Nearly 120 years ago in May 1898, a small group of Lutheran visionaries took the unprecedented action of organizing the first English-speaking Lutheran church in Racine. Although Racine had nine flourishing Lutheran churches back then, not one conducted services in English. Like many religious organizations of the time, Racine’s Lutheran churches had been established by tightly knit ethnic groups and on Sunday mornings, the Word of the Lord was faithfully received in Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, and German. To provide the children of member families with a strong Lutheran foundation, they needed an English-speaking Lutheran Church.
With 31 members, the First English Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Holy Communion was chartered on September 4th, 1898. In 1901, the cornerstone was laid at the intersection of 10th Street and Washington Avenue and on April 21, 1902, Holy Communion’s first church, with seating for 500, opened its doors to joyous acclaim. Throughout the next 20 years, membership continued to grow and Holy Communion had the distinction of having one of the largest Sunday Schools in Racine. Clearly a larger church was needed and in 1923, the search for a new site began.
In 1925, the site of the old Luther College was purchased for $30,000. The new church would be built on the property located on the high bluff at the end of Sixth Street giving the congregation a prominent and permanent home with a sweeping view of Downtown Racine.