Friedens Church of Washington, UCC

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Friedens Church of Washington, UCC, out in Washington County. Now, some churches arrive in a place fully formed, with stained glass and a steeple and a name nobody's going to argue with. Friedens Church was not that kind of church.

No sir. This one came into the world the hard way, one small step at a time, and the story of how it got there is worth every mile of road between here and there. After the Civil War, German settlers began moving into Washington County in real numbers.

Families putting down roots, building lives, and before long, feeling the pull of something they'd left behind, a church community where they could worship in the language they knew best. In 1888, a man named Rev. Klindworth heard that call.

Several German families in the county had sent up a plea, and Klindworth answered it. He began holding services, and those services did what good preaching sometimes does. They lit a fire.

The community decided they needed something permanent. So they made a practical decision, practical in the way that only people with limited resources and large ambitions can be. They would build a church and a school building together, a mile and a half south of Washington.

And they would hire one full-time minister who would pull double duty, serving as pastor and school teacher both. For economic reasons, the marker says. Which is a polite way of saying they were doing a lot with what they had.

They approved a minister from the Evangelical Synod of America, and in 1890, Rev. David Buchmueller arrived to take on both roles at once. The church was officially organized in October of 1890, and they named it Friedens Evangelical Church.

A good, solid name. Meaningful to the German-speaking congregation. But here's where things get a little interesting.

Members outside that German heritage heard the name, and they heard it differently. Misunderstood it, actually. So when the deed was drawn up, the name written down was the German Evangelical Freemans Church.

Two names for one congregation, right from the beginning. And the building itself? The marker doesn't dress it up.

It was little more than a shell. No ceiling. No interior furnishings to speak of.

Just walls and will. But congregations have a way of building on what they start with. During the tenure of Rev.

Tesch, the church added a steeple and a sixteen-foot addition. That shell started filling out. The church was incorporated in 1899.

In 1904, the church was separated from the school, those two missions that had been bound together since the beginning finally going their own ways. And then in 1911, a new church was built, along with a Browns Prairie School building, and the marker says it plainly: that separation became forever. For generations, services were held in German.

Then in 1922, they began holding one English service a month. Just one. But change moves the way rivers move, steady and in one direction.

By 1960, services had fully transitioned to English. The name kept evolving too. It became Friedens United Church of Christ.

Then in 1995, it was renamed Friedens Church of Washington, UCC, the name it carries today. One plea from a handful of German families in Washington County. One itinerant minister named Klindworth riding out to hold services in 1888.

And out of that, a church that's still standin', still going, still carrying the memory of the community that built it. That's not a small thing. That's the whole thing.

What the marker says

Organized in 1890, the Friedens Church served the German immigrant community of Washington County. Following the Civil War an influx of German settlers moved to Washington County. In 1888, Rev. Klindworth began to hold services in response to a plea from several German families living in Washington County. His services inspired the people of the community to form a permanent church group. They decided to build a church and school building a mile and a half south of Washington. A full-time minister was hired, who would also serve as the school teacher for economic reasons. The members approved for a minister from the Evangelical Synod of America and, in 1890, Rev. David Buchmueller arrived to work as pastor and school teacher. The church as officially organized in October 1890 and named Friedens Evangelical Church. Members not of German heritage misunderstood the name, and the deed named it the German Evangelical Freemans Church. The church building was little more than a shell, without a ceiling or interior furnishings. During the tenure of Rev. Tesch, the church added a steeple and 16 ft. addition. The church was incorporated in 1899, and in 1904, the church was separated from the school. In 1911, a new church was built along with a Browns Prairie School building thus forever separating the church and school. Originally held in German, with one English service a month beginning in 1922, church services gradually transitioned to English by 1960. The church name was changed to Friedens United Church of Christ until 1995, when it was renamed Friedens Church of Washington, UCC. This historic church is a reminder of the area's German heritage and legacy. (2014)