Frederick Evangelical Lutheran Church is preparing to celebrate its 350th anniversary in 2016 with prayer, song and welcomes the community. Thomas church is one of the oldest Lutheran communities outside of Europe still engaged in active ministry. The initial congregation was founded in 1666 by Danish minister Kjeld Jensen, of Stagelse, Denmark, who arrived on St. Thomas on an expedition to colon
ize the island. Denmark granted the island's charter to the Danish West India Company,. Under the charter, settlers had to establish a place of public worship and they chose the Lutheran Church of Denmark as the official church of the Danish colony. Jensen served as the pastor for the emerging St. Thomas congregation. The initial worship services were held in the homes of planters and soldiers but eventually some space was provided within the confines of Fort Christian, in Charlotte Amalie. Eventually, a small chapel was constructed in the fort's courtyard. Numerous grave markers were set in the floor of the chapel as memorials for parishioners. By 1740, the Lutherans had founded several schools and worked to educating children - including the children of the slaves. They also helped educate people to become teachers. After serving the colony for almost a century, Lutheran pastor Rev. Hans Stoud decided each of the Virgin Islands should have at least one public hospital and a public school. Thomas was the first island to achieve that goal after the Lutherans bought the land for a hospital in 1743. Until 1782, the hospital constructed was the sole medical facility for the people of St. Thomas. To spread the word of the Lutheran gospel, the church printed texts and gave sermons in multiple languages, including English, Danish and Creole. By 1770, Pastor Erik Wold and J. Magens had the printings of Martin Luther's Small Catechism, a hymnal and a companion grammar text printed in Creole. In fact, the Creole languages were used predominately in St. Thomas until the 1840s. The last services to use the Danish language were held during the Christmas season, of 1930.
