Our History

St. Paul Lutheran Church was founded in April of 1887 as Deutsche Evangelische Lutherische Petri Kirche, or, St. Peter’s German Evangelical Lutheran Church, in Dunkirk. Rev. George Seel served as our first pastor, serving a community of nine charter members. The congregation was incorporated in August, and our first church building, which still stands at 316 Eagle Street in Dunkirk, was dedicated in December of that same year. St. Peter’s was founded as a member of the New York Ministerium, leaving that body prior to its 1917 merger into the United Lutheran Church in America. Monthly English language services began in 1907, and English services were held every other Sunday by 1919.

In 1922, Rev. Walter Haas began his forty-year tenure as Pastor of St. Peter’s. His tenure included a 1927 merger with Zion Lutheran Church in Fredonia, which gave us the name of St. Paul, which the congregation bears to this day. In 1928, St. Paul joined the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod, after several years as an independent Lutheran congregation. Pastor Haas is well remembered for his decades of service, including for his ministry to German POW’s held near Dunkirk during World War II.

In 1962, Pastor Haas retired, and Rev. Charles Litterer was called to serve St. Paul. His tenure marked a monumental change for the congregation: a move from Dunkirk to Fredonia. SUNY Fredonia was about to open, and St. Paul saw an opportunity both for mission to the University community, and to alleviate parking problems at our historic Dunkirk building. Initially, a building site on Brigham Road was chosen. Pastor Litterer departed in early in 1966, and Rev. Paul Dorn was called to St. Paul later that year. He oversaw the building site’s shift to 334 Temple Street and the construction and dedication of the church building which has served us since May 18, 1967.

Pastor Dorn, who departed in 1969, was followed by Rev. John Trojian, who served for two years, and Rev. Roger Ruff, who served for thirteen years. Pastor Ruff, and his successors Pastors Ainslie Wagner and David Goodine, are well remembered for their outreach to our neighbors at SUNY Fredonia, as well as their sustained excellence in preaching and teaching. They positioned St. Paul for success as we headed into the new millenium.

In 1999, Rev. George Fyler began his service to St. Paul. He was followed in 2004 by Rev. Travis Grubbs of Immanuel Lutheran in Gowanda, who served as our vacancy pastor for six years. In 2006, Vicar William Novack began his service at St. Paul, while he studied at Concordia Seminary. Vicar Novack was ordained in 2010, and served as our pastor through 2020, when he assumed a pastoral call to North Tonawanda. He worked to bring new members into our flock, and encouraged St. Paul to meet the challenges of an age of secularization. We have been served since June of 2022 by Rev. Matthew Schettler, a Western New York native who had been serving in Chicago.