St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church-Blue Point
It is taught among us that we cannot obtain forgiveness of sins & righteousness before God by our own merits, works or satisfactions, but that we receive forgiveness of sins & become righteous before God by grace, for Christ's sake through faith, when we believe that Christ suffered for us & that for His sake our sins are forgiven & righteousness & eternal life are given to us (Augsburg Confession IV 30:1ff). This is what we believe, teach & confess at St. Paul Ev. Lutheran Church-Blue Point.
For over 155 years, our members have been blessed in that God has reached out to us to enable us to enter into His presence. He has washed away our sins, even as He does every day, through the blood of Jesus Christ. The blood of Christ enables us to "enter into His gates with thanksgiving" (Psalm 100:4). We have come to receive the precious gifts that the Lord so freely bestows on His bride, the Church. He has faithfully led & cared for His flock in this place & for that we give thanks each day.
We invite you to join us; the Lord has blessed us with many resources: A beautiful sanctuary, an expansive parish hall & educational facilities, ALIS (our Lutheran school), & the family of God, which gathers here each week to receive the blessings that the Lord so richly showers upon us. If you do not have a church home, come & visit us!
Address: 14026 N. 500th St. Altamont, Illinois 62411 [Link to map]
Email: bluepoint1869@icloud.com; Telephone: 618-483-6993
Pastor: David R. Speers
Schedule
Sunday School: 8:30AM
Divine Service: 9:30 AM
Wednesday Divine Service: 12 PM
[Advent & Lenten services: 7 PM]
Directions
From Altamont: Go north out of Altamont on 300th St. (Main Street) to 1400th Ave. Go east on 1400th Ave for 2 miles to 500th St. The church is on the NE corner of the intersection of 1400th Ave & 500th St.
From the north: Take 1600th St. north (Moccasin Road) to 500th St. & go south on 500th St. for 2 miles to the intersection of 500th St. & 1400th Ave.
"Blue Point"?
If you searched the internet & found our website, you are probably wondering why the phrase "Blue Point?" One reason we keep the designation, given to us long ago (see below), is that there is another St. Paul Lutheran Church in Altamont, associated with the ELCA. We are a church of the LCMS, & so the designation has helped to keep the mail going in the right direction. But there are other reasons why the name Blue Point sticks. In a short history of the townships of Effingham County, Kevin Perkins writes:
Moccasin Creek Township is made up of mostly prairie and [] takes its name from Moccasin Creek which flows through it. Griffen Tipsword had named the creek moccasin because of the many moccasin footprints he found in the sand along the creek bank. Wolf Creek, which also flows through Moccasin Creek Township, was so named by Tipsword because of the wolves that he found there. … The Springfield Division of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (which is now gone) entered the township from the North along with the former C&E.I. Railroad and would converge upon the little hamlet of Moccasin and pass out to the south end of the township. Also, the Chicago and Paducah Railroads, later the Wabash Railroad, enters the township in section 13 and travels southwest into Altamont. It was removed in sometime in the 1920s. … The other town is Blue Point or sometimes it called the Blue Point Lutheran Community. It is located in the southwest corner of Section 24 of the township. It was founded along the old Chicago & Paducah Railroad and was a shipping point for livestock and grain. At one time it had a cold beer storage plant that shipped a carload of beer a week. All that remains is the St. Paul Blue Point Lutheran Church.
This gives you a little bit of information about the area in which the church has existed since 1869. Things are different today (no train station or beer cooler, just grain fields), but one of the things that is the same is our faith, which has been handed down by the apostles & prophets. Luther beautifully summarizes this as he describes The Luther Rose (also known as the Luther Seal), which is the most recognized symbol of Lutheranism. Martin Luther personally oversaw the creation of this symbol. It provides a beautiful summary of our faith, a faith that is common to all Christians, of every place & time. Here is how Luther explained the meaning of his seal:
"Grace and peace from the Lord. As you desire to know whether my painted seal [] has hit the mark, I shall answer most amiably and tell you my original thoughts and reason about why my seal is a symbol of my theology. The first should be a black cross in a heart, which retains its natural color, so that I myself would be reminded that faith in the Crucified saves us. "For one who believes from the heart will be justified" (Rom. 10:10). Although it is indeed a black cross, which mortifies and which should also cause pain, it leaves the heart in its natural color. It does not corrupt nature, that is, it does not kill but keeps alive. "The just shall live by faith" (Rom. 1:17) but by faith in the Crucified. Such a heart should stand in the middle of a white rose to show that faith gives joy, comfort, and peace. In other words, it places the believer into a white, joyous rose, for this faith does not give peace and joy like the world gives (John 14:27). That is why the rose should be white and not red, for white is the color of the spirits and the angels (cf Matthew 28:3; John 20:12). Such a rose should stand in a sky-blue field, symbolizing that such joy in spirit and faith is a beginning of the heavenly future joy, which begins already, but is grasped in hope, not yet revealed. And around this field is a golden ring, symbolizing that such blessedness in Heaven lasts forever and has no end. Such blessedness is exquisite, beyond all joy and goods, just as gold is the most valuable, most precious and best metal. This is my compendium theoligae [summary of theology]. I have wanted to show it to you in good friendship, hoping for your appreciation. May Christ, our beloved Lord, be with your spirit until the life hereafter. Amen." [Found in the Weimar edition of Luther's Works, Briefe Vol. 5:444f, and in English in Luther's Works: American Edition, Vol. 49:356-359]
--Rev. David R. Speers
