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Buildings don't sprout out of the ground by themselves, like trees do. Somebody has to build them. Our church was built by a Lutheran congregation in the late 1940s, but the roots of that Lutheran congregation go way back to a group of students attending what was then known as Michigan State College (now Michigan State University).
In the 1930s, Pastor George C. Bubolz Sr. helped form and guide the Lutheran Student Club at Michigan State College. Records seem to indicate that the club was formed in 1930. Pastor Bubolz did not live in East Lansing, but commuted frequently from a nearby town in order to minister to the students. In the late 1930s, there were some 175 registered Lutherans out of a total of approximately 4000 Michigan State College students.
The Lutheran work on the Michigan State College campus prospered, and on May 22, 1940, the Lutheran Student Fellowship was incorporated as a nonprofit organization. The Lutheran Student Fellowship was initially lead by Christian Hermann of Lansing, and had two immediate goals: to obtain a pastor to minister to the campus, and to erect a building in which to meet and worship. This is the organization that acquired the lot on the corner of Ann and Division.
The pastor came in January 1941, when Pastor William Young arrived to lead the organization. After several months, on April 27, 1941, the Lutheran Student Congregation of East Lansing was formed. The June 21, 1941 issue of The Lutheran Standard, hailed this congregation as the only known Lutheran congregation in the country to be composed entirely of students. There were a total of 57 charter members, and over half of them, all students, held offices.
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The lot on the corner of Ann and Division appears to have been acquired by the Lutheran Student Fellowship sometime in 1940. Some of the funds for the purchase came from St. Paul's of Detroit, which donated $900 to the cause. There was no building on the lot when it was purchased. The Lutheran Student Fellowship, along with many local residents, worshiped in the Masonic Temple on MAC Avenue. They paid $200 in rent every five months for the use of that building.
On December 7, 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, throwing the United States violently into World War II. Because of the great and sudden demand for raw materials by the defense industry, all thought of constructing a new church building was set aside. During the war years, the congregation rented the State Theatre for services each Sunday. Not until several years after the war ended, did the College Lutheran Church have a permanent home.
Also in December 1941, on December 21 to be exact, the College Lutheran Church was formed. The College Lutheran Church was separate from the Lutheran Student Congregation, and was formed for the benefit of local residents. At the time, it was felt that local residents could not be asked to join a student organization. Regardless of that, the two congregations met together, worshiped together, and worked closely together for many years to come. (Note: it appears that the two congregations may have joined sometime around 1950. I still haven't verified that. -- Jonathan)
