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CHAPTER XV.CHURCHES AND RELIGION. (CONT'D)From History of Audubon Co., Iowa (1915)
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ST. JOHN'S EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH (GERMAN).A constitution was adopted and the little band organized for effective Christian work. No meeting was held until the spring of 1876, when the congregation was increased by the addition of six new members, and from that time on the congregation continued a steady and healthy growth, the present membership being eighty-five, a majority of whom are heads of families. Rev. John Horn, at that time of Dexter, Iowa, was secured as the first pastor of this little flock. Services were held every four weeks in the public school houses, or in the homes of the members. In 1880 Rev. Fred Ehlers, a young man and a graduate of one of the Lutheran colleges, was called to take charge of the congregation. He accepted and proved to be such an energetic and faithful worker that in a short time the congregation grew to such proportions that the school houses would not accommodate it. In 1884, at a special meeting called to consider the matter, it was decided to erect a church edifice. Accordingly, plans were laid and a site selected, being the one where the church now stands, on the east side of the public highway between Audubon and Guthrie counties, in Grant township, Guthrie county. A church, thirty-six by fifty feet in size, was erected that year and has been in continuous use since. A few years later the congregation built a school house adjacent to the church, where both English and German languages are taught. After ten years of faithful and successful service. Rev. Ehlers was called to another field of labor and was succeeded by Rev. O. Clocter, who, for nineteen years, continued to minister to the flock, sharing its joys and sorrows, and adding many new members during his pastorate. In 1905 the congregation built a fine parsonage on a site on the west side of the public highway, in Audubon township. Five years later, Rev. Clocter accepted a call to Minnesota and Rev. A. H. Deletzke, the present pastor of the congregation, who at that time held a charge in Ft. Dodge, was called, and has very successfully continued his ministrations up to the present time. About two-thirds of the membership of this congregation live in Audubon county, principally in Audubon township, the remaining members living in Guthrie county. The present value of the church property, including the parsonage and school, is about ten thousand dollars. Regular services are held in the English and German languages. |
