Grace Lutheran Church

             Brief History of Grace Lutheran Church

Twenty-six persons were present at the first service of the Lutheran Church in the Eureka Springs area which was held on August 11, 1972. Pastor Eugene Pennekamp of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Rogers, AR. delivered the sermon on Matthew 16:13-20 entitled "Why are We Here".  Initial services were held in the Holiday Island Recreation Center.  Thanks to a one-acre land donation from the Holiday Island developer, plans were soon drawn up for the construction of a church facility on Holiday Island. By November 1973 plans for the construction of the tentatively named Grace Trinity Lutheran Church of Holiday Island had been approved.

The building facility for Grace Lutheran Church of Holiday Island was dedicated on November 17, 1974.  A unique feature of the facility was the iron and glass exterior and chancel crosses created by church member and local artist Henry Menke.  At the time of dedication there were approximately 40 members of the church.

Rev. Pennekamp continued serving Grace and Holy Trinity until his transfer to Zion Lutheran in Pittsburg, Kansas in October 1977, For the next 5 years, pastoral services were provided by the Rev. Herman Seyfert of Holy Trinity, and by Vicars Richard Kothe and William Womer. In August 1982, Vicar Womer became the Rev. Womer in an ordination and installation ceremony at Grace.  He was Grace's first full time pastor.

In February 1990, Grace Lutheran sponsored the formation of a new Preaching Station in Berryville, AR. to provide worship services for the eastern section of Carroll County.  Rev. Womer served the Preaching Station while continuing his duties at Grace.  By 1992 the Preaching Station had transitioned to a separate church, Our Redeemer.

The Reverend Kenneth Haydon was installed at Grace on July 5, 1992 to serve the congregations at Grace and Our Redeemer.  After serving our Lord for over 40 years and serving both congregations for over 16 years, Pastor Haydon celebrated his retirement as full-time pastor on July 27,2008. On August 10, 2008, Pastor Rubke was installed as the Pastor of Our Redeemer making Grace Lutheran an independent congregation.

Pastor Haydon continues to serve Grace Lutheran Church as its part-time pastor while serving our Lord and leading members of the parish to reach out to others who may be in need, and to share the grace and love of God in Jesus Christ.

Assisting Pastor Haydon in serving the Lord, the congregation and the community is Deacon James Moore. Deacon Moore, is currently working on finishing his studies to become a certified deacon.