Gettysburg Lutheran Seminary (now United Lutheran Seminary); she holds a Master of Arts in Religion and a Master of Divinity with chaplaincy certification. Pastor Eric grew up in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theater Arts from Earlham College and a Master of Divinity from Gettysburg Lutheran Theological Seminary, and spent two years studying at Ludwig-Maximilians Universität in Munich. They were ordained together in Pennsylvania, spent sixteen years in central Pennsylvania, moved to Maryland in 2011 to serve at Calvary Lutheran Church in Mount Airy, joined Zion as interim pastors in 2014, and were officially called to Zion's pulpit in 2017.
The church is open most days. Sunday worship is at 9:30 a.m. in German and 11:00 a.m. in English, and a Wednesday service is held at 12:20 p.m. The building, on the corner of East Lexington and Holliday Streets, sits on a registered national historic landmark site. Zion Garden Socials, the Sour Beef Dinner, the Christkindlmarkt, and the Saturday German Language School are the easiest ways to step inside the parish house, and the doors are open to anyone who comes.