Valley of Peace Lutheran Church Celebrates 50 Years - 1974 - 2024

A stated need and desire for worship services to be conducted in the Hailey, Idaho, area in 1973 resulted in a positive response from the Northwest District and the churches of the Magic Valley Circuit. The Rev. E. F. Loessel and his wife were at that time living in retirement in Twin Falls. When approached about this possible project, they eagerly responded and, with the help of Lutherans living in the Hailey area, conducted surveys of church affiliation in August 1973.

Having been assured that this mission would not be in competition with any other Lutheran venture in the area, the first worship service was held in the Grange Hall on Wednesday evening, September 12, 1973. On November 18, 1973, the first Sunday morning worship service was held at the Wood River Junior High School. Because of contracted painting in the Junior High School, the mission group began holding their worship services at the National Guard Armory in July, 1974.

The Constitution and By-Laws of Valley of Peace Lutheran Church were approved, and the congregation was accepted into membership of the Northwest District of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod at its convention in June 1974.

Property and a double-wide mobile home, purchased with a $50,000 loan from the Church Extension Fund of the Northwest District at the corner of Main and Galena Streets in Hailey was the worship center of the Hailey mission congregation. The building was dedicated as “The Chapel” of the congregation on October 27, 1974. The congregation was officially incorporated as a non-profit corporation in the State of Idaho on November 25 of that year.

Pastor Loessel encouraged the members of the congregation to seriously pursue calling a pastor who would be able to spend more time in developing the growth of the congregation. As a result of this suggestion, the Rev. John Herrmann, a new graduate from the Seminary at Springfield, Illinois, was installed as a “worker-priest” pastor on July 13, 1975. Pastor Herrmann remained until February 1978, when he accepted a call to the dual parish of Bethany, Osborn and Emmanuel, Mullen, Idaho..

Mr. Richard Luttrell, officially approved by the Northwest District to serve as a lay minister, was contracted to serve as vacancy pastor beginning May 12, 1978. He served as a part-time minister until July 1, 1983. During that time the original worship center was sold and the present church building was constructed. Designed by Architect, Linda Bergerson, this present worship center was constructed by local contractor, Ralph Rutter, and much volunteer work by members of the congregation. It was dedicated to the glory of God on October 19, 1980.

Because of his other business ventures, Mr. Luttrell was not able to always be present to conduct worship services. A number of area pastors served the Hailey mission during those years. With the approval of the Northwest District Board of Directors, Mr. Robert Meyer, also approved as a lay minister, served as part-time pastor while also serving as Director of Camp Perkins. Together with Mr. Luttrell, he conducted worship services and was the spiritual leader of the congregation from June 6, 1982 until July 1, 1983.

The Northwest District Board of Directors encouraged the Valley of Peace congregation to begin calling a full-time pastor. From August 1982 until February 1983, the Rev. Wayne Beebe, a chaplain living in the Wendell area, served as vacancy pastor.

During this time a Synod-wide fund-raising effort called “Forward in Remembrance” supplied additional funds, which were offered to the Hailey mission to help pay the salary of the full-time pastor for a three-year trial period. On April 8, 1984, the Rev. Jerome V. Wohlfeil, formerly of Canon City, Colorado, accepted the call of the congregation and was installed as its first full-time pastor.

The voters of the parish accepted the gift of a building lot on October 20, 1985. This anonymous gift stipulated that it be used only for the purpose of building a parsonage for the parish. The parsonage was contracted in part, and members once again gave many hours of volunteer work in erecting the house at 1420 Aspen Valley Drive. On December 31, 1986, Pastor Wohlfeil and his family moved into the parsonage and lived there until 1990. Pastors Stan Simonek and Tim Pauls lived in the parsonage from 1990 until 1997. Thereafter, it was occupied by renters. The parsonage was sold on May 31, 2005. The proceeds of $344,483 were used to pay off the mortgage ($50,531) and the balance ($293,483) invested.

Rev Stan Simonek and his wife Julie came to Valley of Peace in 1990. His three-year pastorate was followed by Rev Tim Pauls. The congregation grew under these full-time pastors.

An addition was made to the church to house Camp Perkins offices in 1995. This arrangement continued until May 1, 2007. Valley of Peace continues a special relationship with Camp Perkins, contributing 2.5% of the annual budget to the camp. Camp Perkins counselors and staff frequently join in worship at Valley of Peace during the summer.

The church continued to prosper and grow under full-time pastors Simonek and Pauls. However, following a contentious congregational meeting (Sept 1997), approximately 1/3 of the members withdrew their membership in Valley of Peace. What led to the split were theological differences between LCMS and the ERLCA. Pastor Tim Pauls left the church in December 1997.

After Camp Perkins vacated the space, several renovations were made totaling approximately $50,000. Renovations included: new kitchen cabinets and flooring, conversion of Camp Perkins office space to one large meeting room, carpeting the sanctuary and laminate flooring in the narthex.

From 1998 until 2000 Valley of Peace was served by several circuit pastors including: Gary Benedix, Mark Christ, Randy Benscoter, and Art Crosmer .

Pastor Manfred Berndt ‘retired’ to Valley of Peace in 2000 after pastoring Grace Lutheran Church in Pocatello. With a full-time pastor, the church again experienced growth, with many baptisms and confirmations. Sadly, Pastor Berndt resigned in 2005 due to serious illness. His wife Jutta continues as an active member of Valley of Peace.

Rev Chris Reinke came to Valley of Peace from Anchorage, Alaska, where he had planted a new Lutheran Church. Pastor Chris Reinke and his wife Betty are natives of Filer, Idaho. He served the church from 2006 until 2009.

The early years of the church were heavily subsidized by the Northwest District of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. Much of the budget came from the district and from other congregations in Southern Idaho. The budget adopted for 2008 was $134,250, including a projected deficit of $34,000. By the mid 2000’s the district subsidy had ended. Thankfully, the church has been self-supporting since then. The budget in 2024 was $88,160, with a projected deficit of $16,660. The deficit is covered by funds taken from savings and additional congregational giving.

Rev Stephen Barkholtz served the congregation from 2009 until 2012. A controversy over church finances resulted in Rev Barkholtz’s resignation and the departure of several families from Valley of Peace. Rev Barkholtz was succeeded in 2013 by Rev Gerald Reinke (brother of Chris Rinke) and wife Karen, recently retired from St Johns Lutheran Church in Idaho Falls. Pastor Reinke and his wife Karen continue to serve the congregation at the present time.

The past ten years have seen the church add new members and mature, while still struggling to attract young families and to be self-supporting. Many of the recent members are new to the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, being attracted to the church by the close friendly congregation and by the Bible-centered teaching.

The church has conducted several ‘outreach’ activities, particularly aimed at children and youth. These include gingerbread house decorating, supporting an annual Vacation Bible Camp in cooperation with Camp Perkins and providing scholarships to youth to attend Camp Perkins. In 2017 members of the congregation installed irrigation to twelve garden plots on church property. These are made available to church and community members for a nominal fee to cover irrigation expenses.

Valley of Peace created a part-time position for Youth and Family Ministry Coordinator in September 2018, hiring Joel Ripke for this position. His wife, Nicole, was Program Coordinator at Camp Perkins. He was succeeded in this ministry by Lisa Menshal in August 2019. This ministry resulted in many successful events designed to attract young families. The COVID crisis in 2020 led Lisa to return to her home in Michigan. This, and lack of finances, resulted in the church not seeking a replacement for Lisa.

The church has active men’s and women’s fellowship groups, meeting weekly. These groups conduct Bible Study, prayer and fellowship. The men’s fellowship supports several missions and ministries including Evergreen Lutheran School in Detroit, Michigan and supporting two children through Compassion International.

A church website was developed in the early 2000’s. The site was upgraded in 2020 to allow maintenance by members of the congregation. The COVID pandemic of 2020 challenged Valley of Peace to continue ministry despite recommended ‘lockdowns.’ Valley of Peace began video recording services and live streaming on Facebook. This continues at present. Recordings of services are archived on the church website, www.haileyvop.org. The church also maintains a presence on Facebook.

Also, during the past decade the church has partnered with Hispanic and Peruvian congregations by providing worship space. Since April 2022 Iglesia de la Christo de Peru has supported Valley of Peace through labor, offerings and building improvement projects, such as installing new carpet in the sanctuary.

God has blessed Valley of Peace Lutheran Church with many dedicated spiritual leaders and members. We rejoice in His mercy on this fiftieth anniversary of the founding of this congregation. To God be the glory!

A substantial part of this history was taken from ‘A Brief History of Valley of Peace Lutheran Church’, prepared for the 15th anniversary of the church in 1989.