I am attempting to locate a church called 'Saint Pauls Independent Lutheran Church' in Las Vegas NV?

While I doubt the church changed denominations (Lutherans don't like change much), it may have merged with another church and changed names. Independant Lutheran Churches as they exist now are not that old, so I doubt that church would have been afiliated with the diocese as it stands today. It is a diocese formed in about 2005.

If I were you, I'd contact several of the Lutheran Seminaries, including the ILC Seminary in Klamath Falls, Oregon, as well as the more established seminaries in the area, such as the Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkely, CA (ELCA) and the Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO (LCMS) are probably the closest. Some historian in either location may be able to help. Another thought is to contact someone in the Theology department at Valparaiso University (Valpo, IN) or Concordian University in Portland, Oregon and ask them about the existence of that church, what might have happened to it or where the records went.

I might also contact the Synod offices of the ELCA and LCMS in the Las Vegas area. They might know something as well.

Las Vegas is the marriage capital of the world. The strip contains hundreds of chapels which each having an organization name. Whenever a church applies for a ministers license they need to list the name of an organization either real or there own religious creation. "Independent Lutheran Church" probably means it was one such chapel as a true Lutheran church would not use "Independent". There is no such church in Las Vegas that people would attend for a mass. Additionally, the chapel itself would have gone by another name.

On the NV Secretary of the State of website there is a way to look up officiants or church or organizations licensed for marriage. I tried to look up the name of the church in the data base, but there doesn't appear to be any organization listed with that name furthering my suspicions that this was a fly by night chapel on the strip. Only a select few nostalgic wedding chapels from the 60's are in existence today. Also, there is only a St. Paul The Apostle Orthodox Church.

Public Minister Search

http://www.nvsos.gov/MinisterPublicApp/SearchHome....

Here are some suggestions to piece together that history:

1) Try thinking back to some of the stories that your parents may have told you. Did they ever mention eloping or running away? Did your grandparents not like one parent or the other? If the pictures don't add up then it is possible that they came to Las Vegas, got married in a simple ceremony, and then went back home to have a reception.

2) The name of the officiant should be listed and the marriage certificate. Try a search that way on the Secretary of State website. However, if your parents are now deceased then it is likely that the officiant is as well.

3) The address of the chapel should be listed on the marriage certificate. Do a search to see what is there now.

4) It might be that the church or chapel is still in existence, but under another organization name. If you have a picture of the church itself then try to see if a Las Vegas Historical Society has any in information on it. I would keep the research to Las Vegas history rather then a church history.

Here are some organizations who may be able to help:

http://www.neonmuseum.org/tour-info?gclid=CNfpwJXj...

http://lasvegashistorymuseum.org/

The church you are trying to find was likely a free standing chapel (not a chapel in a casino or anything). It was also likely to be on the Las Vegas strip. There was a local law in the 1970's that made it impossible to built a free standing chapel on the strip. There are only three chapels (that I can think of) still in existence today that meet this description: The Little Church of West, Viva Las Vegas Wedding Chapel, and the Little White Wedding Chapel. Try looking for more information about these and you might find what you are looking for.

This is really confusing. You say it's "listed" as the church, but on what? The marriage certificate? And how did the marriage certificate raise more questions?

I'm usually pretty good at digging stuff up, but it's hard to tell with this. One thing, though. Have you modified the search string? Like "Lutheran Church Las Vegas" or St. Pauls Church Clark County, etc. Sometimes they modify the name or even denomination, and if this happened not long after they got married, chances are people you talk to today won't know about that. Also, you mentioned photos. Are you looking at google images as well as web results? Are you plugging the street addresses you have into google and then checking both web results and images?

That's about all I've got without knowing what's not adding up! Also, try Bing as well as google.

Independent Lutheran Church

Hi, I have a similar problem, my aunt was married to a man at the St. Paul's Independent Lutheran Church in the state of Nevada in the county of clark. A Thomas J. Daly, pastor officiated. Please let me know what you found out about this church, so your parents were never really married? I have been trying to locate this marriage and man from the 1953. Please let me know what you found out. This is a mystery for us as my aunt is now 91 years old and her memory is just not remembering enough to answer my questions. Thank you for your time in advance.

Thanks to everyone who gave their input to this mindboggle....I have since discovered many things & the big one being that the 'marraige' was a sham (thus the reason dates & such were not adding together). I contacted as many Church officials as I could in both the Nevada area & surrounding areas only to confirm that the information presented (although listed on the 'Official Certificate') was bogus. Back in the early to mid 60's a good amount of $$$ could create ANYTHING for any reason.

Thanks for all the help :)