We are a Christian Community in the Riverland region of South Australia. We may be seen as the Lutherans with the large building on the hill in Loxton, but we also want to be seen as the people who are serving our community and sharing the love of Jesus Christ.
We are a community made up of people of different ages and life experiences who meet together to share in the joy of Jesus' death and resurrection.
The origins of St Peter’s goes back to 1897 when the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Loxton was first organised by E.J.P. Kaesler before the town of Loxton was formally planned. St Petri (St Peter's) originally began as a ‘House Church’ meeting for worship in the houses of John Drabsch of Loxton and A Stanitzki of Bookpurnong.
In 1904, the congregation resolved to build a stone church measuring 12.2m x 6.1m x 4.27m at the cost of 180 pounds ($360), having a seating capacity of 150. This building (St Petri) is still used today as a meeting space for various church and community groups.
The congregation grew quickly, and by 1911 the St Petri Congregation started to dream about the possibility of building a larger worship space. In 1923, the congregation resolved to start building their new worship space. The size and scale of this new church building were truly remarkable, demonstrating a bold vision and trust in God, a story that still shapes us today.
On March 7th, 1926, fifteen and a half months after the building was first started, some 2000 people came from near and far for the opening of the new church.