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Joliet church to celebrate 100th anniversary of worship services on the radio

For 100 years, St. Peter Evangelical Lutheran Church in Joliet has broadcast its Sunday worship service on local radio. Pictured are (from left) Steve Gannaway (retired from broadcast ministry after 33 years), and current announcers Jeff Chelini (27th year), Brian Nelson (second year) and Greg Ukovich (13th year). Not pictured: Bill Miller (retired after more than 29 years).

For 100 years, St. Peter Evangelical Lutheran Church in Joliet has broadcast its Sunday worship service on local radio. Pictured are (from left) Steve Gannaway (retired from broadcast ministry after 33 years), and current announcers Jeff Chelini (27th year), Brian Nelson (second year) and Greg Ukovich (13th year). Not pictured: Bill Miller (retired after more than 29 years). (Photo provided by St. Peter Evangelical Lutheran Church)

By Denise M. Baran-Unland

For 100 years, St. Peter Evangelical Lutheran Church in Joliet has broadcast its Sunday worship service on local radio.

On April 19, the church will celebrate the 100th anniversary of its broadcast ministry with a small display in its concourse.

The church itself, a member of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, was founded on May 24, 1857.

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“As far as we have been able to determine, our congregation’s broadcast is the oldest continuous Sunday morning religious radio broadcast in the nation,” said Mark Kroll, St. Peter’s church historian.

For 100 years, St. Peter Evangelical Lutheran Church in Joliet has broadcast its Sunday worship service on local radio. Jeff Chelini is seen in the radio booth in 2018.

For 100 years, St. Peter Evangelical Lutheran Church in Joliet has broadcast its Sunday worship service on local radio. Jeff Chelini is seen in the radio booth in 2018. (Photo provided by St. Peter Evangelical Lutheran Church)

The actual date of the first broadcast is April 18, 1926.

Kroll said the first radio broadcast took place over WCLS (WJOL’s predecessor station) for St. Peter’s English service only.

“The station’s letters stood for ‘Will County’s Largest Store,’ as the studios were located on the fifth floor of the Boston Store building in Joliet,” Kroll said.

For 100 years, St. Peter Evangelical Lutheran Church in Joliet has broadcast its Sunday worship service on local radio. Pictured is equipment from the early days.

For 100 years, St. Peter Evangelical Lutheran Church in Joliet has broadcast its Sunday worship service on local radio. Pictured is equipment from the early days. (Photo provided by St. Peter Evangelical Lutheran Church)

J. Fred Hoffman served as chief radio announcer, and Elmer Pritz served as appointed program director.

At the time, St. Peter’s offered two services, one in English (9:30 a.m.) and one in German, Kroll said.

In 1945, St. Peter’s constructed a radio booth and moved broadcast time to the 10:45 service.

From 1955 to 1972, the church also broadcast Lutheran Vespers at 7 p.m. on Tuesdays.

From 1966 to 1978, St. Peter’s worship service was also broadcast over WJOL-FM, now WLLI.

Over time, the actual broadcasting transitioned from “live” to reel-to-reel tape, cassette tape, CDs and finally to simply transferring files from a computer to WJOL.

For 100 years, St. Peter Evangelical Lutheran Church in Joliet has broadcast its Sunday worship service on local radio. Pictured is the current broadcast equipment.

For 100 years, St. Peter Evangelical Lutheran Church in Joliet has broadcast its Sunday worship service on local radio. Pictured is the current broadcast equipment. (Photo provided by St. Peter Evangelical Lutheran Church )

Currently, the 9 a.m. service broadcasts at 11 a.m. over WJOL 1340 AM. A total of 19 radio announcers and directors have served in the broadcast ministry over the past 100 years.

“Not only has our broadcast been deeply appreciated by our homebound and hospitalized members, but – over the years – people with no connection to St. Peter’s, Joliet, some from as far as 75 to 100 miles away, have contacted us and told us how much the broadcast has meant to them,” Kroll said.

Today, three radio announcers manage streaming the worship service: Jeff Chelini (27th year), Brian Nelson (second year) and Greg Ukovich (13th year).

A total of 19 radio announcers and directors have served in the broadcast ministry over the past 100 years.

Steve Gannaway, who served St. Peter Evangelical Lutheran Church in Joliet's broadcast ministry for 33 years, is seen using the broadcast equipment in 1982.

Steve Gannaway, who served St. Peter Evangelical Lutheran Church in Joliet's broadcast ministry for 33 years, is seen using the broadcast equipment in 1982. (Photo provided by St. Peter Evangelical Lutheran Church)

“We can never sufficiently thank God for allowing us the privilege of bringing the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to others over the airwaves for the last one hundred years,” Kroll said. “May God, in His grace and mercy, continue to richly bless this radio ministry for many years to come.”

St. Peter Evangelical Lutheran Church is located at 310 N. Broadway St. in Joliet, where the Rev. David W. Totsky is pastor.

For more information, call 815-722-3567 or visit stpeterjoliet.org.

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Denise Unland

Denise M. Baran-Unland

Denise M. Baran-Unland is the features editor for The Herald-News in Joliet. She covers a variety of human interest stories. She also writes the long-time weekly tribute feature “An Extraordinary Life about local people who have died. She studied journalism at the College of St. Francis in Joliet, now the University of St. Francis.