Local Church Celebrates 150 Years of Blessings

St. Jacobi Ev. Lutheran Church at 86th Street
and W. Forest Home Avenue in Greenfield
will celebrate its 150th anniversary on
Sunday, April 23, 2023. A special worship
service will be held on that date at two
times, 8:15 and 10:45 A.M., with a program
and catered meal to follow the second
service. Attendance at the meal is by
reservation only. Anniversary events have
been held throughout the year under the
theme “Celebrating God’s Grace.”
St. Jacobi Lutheran Church was started in
Milwaukee on April 20, 1873 by German
immigrants who left St. Peter’s Lutheran Church with their pastor to form a new congregation in
what was then a developing area on Milwaukee’s south side. On the triangle formed by Forest
Home Avenue, 13th Street, and Mitchell Street, they constructed a
church building and remodeled a blacksmith shop to serve as a
school. The second generation of buildings included a large,
beautiful, twin-towered, gothic edifice built in 1905 that became a
City of Milwaukee landmark.
With the need for more buildable land, St. Jacobi purchased its 5-
acre Greenfield site in 1961 and dedicated a new school building
there in 1964. From 1965 until 1977 worship services were held at
both the Milwaukee and the Greenfield locations. In 1977 the
Milwaukee property was sold and the church demolished. A
church was built at the Greenfield location in 1979. An addition
St. Jacobi's Current Home on 86th and Forest Home in Greenfield
St. Jacobi's Former Home on 13th and
Mitchell in Milwaukee
was made to the school building in 1994, and a new welcome center, community room, and early
childcare center were added to the church in 2020.
St. Jacobi is a congregation of 986 communicant members with a school enrollment of about 219
in grades K4 through 8. The church’s mission statement indicates that St. Jacobi is a gathering of
“men, women, and children who know Christ and desire to make Christ known” as the world’s
Savior from sin. The school exists to share Christ’s love and support families in the training and
instruction of their children.
Throughout its 150 year history St. Jacobi has been served by only 10 pastors. Currently those
pastors are the Revs. Timothy Spaude, Richard Waldschmidt, and James Langebartels. The Rev.
Paul Eckert is pastor emeritus. The school principal is Mr. Joshua Walker. St. Jacobi is affiliated
with the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod.