History of Mount Tabor Lutheran Church

Mount Tabor

Lutheran Church

In the 1880's, further north on Butternut Street from Prospect Avenue, the Tabor Orphan's Home Society was being formed. The first baptism was administered in 1893, and Mount Tabor Lutheran Church was formed in 1894. The Reverend A. Alexander Oberlander was called as the first pastor of this congregation, which soon constructed their church facilities in 1900.

All five of the congregations, St. John's, St. Peter's, Zion, Mount Tabor, and Redeemer, were characterized by growth during the first few decades of the twentieth century. Each congregation expanded, renovated, or purchased property during this period.

The history of the northside of Syracuse had a strong impact on the lives of these five Lutheran congregations during the next fifty years. The German immigration had ceased, and the ethnic background of the new residents on the northside was no longer Lutheran. Many who stayed on the northside saw their families move out to the suburbs and strengthen the various Lutheran congregations throughout Onondaga County.

In the 1950's, Mount Tabor Lutheran Church and the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer began working toward merger. In 1956, these two congregations merged to form the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Resurrection. Upon this merger, the Mount Tabor congregation moved into the building located at 873 Dewitt Street, the present site of St. Stephen Lutheran Church.

Chronological and Pictoral History of the Pastors of Mount Tabor Lutheran Church.