Peace & Zion Lutheran Church, of Split Rock & Caroline, Wisconsin, welcomes you to our parish! Nestled in the rolling hills of Northeast Wisconsin, and landscaped by the Embarrass River system, we are congregations that have a long history of preaching Christ and Him crucified to the people of Shawano County. With multi-generations of the same families that first founded us, we continue to serve our people through the preaching of the Word of God and the administration of the Holy Sacraments. May God bless you and your day!
We are a Lutheran Church, meaning we conform to the Word of God in doctrine and practice through Grace alone, Scripture alone and Faith alone. We offer Christ-centered worship through traditional liturgy, rich hymnody and the proclamation of Christ Jesus crucified for the forgiveness of sins.
We are a "confessional" congregation. We hold to the Lutheran Confessions as the correct interpretation and presentation of Biblical doctrine. Contained in the Book of Concord, these statements of belief were put into writing by church leaders in the 16th century. The simplest of these is Luther's Small Catechism. The Augsburg Confession gives more detail on what Lutherans believe.
We belong to the North American Lutheran Church (NALC) and are part of the Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC) association.
GUEST INFORMATION
Thank you for joining us! Here are a few things to know, so that you aren't left guessing. Our order of service is printed in our bulletin, which is available in the entrance area from our ushers. The service numbers (pages 77-96) are in the front of the green hymnal. The green hymnal numbers go up to page 600 and the smaller blue hymnal "With One Voice" continues with numbers over 600. Confused yet? If you get lost, ask us! We are more than happy to help.
We take communion on the first and fourth Sundays of each month. All baptized Christians who have previously received communion anywhere are welcome at the communion table. It is taught among us that Jesus is truly present "In, with and under the bread and the wine." (Martin Luther)
At Zion we practice continuous communion, meaning the members and guests are ushered forward and receive communion as they reach the front area - first the bread, then the wine. Participants consume the elements when they are received. They then continue to walk, circling back to their seats. Thus communion continues without break in a "continuous" manner. At Peace the ushers direct you to the altar and we kneel (if able).
We do take up a collection as part of our service. This is how our membership maintains their ministries. As a guest, your contribution is not expected.
At the end of our service, the congregation is seated, and the ushers will escort people out. Small children are welcome throughout our service, but if, for your comfort, you need to step out of the service, the service is audible in both the Narthex and the basement at Zion.
Peace Lutheran Church was founded as a Lutheran church in 1890. Later, we became a member of the American Lutheran Church and subsequently of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
In 2011, and after much deliberation and prayer, we overwhelmingly voted to become a member of the North American Lutheran Church. We are a rural church, with 55 percent of members living within three miles of the church proper, and 45 percent living more than three miles away. The church property abuts State Highway 45, a major north-south corridor through central Wisconsin.
In 1880, Split Rock, Wis., was a well-established community along a busy railroad line, with the majority of its residents of German descent. Worship services were conducted by circuit missionaries in private homes as travel conditions allowed, but the Lutherans in the community wanted to belong to a congregation and have a dedicated house of worship.
On Sept. 23, 1888, a group of 16 people, under the direction of a minister, formed a congregation.
On March 3, 1890, Peace Lutheran Church was incorporated under the name “Evangelisch Lutherishe Friedens Germeide” of the Town of Fairbanks, Shawano County, State of Wisconsin.
In 1890 — the same year the congregation was incorporated and the original church was built.
The cornerstone of the current, brick church building was laid on Nov. 11, 1917. There have been only two major structural modifications since then in 1946, the steeple was struck by lightning and was subsequently removed and in 1990, an addition was added to the front of the church.
Zion Lutheran Church is a beautiful church located in Caroline, Wis. Zion has a rich German heritage. The first settlers to come to the Caroline area brought with them a strong desire to establish a means by which they could continue to worship in the faith of their fathers.
In 1883, a group of 24 families drew up a constitution and decided on the name of Zion Lutheran Church.
In 1885, land was purchased for the purpose of building a church and cemetery grounds and the new church was built and dedicated that same year.
Regular English services were introduced in 1925 and held on the last Sunday of each month.
In 1944, the congregation applied to the American Lutheran Church for synodical affiliation.
In 1953 the present church building was dedicated.
In 1956 the German worship services were discontinued.
A new narthex addition that makes our church handicap accessible was dedicated on Palm Sunday in 2002.
In 2008, we celebrated the 125th anniversary of our church.