St. Matthew Lutheran Church is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the largest group of Lutherans in North America, with nearly 3.3 million members in more than 8,900 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Our congregation celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2008. These 100 years have seen many changes in our world and in our congregation.
Originally a German immigrant congregation, we now have people from all over the world worshipping with us. In the early 1900s Secaucus was a small town. Many of the people were of Lutheran faith. Since there was no Lutheran Church in town they attended services in West Hoboken (now Union City) and in Jersey City. Transportation then was quite a problem. There were trolley cars which ran infrequently. It was at this time that the town's people decided to establish a church of their own. On August 30, 1908, the first service was heled in Public School 2 on County Avenue. Pastor Gurschke was in charge, and 37 worshippers were present. On the same day a Sunday School was established which included 39 children and five teachers. The congregation was organized on September 6, 1908 under the guidance of Pastor Gurschke. The name St. Matthew Evangelical Lutheran Church was adopted and the congregation was incorporated. The story continues, read the full history by downloading our 100th Anniversary Journal!