St. Peter Lutheran Church is located 23 miles northwest of Fredericksburg, in the picturesque Doss Valley, a rural community settled in the mid -1800s.
St. Peter Lutheran was organized on Sept. 13, 1896, when the pioneers (mostly German Lutherans) saw the need for people of faith to have a place to worship.
Founding fathers of the congregation included William Geistweidt Jr., Charles Geistweidt, Friedrich Hahn, Louis Hahn, Christian Strackbein, Lorenz Wendel, Heinrich Eckert and Christophor Feuge.
Descendants of those eight founders are still members of St. Peter Lutheran Church today.
In the early years of the congregation, members worshipped at the old Bethel Missionary Baptist Church which was located north of Doss near Threadgill Creek. Then, for a time, they worshipped at the Doss School, until their first sanctuary was constructed.
The first church, built of lumber, was located about where the Parish Hall is now located. Early photos of the church show the original church building in the background. It was removed when the Parish Hall was constructed.
The large majestic stone church was dedicated Sept. 14, 1913. Construction began in early 1912.
A Texas Historical Commission marker was dedicated on April 30, 1989, and the congregation celebrated the church’s centennial on Sept. 15, 1996.
In preparation for the church’s centennial celebration, the granite cornerstone was removed in April 1996 to reveal a box placed there 83 years ago. Unfortunately, time had taken its toll; the tin box had corroded, and the contents were brown and soggy.
St. Peter Lutheran became a member of the American Lutheran Church in 1960.
Another new church body – the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America – was organized in 1987. St.
Peter Lutheran was located in the Southwestern Texas Synod.
For many years, worship services and Sunday School were held only twice a month, with one in German.
In 1954, during the Rev. A.E. Flathmann’s pastorate, the decision was made to hold worship services every Sunday, with one German service per month.
When the Rev. William F. Lange arrived in 1962, German services were discontinued.
St. Peter Lutheran Church was very fortunate in 1980 as they became the beneficiaries of the Carl Kirchner estate.
Over the years the church has undergone extensive renovation. Thepulpit has been lowered; heating and later air conditioning installed; stained glass windows added, and the pine floors covered with tile and eventually carpet in later years.
The interior has been repainted several times.
The Parish Hall underwent a major renovation in 2006 when the kitchen was moved upstairs and the auditorium area was turned into a Fellowship Hall.
From 1905 until May 2021, St. Peter Lutheran Church and Christ Lutheran Church of Cherry Spring called one pastor to serve these two rural parishes.
In May 2021, St. Peter Lutheran Church left the ELCA and became affiliated with the North American Lutheran Church, and since that time has been “under the wing ” of Holy Ghost Lutheran Church in Fredericksburg.
The Rev. Alan Williams, one of the pastors at Holy Ghost Lutheran Church, was named pastor of St. Peter Lutheran Church in May 2021, serving until the Rev. David Priem, another Holy Ghost pastor, was installed July 10, 2022.
Pastor David served Doss until Dec. 31, 2024, when he assumed duties as head pastor at Holy Ghost Lutheran Church.
The Rev. Clint Pluenneke began his call at St. Peter Lutheran Church on Jan. 1, 2025, and was installed on Feb. 9, 2025.
Pastor Clint divides his time between St. Peter Lutheran at Doss and St. Paul Lutheran Church at Cave Creek. The two churches alternate worship times each week.
His roots run deep as he is a descendant of the Sauer family that donated the land on which St. Peter Lutheran Church was built.
