1888-1891 Edwin Reuben Wagner, Ph.D.
A brother of charter members Harr and Jennie Wagner and, along with them, a
direct descendant of Martin Luther (through Luther's daughter Margaret),
Dr. Wagner was studying in Europe when called as pastor of First Lutheran.
His three years of service included an increase in the membership from 31
to 75 and the purchase of property on Second Street between A and Ash. He
and his wife were praised by the San Diego Union for their "ardent work"
and "zeal for winning souls." Pastor Wagner's background in sociology gave
early impetus for First Lutheran's strong tradition of service.
1892-1897 Charles Warren Maggart
Pastor Maggart was installed at First Lutheran in early 1892 and oversaw
the construction of the congregation's first church building. The
cornerstone was laid in July of 1893 and the first worship service was held
there on December 8. On the day of the dedication, twelve Lutheran
pastors conducted services and generous donations reduced the debt on the
building to $900. Pastor Maggart himself was known as "an eloquent
preacher ... prominently identified with all literary and religious work in
the city." After resigning from First Lutheran in 1897, Pastor Maggart
went to a call in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and eventually returned to the West
Coast to serve at St. Mark's Lutheran in Los Angeles.
1898-1909 John Edward Hoick
Pastor Hoick arrived in San Diego from Ghent, New York, to find that,
despite the small debt for the new church building, the congregation still
was heavily indebted for the land. After help from the churches of the California
Synod, the mortgage was finally burned in 1902. In 1909, Pastor Hoick was
called to San Jose. He was praised by the Church Council "for his success
in freeing us from the heavy debt that like an incubus rested upon us
before he became our pastor."
1909-1916 George Hines Hillerman
After an interim ministry by A.J. Hasson,
Pastor Hillerman came to First from Redlands, California. Little
information about his pastorate remains, but he is described as a "great
Bible student and a powerful preacher." Under his guidance two members of
the church went into Christian service.
1916-1917 Julius Romich
In ill health when he arrived from San Bernardino, California, Pastor
Romich, feeling that the need of the church was greater than the need to
preserve his health, served less than a year before his death in 1917.
1917-1921 Edward P. Schueler, D.D.
Arriving at First Lutheran just nine months after the U.S. became involved
in World War I, Pastor Schueler led the congregation in supporting
soldiers, sending the church's youth to Camp Kearney to entertain, roll
bandages, knit helmets, and offer hospitality to young men in
uniform. When the war ended in November of 1918, Schueler wrote, "There is
no telling through what a welter of social and political change the world
shall have to go through before men can universally accept the gospel principle
that true greatness lies not in having the rule over, but in serving one
another."
Also under Pastor Schueler's leadership, the church was renovated, $4300
being spent on lighting, painting, and a two-manual J. Kilgen organ.
Pastor Schueler left First Lutheran to become Synodical Missionary and to aid in
the early history of St. Luke's, Huntington Beach. He later became
president of the Synod.
1921-1925 Peter Altpeter
During Pastor Altpeter's tenure, the Lutheran Pastoral Association of San
Diego was formed and the church retired all its debt. He retired to
Bonita.
1925-1928 Bayard Young, D.D.
Pastor Young brought 150 members to the church and began a mission in East
San Diego. For the first time in the history of First Lutheran, women ran
for church council, though they were not elected. Dr. Young also added a
new altar, enlarged the choir space, and introduced clerical vestments and
choir robes to worship services.
1928-1933 Louis Steck Axe
When Pastor Axe arrived from Sacramento, he was faced with a financial
deficit and, as the Depression hit, even asked to have his salary reduced so
that the parsonage mortgage could be paid. He died in 1933.
1934-1940 Delmar Dyreson
Like First Lutheran's founding pastor, Pastor Dyreson had an avid interest
in sociology and worked with the Community Chest, the Council of Social
Agencies and Coordinating Council, and served on the Council of the San Diego
Conference and Family Relations. He was also a college history teacher and
studied during the summer.
Financial problems continued under Pastor Dyreson and consideration was
given to selling the church, which was in bad repair. However, the sale
fell through and instead the parsonage was sold, the proceeds helping to
finance needed repairs.
Under Pastor Dyreson, Mrs. A.E. Van Vleck became the first woman to sit on
the Church Council.
In 1940, Pastor Dyreson was called to active duty in the Chaplain Corps of
the regular army. He served in North Africa, Sicily, and the Anzio
beachheads.
1940 George H. Hillerman, D.D. (Supply);
1941-1955 Erwin A. Vosseler
Pastor Vosseler led the congregation through both the Second World War and
the Korean conflict, and First Lutheran, with its proximity to the naval
base, welcomed more than 16,000 service men and women. Pastor Vosseler
performed 542 marriage ceremonies, some in the middle of the night, when
orders had come for deployment. At the end of World War II, he reminded
the congregation that they should "bow before God in grateful humility,
remembering that this victory was stained with tears and sealed with blood,"
and he prayed, "Make us by thy Grace a people worthy to be entrusted with
such a victory."
In 1951, the congregation constructed an educational building next to the
church. In addition to being used for educational and church functions, it
served as a center for military personnel.
In 1955, Pastor Vosseler was called to Redeemer Church in Portland, Oregon.
1956-1967 Milus W. Bonker
Under Pastor Bonker, the congregation bought the property the present
church stands on with the intention of staying in the heart of the city and
providing "a multi-faceted ministry on a seven-day-a-week basis. In
1960, Ground was broken for a parish hall and a two-story administration
and education building. The old church was demolished for parking
facilities. Some of the wood salvaged from the altar rail was later formed
into
the gavel used to declare the establishment of the Pacific Southwest Synod.
Only ten days after dedicating the new buildings, the congregation
voted to proceed with the Luther Tower project. A federal loan of $2.36
million made it possible to build the fourteen story residential tower,
which was described by the San Diego Union as "the most ambitious project
to aid the aged ever achieved in San Diego County."
On Easter Sunday of 1967, Pastor Bonker announced that he was taking
medical retirement.
He died only a few weeks later.
Several associates served with Pastor Bonker. They include Frank W.
Gunn (1960-1961); Carl Sutter (1964-1966); Leonard Maigaard
(1963-1964); and Paul Hawkinson (1965-1971). Pastor Hawkinson came to
First Lutheran, along with 456 adults and 15 baptized children, when Bethesda
Lutheran, another San Diego church vitally interested in urban ministry, was
dissolved. When Pastor Bonker died, Hawkinson served as interim to a shaken
congregation, and continued as associate throughout the pastorate of Orval
Hartman. In 1972 he accepted a call to Our Saviour's in Oxnard, California.
1958 George Kohls, D.D. (German Ministry)
Pastor Kohls began the monthly German ministry that continues today. His wife,
Lottie, was the church's Christian Service Director.
1967-1971 Orval C. Hartman
Having headed the Urban Church Department of the Board of American Missions
of the Lutheran Church in America, Pastor Hartman had a strong commitment
to urban ministry. He believed that a "congregation does not live in the
world sufficient to itself, but is involved in many areas of living," and
he maintained contact with the City Council, the County Board of
Supervisors, and the Board of Education. He was also vitally interested in
ecumenism.
The Hartmans left First Lutheran in 1971 on a call as missionaries
to Trinidad.
1971-1972 Donovan Meyers (Interim)
A former Navy chaplain, Pastor Meyers introduced the tradition of passing
the peace: "Passing of the peace makes worship a little more joyful and
joy needs to be an ingredient of our worship if it is to be real and
complete."
1972-1977 John Stump
Also a former Navy chaplain, Pastor Stump inaugurated the weekly Bread Day,
which served 350-400 people a month and acted as a valid expression of the
church as the people of God in the world. During Stump's pastorate the
church joined in supporting a Vietnamese family of ten. Pastor Stump
retired in 1977.
Two associates were called to First Lutheran during Stump's
pastorate: Emory V. Erlander came out of retirement to serve as visitation
pastor, and Jack E. Lindquist served as associate (1975-77). At this time,
Jack was part-time, also teaching full time in Religious Studies at USD
This team of pastors worked together to introduce the "new greeen book"
(Lutheran Book of Worship), organized a corps of deacons to be Communion
visitors, offered Saturday classes and workshops on all sorts of topics, and
gave the church some visibility in the press.
1977-1983 Jack E. Lindquist
Pastor Lindquist was the founding pastor of All Saints Lutheran in
University City before coming to First as an associate. He had studied in
Rome and Sweden and taught Religious Studies at the University of San
Diego. His wife, Pat, a PhD in Clinical Psychology, was a professional in
her own right, and offered a new model for a pastor's wife in the congregation.
Under his leadership, the congregation expanded its ways of
doing worship, learning new hymns, chanting the liturgy, and providing
services in four languages (Swedish, Finnish, German, and English).
Pastor Lindquist was subsequently called to
Lutheran Church of the
Incarnation in Poway. He now occupies the position of
Canon for
Biblical Studies at St. Paul's Cathedral here in San Diego.
He also continues to teach at
USD, and is widely recognized for his excellent sermons and teaching.
1984-1988 Ron Shonk
After Jack left First Lutheran, Richard Elliot was an interim in 1983-84, and
Ron Shonk served from 1984-88. In a surprising move, Pastor Shonk announced
that he was gay and wished to resign. The congregation asked him to continue,
but he felt that resignation was the better course,
since he did not want to become a divisive element in the church.
Ron is now Director of Pastoral Services at Bethany of the Northwest, which provides
supportive care and housing for elderly persons in Everett, Washington, and is
supported by a number of local Lutheran congregations.
Robert Herhold then served as an interim
pastor until Noel Estegren arrived.
1988-2003 Noel Estegren
Pastor Estergren is our latest "former pastor", having overseen many major
changes at First Lutheran during his 15 year tenure.
He got his name because he was born on December 24 of some year
between 39 and 60 years ago. (He looks younger than he is.)
An incredibly inspiring preacher, he always spoke without
notes and from deep conviction and inspiring faith.
Pastor Noel oversaw a
deepening commitment to helping the poor and disenfranchised in the central
city. His continuing work involves inspiring academics, politicians, the formerly
homeless, and many others to pursue a ministry that includes prodding
the powerful to remember the powerless, bringing the medically trained to
the streets of San Diego, and faithfully proclaiming God's love for all
people.
Pastor Estegren retired at the end of 2003. Tim Drom and Don Marohn served as
interim pastors until our current pastor, The Rev. Wilk Miller, arrived in
June of 2005.
