Historic Trinity Milwaukee goes ‘home’ for Reformation

The sanctuary of Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Milwaukee, is filled with congregation and community members on Oct. 31, 2024. The service was the first to be held in Trinity’s sanctuary since a 2018 fire. (LCMS/Sarah Hjulberg)

By Sarah Hjulberg

MILWAUKEE — It was standing room only for Reformation Vespers at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Milwaukee, on Oct. 31, 2024. The service was the first held in Trinity’s sanctuary since a devastating four-alarm fire gutted the historic church building in May 2018.

Now, after years of fundraising, planning, rebuilding and renovating, the sanctuary is finally complete enough to hold a service, though more work needs to be done before the congregation can resume regular services.

The Rev. Dr. John C. Wohlrabe Jr., sixth vice-president of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS), preached for the service, with Psalm 46 as his text. At four key points in his sermon, Wohlrabe paused so the congregation could sing another verse of “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” (Lutheran Service Book 656).

“Long after you have forgotten any words from this sermon, you will be humming ‘A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,’ maybe even singing the words, and as you do, you join the faithful in Christ who, across the world, throughout time and together with those beyond, … rest securely in the city of God … [and] sing hymns to the glory of God who is our refuge and our strength,” preached Wohlrabe.

Indeed, in the newly finished, freshly painted, brightly lit sanctuary, with God’s people exuberantly singing, their voices rising up to the new ceiling, it was easy to imagine what heaven might be like.

Lutherans from all over Milwaukee, and all over the state of Wisconsin, were in attendance; a contingent of college students from Concordia University Wisconsin, Mequon, Wis., even came for the service.

Musicians in the Lord’s service included a brass ensemble, led by the Rev. Benjamin Schimm, pastor at Sherman Park Lutheran Church, Milwaukee; a string trio made up of Trinity members; and the children’s choir from Mount Olive Lutheran Church, Milwaukee. Trinity’s music director, Trudy Schmalz, played Trinity’s recently acquired organ, which she had found listed for free on Facebook Marketplace by a local non-denominational church that did not need it.

After years of worshiping in Trinity’s undercroft, which was fashioned into a chapel while renovations took place upstairs, congregation members were thrilled to return to their sanctuary.

“It’s beautiful. It’s just gorgeous,” said Betty Strelow, a member of Trinity, of the renovation. “I look around and I think that it’s just a beautiful place. … [Since the fire,] we’ve been meeting in the chapel downstairs. When you walk in here, it’s just a different feeling. It feels like being back at home.”

Elizabeth Miller, another member of Trinity, was delighted that her young daughter, who had only ever been to church in the undercroft, could finally experience worship in the sanctuary: “[I’ve loved] looking at my daughter tonight as she’s looking around, going, ‘Wow, this is so impressive.’ … To go from that kind of cozy space to a space that’s even more reflecting of God’s glory during worship … is amazing.”

The fire broke out on May 15, 2018, while construction work was being done on the church’s roof. The exact cause of the fire remains unknown.

The work continues

The destruction caused by the fire was heartbreaking. The ceiling was engulfed in flames, and two of Trinity’s steeples crashed down into the nave of the church. Firefighters had to break most of the stained glass windows in order to hose water into the building and put out the fire. The choir loft was badly damaged, and the historic organ was destroyed.

No firefighters or parishioners were hurt, and, miraculously, the wooden crucifix, along with much of the altar, went unharmed.

Rich Awve, a Trinity member who is a carpenter by trade, is serving as the overseer of the rebuilding project. He said the 4 feet of rubble left on the floor of the church steamed for days after the fire. Once it was finally safe to go on the church grounds, the first step was to clear the debris and rubble and make sure the walls of the church were stable. “Everyone was worried that they were going to fall,” said Awve.

Then began the complex work of building new supports along what remained of the structure so that it could support a new steel roof.

In the meantime, Ben Zuehlsdorf, a Mount Olive, Milwaukee, member who specializes in restoring historic woodwork, took the altar and pulpit to his workshop, where he worked on restoring it for more than three years.

About 80% of the restored altar is original, Zuehlsdorf said, and the triptych paintings of Jesus’ crucifixion, resurrection and ascension survived the fire unscathed. The worst damage was done to the horsehair plaster finials and carvings that topped the three arches.

All of the plaster carvings on the altar’s arches were destroyed except one, said Zuehlsdorf. “The blessing was … that we were able to get a digital scan [of the one surviving carving] and recreate [the rest of the carvings] out of foam.” Zuehlsdorf’s workshop was also able to recreate out of that same foam the Corinthian capitals that top the columns around the church, which were also originally horsehair plaster.

The workshop is also working to restore and reinstall the pulpit, which is nearly finished.

Even as it day by day grows easier to imagine what the complete restoration will look like, there is still much work to be done. Restoration work had to be put on pause while Trinity raises more funds. Roughly $5 million is needed in order to complete the restoration; included in that figure is an estimated $2 million necessary to recreate and rebuild Trinity’s organ.

But currently, the most urgent need is for new pews. The congregation will be able to return to regular worship in their sanctuary once enough funds are raised for 30 new pews, enough to accommodate average Sunday attendance.

Other items on the restoration to-do list include finishing the Corinthian capitals, restoring the damaged choir loft, re-creating dozens of stained glass windows, and rebuilding the two steeples that fell.

Trinity, which was founded in 1847, is the oldest LCMS congregation in Milwaukee, and the mother church for dozens of other Lutheran churches in Milwaukee and throughout Wisconsin. The building currently being restored, a beloved Milwaukee landmark, was originally built in 1878.

“Trinity has faithfully served God’s beloved in Milwaukee by faithfully proclaiming the promises of Christ since 1847,” said Trinity’s pastor, the Rev. M. Douglas Peters. “And while God’s saving Word does not require such a magnificent space, generations of Trinity’s saints desired to build and support such a beautiful space to receive our Lord’s blood-bought gifts while sharing the love of Christ with all whom God gathers.”

Anyone wishing to assist Trinity’s recovery through a donation is invited to visit trinitymilwaukee.org/support-trinity or contact the LCMS South Wisconsin District office at 414-464-8100.

Posted Jan. 7, 2025