Bethesda Lutheran Church (LCMS)

1537 Baltimore Ave
Hot Springs, SD 57747


Builder: Kilgen Organ Co., circa 1910.
Manuals: 2
Ranks: 4
Action: Unknown

NOTES: Originally located at the VA Medical Center Auditorium, known as "U. S. Home for Disabled Soldiors." The Kilgen pipe organ was moved to Bethesda Lutheran Church, Hot Springs, SD in 1957. Information from Eric A. Fiss (2004). Organ Historical Society as of 2020.

The roots of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod trace back to 1847, when Saxon and other German immigrants established a new church body in America, seeking the freedom to practice and follow confessional Lutheranism. Initial members, which included 12 pastors representing 14 congregations from Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Michigan, New York and Ohio, signed the church body’s constitution on April 26, 1847, at First Saint Paul Lutheran Church in Chicago, Ill. Originally named The German Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio and Other States, the name was shortened to The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod in 1947 on the occasion of our 100th anniversary.mary occupation of most of its members is still farming. Organ Historical Society as of 2020.

The first photo (from Facebook) shows the base of the organ case and a bit of the toes of the facade pipes. No other organ pictures were found on the Facebook picture pages.