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Audubon County |
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CHAPTER XV.CHURCHES AND RELIGION. (CONT'D)From History of Audubon Co., Iowa (1915)
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GERMAN EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN TRINITY CHURCH, LINCOLN TOWNSHIP.On January 2, 1881, under the supervision of Rev. W. Mallon, missionary of the German Evangelical Lutheran Missouri synod, these people organized the Evangelical Lutheran Trinity Church of Lincoln township. This congregation has, through all these thirty-four years of its existence, stood devoutly in practice as well as in theory, for the true Lutheran doctrine, as contained in the Bible and preached by Dr. Martin Luther and his followers. The congregation is a member of the well-known Evangelical Lutheran synod of Missouri, Ohio, and other States, consisting of 2,978 organized and 1,127 unorganized congregations, a total of 4,105, with 2,535 ministers and professors. The first board of trustees and elders elected were, Aug Polzin, Hum Polzin, John Polzin, Hy Borkowski, Alb Polzin, Kienst Sen, George Baldsen and George Schroeder. Subsequent to the work of Revs. Oehlert and Mallon, the congregation called, at intervals, Rev. Fred Ehlers, of Adair, Iowa, on June 20, 1881; Rev. Jul Dickman, of Atlantic, Iowa, on August 13, 1882, then, after a vacancy of four months, Rev. Anthon Ehlers, of Ellingwood, Kansas, on December 26, 1886. He served the congregation with great faithfulness and satisfaction for a period of nearly nineteen years, finally resigning on account of nervous prostration. Rev. J. P. Guenther, of Boone, Iowa, was then called and served for six and a half years, when, in the latter part of 1912, the present pastor, Rev. E. J. W. Starck, was called. The membership of this congregation underwent the trials and hardships incident to the early settlers of the county, but, true to their aim to serve in this their adopted country, not only their families, but also their country as good and law-abiding citizens and Christians, they strove with all their power to uphold, build up, enlarge and strengthen their church for their own eternal blessing. So, on January 20, 1884, they began building, on section 27, Lincoln township, their first church edifice, a structure thirty by fifty feet in size, which was dedicated on July 6, 1884. This building was twice damaged by storm. The congregation, having outgrown this building, it was turned into a school house and, on the 2nd day of June, 1901, it was replaced by a larger and more costly church edifice, thirty-six by seventy-two feet in size, with a spire ninety-two feet high. The cost of the first building was eight hundred dollars and the new one about five thousand dollars. This church, after being in use twelve years, was razed to the foundation and totally destroyed by the tornado that laid Omaha in ruins, on Easter day, March 23, 1913, nothing but a glass picture and the bell being unbroken. But, with a large faith in God, this people again went to work with a will and, Phoenix-like, there arose from the ruins another beautiful edifice, and on the 26th of October, 1913, a grand dedication of the new church took place. It is a more costly structure, costing nine thousand dollars, with inclined floor and very finely decorated, and equipped with furniture to the amount of two thousand dollars. In 1884 a well-appointed parsonage consisting of nine rooms and hall was built near by on section 22. The regularly attended school of the congregation is taught by the pastor from September till June of each year, excepting one month allowed for cornpicking. The attendance the past year was forty-seven scholars. With the number of four hundred and fifty souls, there are about two hundred members and the voting members number thirty-six. Under the supervision of the Rev. E. J. W. Starck, the elders are Ludw Borkowski and William Berg; the board of trustees are Aug. Brown, Alb Rudwick and Aug. Kienast; cashier, G. F. Borkowski; secretary, Otto Rudnick; chairman, Louis Grotekeschen. A number of the members of this congregation having residence in Audubon, services are held there every two weeks on Sunday aftrnoon [sic afternoon], in the Danish church. All worship is conducted in the German language. In the school, both English and German are taught. |
