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The Birthplace of Effingham County

Saving Grace The Show

Saving Grace The Show

“The Jerusalem Evangelical Lutheran Church is located on the banks of the Savannah River about 30 miles above Savannah. The historic brick edifice is the oldest church building in Georgia and sometimes it is called the oldest public building in the state.

The church was organized in Augsburg, Germany, in 1733 with the Reverend John Martin Bolzius and the Reverend Israel Christian Gronau as pastors. Both are buried in the church cemetery. The members had been exiled from their homes in Salzburg, Austria, and were looking for a place to live and worship. In England the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge sponsored their passage to the new world and the first ship arrived in Savannah on March 12, 1734.

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Information From Saving Grace The Show