Our Church History: 175 Years in the Making

Check out our 175th Anniversary Tidbit Archives here.

Amanda Roedl adjusts the first of the 12 new banners that she and her daughter, Kaley, are making to help celebrate our 175th anniversary.
For more photos of anniversary activities, check out the Anniversary Year Photos I and Anniversary Year Photos II pages.
Countdown to November 4, 2023
Gathering information from our 175-year history began in 2019 when Pastor Ron Jansen, his wife, Becky, and Jill Phegley began to sift through stacks of paperwork, records, notes, photos, and books from our church files and archives.
Jill has continued that work, and now she and Diann Scherle are organizing and preparing the information for a history book to be available this fall.
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Information boards, memorabilia, and congregational artifacts are on display in our mini-museum just inside the east entrance to the church.
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Weekly Highlights
Each week we highlight, in chronological order, information from one or more years of our congregation’s history beginning in 1848.
This week’s tidbits come from 2007-2010: In 2007, the church bricks were resealed at a cost of $7,600. A pictorial church directory was completed in 2009. The Art Wegener family replaced the beeswax altar candles with oil candles in 2010.
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Monthly Highlights
Members of the Anniversary Committee are also working on special monthly activities throughout the year.
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Each month new banners will commemorate a different aspect of our congregation's history. Amanda Roedl and her daughter, Kaley, are designing and making the banners.
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The September banner features Isaiah 54:13 - All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children.
On September 3, celebrated 175 years of Sunday School by remembering past and current Sunday School teachers and students in our congregation. Before the service, we gathered in the Fellowship Hall to enjoy sweet treats, coffee, juice, and Bible Bingo! There were great prizes for students and teachers of all ages :-)
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Special thanks to Anniversary Committee Members: Nancy Kruse, Marlene Ling, Jill Phegley, Amanda Roedl, and Diann Scherle