•September 11, 2019•
By Ellen Ferrera
for the News Progress

The public is invited to celebrate a golden occasional at 10 a.m. Sunday, September 15 at Faith Lutheran Church in Sullivan.
The 50th anniversary service includes retired Pastor Joel Cluver, the first resident pastor at Faith, as the guest speaker. Retired Pastor Paul McGhghy will be in attendance.
Following the service all present and former church members are invited to attend a catered old-fashioned picnic which will include pony rides, a bean bag tournament, a cake walk and entertainment.
In the 1960s when a plan for a large medical complex in Sullivan fell through at the present church’s location the Central Illinois District of the Lutheran Church purchased the six-acre site on Route 32 south of Sullivan for future church development.
During the summer of 1969 representatives and pastors of five neighboring Lutheran congregations met in Sullivan. Grace Lutheran Church of Strasburg agreed to serve as the sponsoring congregation for the Lutheran mission venture in Sullivan and authorized Pastor Marvin Kammrath of Grace Lutheran in Strasburg to serve the group as pastor. The committee entered into an agreement with the Sullivan Church of God to occupy their former church building at Water and Van Buren streets.     Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.