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Bethlehem Lutheran Church, SA Australia
| Address | 170 Flinders Street,
Adelaide
South Australia, 5000, Australia | | Telephone Enquiries : | 08-8223 6662 |
Some 25 German families formed Bethlehem congregation in 1860. Looking to the future, and with the help of the public of the City of Adelaide, the present church was built in 1871 and 1872. The architect of the building was James Cumming. It is registered with the National Trust as a heritage building.
The church, with the old horse stable behind it, is built of Mitcham bluestone, with 66 centimetre thick walls and a 33 metre tower. A set of three bells for the tower arrived in Sydney in 1879 and was exhibited at the Sydney Exhibition where they won a first prize. Mysteriously, they never reached their destination in Adelaide - and the church still has no bells.
The three-panel stained glass window above the alter points to some of the central teachings of the Christian faith. The panel on the left depicts Christ's resurrection, the centre panel his ascension, while the third shows Christ as the Good Shepherd who is always present to guide and protect his people.
In 1971 the rose window above the main door and its two satellite windows were glazed and illuminated to celebrate the centenary of the laying of the foundation stone. The eight-pointed star represents the cardinal points of the compass, while the golden shafts of light stand for the gospel emanating from the triune God out into the universe.
The organ is one of the finest in Adelaide. It has been developed from a one-manual-and-pedal organ, built by Backman of Berlin in about 1878. This organ had 350 pipes controlled by six stops. Professor IG Reimann brought it to Adelaide in 1883 when he returned from music studies in Germany. In early 1889 this organ was installed in the gallery and dedicated at a special service on 26 June 1889. In 1904-1905 it was enlarged and placed in the front left-hand corner of the church - where the baptismal font now stands. It was now a two-manual-and-pedal organ with 963 pipes controlled by 19 stops.
Here it remained until 1958 when it was further enlarged and returned to the gallery. During this rebuild its action was changed from mechanical to electro-pneumatic. After this enlargement, the instrument had 2,193 pipes controlled by 43 stops and 22 couplers. It is now a three-manual-and-pedal organ. Several small banks of pipes have since been added. The organ was totally refurbished in 2005 and now has 2,710 pipes, very fine casewood and facade pipes.
Bethlehem is best known from the New Testament as the birthplace of Jesus. Bethlehem from the Hebrew meaning 'house of bread’ is a house of worship which has at its centre Jesus, who said: 'I am the bread of life'.
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| Entity Facility | Access With Assistance for the Disabled, Coach Parking, Conference/Convention Facilities, First aid equipment, Parking for the Disabled, Toilet facilities for the Disabled. | | Experience | Cultural, Historic/Heritage. |
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