Trinity Lutheran Church, Memphis

Located on Washington Avenue, Trinity Lutheran Church was founded by German immigrants who wished to worship God without restrictions. The church originally offered worship services in German and operated a local school to preserve their language and native culture. German-only services were offered until 1910, when the congregation, which was no longer solely German, requested services in English. German was only used for Christmas and other special events. The school was closed in 1912.

The original name of the place of worship was the German Evangelical Lutheran Trinity Church of the Unaltered Ausburg Confession of the City of Memphis, State of Tennessee. The current church was built in 1874, with the upper floor being completed in 1878. The yellow-fever epidemic so devastated the church that the upper floor would not be used for 10 years. Much of the church’s population died or left the area after the epidemics.

The following years brought many changes to the church. Worshippers of other ethnicities began to join the church and the onset of World War I temporarily resulted in German services no longer being offered. In the 1920s, the use of German resumed. The church also helped to build a school for the black community and a cathedral for hearing-impaired parishioners.