St Thomas Church is at the corner of Stockwell Road and Duck Ponds Road. The building follows the road alignment with the sanctuary in a geographical direction slightly north of west. We shall use our liturgical directions and (rather perversely!) call this East (with a capital letter). So we approach the Church, coming to its impressive West tower. The early Lutherans did so well with the building of their churches ... . Notice the plaque above the West doors.
2. SOUTHWEST VIEW
In this view we notice that there are three windows to the nave (on both sides). There are also four plaques: one above the front (West) door; one on the facing wall of the tower, one at ground level on the adjacent end wall of the nave (harder to see), and one on the vestry. We look at these now.
3. PLAQUES
The plaque above the West door reads (in German): Ev. Luth. St Thomas Church. Built. A.D. 1904 John 20 v29 (which reads: ‘Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”’ On the South wall of the tower is a plaque commemorating the building of the tower: ‘This stone was laid to the glory of God, on 24th February 1929, by Pastor H. Roehrs.’ Nearby at ground level is the small plaque: ‘1 Corinthians 3:11, 1904’ (the verse reads: ‘For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.’ And the final plaque commemorates the 50th Anniversary of the building of the sanctuary and vestry in 1954.
4. VESTRY CORNER
We continue our walk around the Church. A rather unsightly vestry has been added to the Church at this corner. I am puzzled by this common feature of many of these little Valley churches. Why build a beautiful, elegant church and then spoil the appearance by adding an incongruous vestry? I appreciate the need for a pastor’s vestry, but surely this might have been foreseen by the early builders?
5. CEMETERY
At the back of the Church is a nicely laid out cemetery. This is another common feature of the Barossa Lutheran churches: each community looked after the living and the dead.
6. DISTANT VIEW
We return from the cemetery to this Northeast view. Water is a scarce resource here, and each church collects its own rainwater.
7. NORTH WALL
The walls are made from local stone, and instead of buttresses, St Thomas has this less usual metal bracing. The windows look interesting ... .
8. MEMORIAL CORNER
In the Northwest corner of the property is this large rock with a memorial plaque. The plaque reads: ‘To the glory of God, in thankful memory of our Lutheran Fathers 1863 – 1963 (Site of old church house to the east).’ [?]
9. NORTHWEST VIEW
We complete our circuit of the Church, returning to the front tower. There is a fine finial on top of the tower!
10. PORCH PICTURES
As we enter the Church we notice a picture on each side wall of the porch. At right is a painting of Jesus. The word ‘Heritage’ is printed in the bottom corner. At left is an old framed photograph of the interior of the Church. It was presented to Mr W. Grope from the members of Stockwell St Thomas Lutheran Church in grateful recognition of his services as Church warden from 1912 to 1941.’
11. INTO THE NAVE
We now move from the porch into the nave. Above us is a colourful poster board with the words (in German) of Jesus: ‘I am the Vine, you are the branches’ – words taken from John 15:5.
12. NAVE
The nave is a pleasing worshipful space, with the sanctuary directly ahead, and the sanctuary arch with fairy lights! There are colourful windows behind the altar, and along the nave side walls. Some modern technology too, with the data projector and rolled up screen.
13. WEST BALCONY
At the Western end is a balcony accessed by a steep flight of steps to the right. The balcony supports an attractive pipe organ. A door in the back wall next to the organ leads to the tower. [Photo Credit: Trevor Bunning, OHTA]
14. THE ORGAN
The organ pipes are set in an attractive frame. J.E. Dodd had acquired the organ from Bethany in 1929 as part payment for the installation of their new instrument. He allowed £75 for it. Though much has been written, its origins are obscure. By 1947 the organ was still being pumped by hand and the fee for pumping was raised to 1/-. Because it was too expensive to purchase, an electric blower was constructed and installed by members of the congregation the following year. In 1952 the organ was again in need of repair and the Dodd firm was asked to have a look at it. After extensive repairs in 1960 by L. S. Waters costing £375, the organ was again in fine tune.
15. ORGAN DETAIL
Up to the balcony ... . Stairs to the left lead up to the tower. The organ has a single manual. • By 1980, the organ was again in a state of disrepair. Rather than see the organ destroyed John Stiller prevailed upon the Church authorities to have it restored. Roger Jones undertook the work for a cost of $3,500, and the organ was rededicated on 7 March 1982. The pipework and casework were restored with a Lutheran emblem carved to fit the new central pipeshade. Previously anglicised, possibly by Dodd, the stopknobs were engraved in German with German script. The pedal Bourdon remained pneumatic (with mechanical manual to pedal coupling.). Wind pressure was reduced from 2 7/8 to 2 ½ inches. The pipework for the Viol di Gamba was missing in 1979 giving a spare slide. In memory of Mrs Gladys Bartsch, organist for 50 years, Jones added a new 8Salicional rank in 1982. [Photo Credits: Trevor Bunning OHTA]
16. NORTH WALL
We return to the main aisle. The windows have a common format with a variable blue motif.
17. NORTH WINDOWS DETAIL
We look at the three motifs. At left is the sailing ship With a cross on the sail, an anchor, and a mast which combines the idea of cross and staff. The central motif is the Luther rose (or seal). It shows a black cross in a red heart in a white rose in a blue field which Luther interpreted as an expression of his beliefs. At right are symbols of the Eucharist with the chalice alongside grapes and heads of grain.
18. SOUTH WALL
The windows on the South wall have the same format as those opposite, but the motif symbols are different. At left is a special chair.
19. SOUTH WINDOWS DETAIL
The left motif here is a flying dove with halo, symbolising the Holy Spirit. The central motif is more mysterious. The crown refers to Christ as King, the palm leaves speak of victory, but the sword? The right motif shows the Lamb with Benner – the Agnus Dei – the Lamb of God.
20. NORTH WINDOW MOTIFS
Here are the motifs for the Northern windows, much magnified. Having visited a number of Valley Lutheran churches, I have the impression that these motifs are of a much higher quality than many.