Luther Place Memorial Church (Washington, D.C.) was built in 1873 as a memorial to peace and reconciliation following the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. Its original name was Memorial Evangelical Lutheran Church and it was designed by architects Judson York, J.C. Harkness, and Henry Davis. It is located in Thomas Circle

Thomas Circle

Thomas Circle is a traffic circle in Northwest Washington, D.C., United States at the junction of Massachusetts Avenue, Vermont Avenue, 14th Street, and M Street, N.W.The through lanes of Massachusetts Avenue pass under Thomas Circle...

 in Washington, D.C. near its namesake, a statue of Martin Luther

Martin Luther (Rietschel)

Martin Luther is a public artwork by German artist Ernst Rietschel, located at Luther Place Memorial Church in Washington, D.C., United States. Martin Luther was originally surveyed as part of the Smithsonian's Save Outdoor Sculpture! survey in 1993...

. The statue is a replica of the one in Worms, Germany

Worms, Germany

Worms is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Rhine River. At the end of 2004, it had 85,829 inhabitants.Established by the Celts, who called it Borbetomagus, Worms today remains embattled with the cities Trier and Cologne over the title of "Oldest City in Germany." Worms is the only...

, which was given to the church in 1884 by the German emperor.

History

Luther Place was built in 1873 by architects Judson York, J.C. Harkness, and Henry Davis. The church, like many others, resembles the shape of a ship, symbolizing a vessel for God's work, and it is well-known for its stained glass windows picturing twelve reformers: Gustavus Adolphus, John Huss, John Wyckliffe, Philipp Melanchthon

Philipp Melanchthon

Philipp Melanchthon , born Philipp Schwartzerdt, was a German reformer, collaborator with Martin Luther, the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation, intellectual leader of the Lutheran Reformation, and an influential designer of educational systems...

, Martin Luther

Martin Luther

Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...

, Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...

, Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German Lutheran pastor, theologian and martyr. He was a participant in the German resistance movement against Nazism and a founding member of the Confessing Church. He was involved in plans by members of the Abwehr to assassinate Adolf Hitler...

, Harriet Tubman

Harriet Tubman

Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Harriet Ross; (1820 – 1913) was an African-American abolitionist, humanitarian, and Union spy during the American Civil War. After escaping from slavery, into which she was born, she made thirteen missions to rescue more than 70 slaves...

, John Knox

John Knox

John Knox was a Scottish clergyman and a leader of the Protestant Reformation who brought reformation to the church in Scotland. He was educated at the University of St Andrews or possibly the University of Glasgow and was ordained to the Catholic priesthood in 1536...

, John Calvin

John Calvin

John Calvin was an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism. Originally trained as a humanist lawyer, he broke from the Roman Catholic Church around 1530...

, Huldrych Zwingli

Huldrych Zwingli

Ulrich Zwingli was a leader of the Reformation in Switzerland. Born during a time of emerging Swiss patriotism and increasing criticism of the Swiss mercenary system, he attended the University of Vienna and the University of Basel, a scholarly centre of humanism...

, and John Wesley

John Wesley

John Wesley was a Church of England cleric and Christian theologian. Wesley is largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, as founding the Methodist movement which began when he took to open-air preaching in a similar manner to George Whitefield...

. A much needed restoration of the interior has recently taken place.

In 1904, Luther Place suffered damage from a fire, leading to restoration of the church and a renewed energy and celebration of its mission. President Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...

 spoke at the restoration ceremony, saying, "The Lutheran Church is destined to become one of the two or three greatest churches, most distinctly American."

N Street Village

Opening the church's doors in 1968 to the homeless taught the Luther Place congregation that such service was difficult, and many congregants resisted the development. However, after a homeless man froze to death in 1974 not far from the church, the new pastor, John Steinbruck

John Steinbruck

John Frederick Steinbruck is an ordained Lutheran minister who served for 28 years as the senior pastor of Luther Place Memorial Church in Washington, D.C. Luther Place is an historic, red-stone church located at Thomas Circle, 1226 Vermont Avenue, N.W., in the heart of Washington's red-light...

, once again opened the doors of the church to the homeless, and the building filled to capacity. This outlook led to a $19 million building project on a property on N Street owned by Luther Place that is now N Street Village - Eden House/Promise Place, a new high-rise development offering a "continuum of care" for homeless women. In 1996, the same year of the beginnings of N Street Village, Luther Place was placed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

.

Lutheran Volunteer Corps

In 1979, Luther Place founded the Lutheran Volunteer Corps

Lutheran Volunteer Corps

The Lutheran Volunteer Corps is a national volunteer service program that was founded in 1979 by Luther Place Memorial Church in Washington, D.C...

- an organization that places young adults as volunteers with non-profit organizations.

Steinbruck Center for Urban Studies

In 2001, the Steinbruck Center for Urban Studies was created as a means of educating others about the work of Luther Place and N Street Village. It is named for John and Erna Steinbruck.