St. Luke's Lutheran, Lima

I was not able to get any history information on this church. If anyone has anything they can offer regarding church history, please post!

At a busy intersection in downtown Lima, stands this masterpiece:
Wonderful tower that stands at the point that was the back of the original, square-shaped church. It appears that I may have missed the cornerstone, in the wall at the bottom of the tower.

The sanctuary extension was built on in ... ... just seamlessly ... and the parish house went up in ...

Upon entering the sanctuary (the doors are at the sides, where the original doors were), this is the delightful sight you're greeted by ...The view from in front of the altar looking back ...Beautiful stained glass in every one of those clerestory windows. Assuming they were made to match the older windows at the time the addition was put on. The addition gave the church a cruciform shape.Beautiful ...

High groin-vaulted ceiling provides a lovely framework for the two large windows at either end of the transepts.

Look at those pipes!

The large window at the back, circa 1958, serves as a tribute to the life and ministry of St. Luke.This Resurrection window over the altar is stunning -- not merely the figure of Christ, but the colors and tracery!
The right-transept window backs up to the parish house, so the lighting behind it is ceiling lighting -- but hey, they could have ripped it out and put in a hallway or something!

St. Peter ...

... and St. Paul.

The left-transept window is strikingly visible from the street.Moses ...

... and Aaron, someone rarely seen in window architecture.

Raised cut glass at the center of his robe ...Closeups of the magnificent tracery and cut-glass ornamentation.I've never seen anything quite like this window over the center of the crossing ...

Hoping for more information about this marvelous church!

Zion Lutheran, Lima

Established in 1855, this is the fourth church home for this congregation. This church was built in 1976, after the congregation agreed to sell their historic downtown church to make way for urban development.

That's an interesting bell tower ...

... with their old bell.

The old cornerstone is right by the front doors.

Intended to be a quick outside-photo stop during another heavily-scheduled weekday, when I saw that the church was open for VBS, I went into the office and asked if I could do some pictures of the sanctuary. They graciously obliged ...
The two vertical chancel windows cast an eerie purplish glow over the sanctuary, made all that much more surrealistic by the VBS decorations (Crocodile Dock).
I went up to the altar area, behind the decorations, for a look-see. According to church historian Beth Milks, this altar and reredos were in use at their previous church, built in downtown Lima in 1913; but installed during a 1964 renovation. It was one of quite a few items that the congregation brought along to this building, in memory of their previous church (now demolished). This altar appears much older than mid-60's.

This arrangement of offering plates is to the left of the altar.

A view back from the chancel.

They also brought along stained glass windows from the old church. It was explained to me as I was taking these photos, that the edges of the roof were built too low for sunlight to reach the tops of the windows ... a bit of an ohno-moment!
This wonderful Martin Luther window, though, is in the chapel next to the sanctuary, and catches the light perfectly. This used to be mounted in the choir loft at the old church.
This altar, lectern, and font were in use at the old church before the altar in the sanctuary. There used to be a reredos, but it sadly disappeared somewhere along the line. These pieces were painted this antique white by a member of the congregation, at the time the new church was built; and are now used in the chapel. The cross and candlesticks appeared quite old.
I didn't find out about this piece, in the long hallway just outside of the sanctuary. It very much appears to be another altar, and if I find out any more about it, I'll update.
A photo of the old church on the wall close to the altar-table, with the chancel windows glowing on it in a poignant way ...
In a lounge/meeting room can be found this board with pictures of all the former pastors ...

Thanks so much to Beth Milks for the historical info!