PARIS, Ill. — In 1932, the Lutheran Youth groups from Charleston and Danville canvassed the Paris, Ill., area looking to establish a Lutheran mission. A small group was gathered, which met twice a month for worship; these first services were held in an upstairs room at 247 North Main. The rent for the room was $7 monthly.

The next year, poor attendance drove the worshipers to meeting in homes. At the same time, a family that had attended the Lutheran services in Broadlands and Danville took note of an ad for Lutheran Services in Paris in the Beacon News. The tiny group in Paris was greatly surprised and bolstered with the appearance of John and Emma Lorenzen, their four daughters and their two infant sons.

By fall the mission had started to grow to the point that they rented space for worship from Trinity Methodist, at the corner of Kimball and Central. The congregation continued to grow and by 1936, the “Paris Lutheran Mission” began to meet weekly in a frame chapel on South Central (formerly the Paris Bible Church).

As the mission concluded its first decade, Sunday school was started, a pedal organ became a part of worship and a congregation was taking shape. On Aug. 29, 1939, the mission was organized into the Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church and by 1944, the congregation was self-supporting.

The 1940s was a decade of growth for the congregation, and by 1949 the old frame church began showing its age. A new church was needed. On May 22 a groundbreaking ceremony was held at the corner of South Main and Newton.

Soon after, the cornerstone was laid – which contained, among other things, a Bible, Luther’s Small Catechism, a hymnal, the church constitution and a church history, list of officers of the church, its societies and two copies of the Beacon News.

The church was gifted with donations of materials from around the Paris community, and indeed, from many places around the country, including a centerpiece stained glass window above the altar donated by the Pabst Brewing Co. of Milwaukee, Wis. (Some people say the grain in the window is barley used in beer-making.)
On Oct. 1, 1950, the first service was held in the new church building – the same building used today.

The emphasis of the congregation was continually the great gifts of mercy and forgiveness from God, gained by his Son Jesus Christ on the cross, and given in Word and Sacrament. To this end the renowned organ builder Lawrence Phelps added the biggest addition to the congregation’s worship in 1978: A world-class pipe organ.

In 1989, Grace Lutheran Village, a group of apartments for retirees, was dedicated and has served as home to many retired pastors, parochial schoolteachers and other Lutherans from around the United States. In 2001 the Grace Lutheran Child Development Center was dedicated to serve the children of the community, by providing quality care in a Christian environment.