Photography provided by Jason Frattini

St. Peter's has been preaching the Word of God since 1845! A lot has changed over the years, including our location, but through it all, God has been faithful!

At its founding, Eastpointe was known as Erin Township and was dominated by oak forests and swamps. The Fort Gratiot Turnpike, made of logs, was the only main road, and Nine Mile was simply a bridle path. Henry Ford wouldn't open his first automobile factory for another 58 years!

The area was settled by German immigrants who left Germany due to religious oppression. For a while, there was only one Lutheran pastor in Michigan, traveling to preach and perform baptisms. A small congregation formed in Erin Township and met in each other's homes until 1845 when they called Johann Friedrich Winkler to be their pastor. They built a log church on the Fort Gratiot Turnpike south of Eight Mile, and this is when St. Peter's began.

A year later, the congregation split, and land was bought for a new church on the northwest corner of Nine Mile and Gratiot for $10. A new log church was built, and in 1850, a school was established. Additional land was purchased for $40, and a brick church was built in 1859. The bricks for the building were hand-made on a farm near Ten Mile and transported by wagon. The school moved into the vacated log building, and many additions and expansions occurred to both the church and school until St. Peter's moved to our current location at 23000 Gratiot Avenue in 1950. Our church was constructed in a beautiful neo-gothic style with stained glass windows, vaulted ceiling, slate floor, and bell tower with original bells dating back to 1876. In 2008, our state-of-the-art Early Childhood Center was built to compliment the church and school and increase our congregations ability to minister to our community.