Ocker Brethren Church

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, in my own words. Now settle in, because this is a story about faith that crossed an ocean and took root in Texas soil. In the late 1870s, Czech immigrant families came to eastern Bell County and put down stakes in a farming community called Ocker.

Among them were deeply devoted followers of the Unity of the Brethren faith, and for a while, they did what faithful people have always done when there's no building yet. They worshipped in each other's homes. Quiet, informal, personal.

But a congregation without a home of its own has a kind of longing to it, and that longing was about to get some encouragement. From 1884 to 1891, two ministers made annual visits out to Ocker. The Rev.

Henry Juren and the Rev. Bohuslav Emil Lacjak came year after year, and those visits did what good preaching tends to do. They stirred something.

They organized. In 1892, the Evangelical Congregation of the Bohemian and Moravian Brethren of Ocker was officially established. The next year, 1893, they erected their first church building, and the dedication was conducted by the Rev.

Juren, who had been making that long ride out since 1884, alongside the Rev. Adolph Chlumsky, noted in his own right as one of the early-day Czech community preachers. That same year, they established the church cemetery.

A congregation thinking about the future always makes room for its past. Now here is where the numbers start doing the talking. In 1900, the church counted 52 families in its membership.

By 1925, that number had grown to 92 families. That is a congregation with momentum, and momentum eventually needs more room. So in 1931, a new church and Sunday school building was erected right here at this site.

Then came a quieter kind of change, one that tells you everything about how a community grows and shifts over time. By mid-1940, English had replaced Czech as the language used in Sunday school and in worship services. The language of the old country, carried all the way from Bohemia and Moravia, had given way to the language of the land where those families had built their lives.

For decades, the congregation was served by part-time pastors, until 1981, when a full-time pastor was finally called. From a handful of immigrant families praying in each other's living rooms in the late 1870s, to a full congregation with a full-time pastor, a cemetery, and outreach programs reaching into the local community. That, friend, is what it looks like when people decide to stay.

What the marker says

A group of deeply devoted followers of the Unity of the Brethren faith were among the Czech immigrant families who settled in this area of eastern Bell County in the late 1870s and established the farming community of Ocker. The group initially worshipped informally in their homes. Annual visits from 1884 to 1891 by the Rev. Henry Juren and the Rev. Bohuslav Emil Lacjak encouraged them to organize. The Evangelical Congregation of the Bohemian and Moravian Brethren of Ocker was established in 1892. The dedication of their first church building, erected in 1893, was conducted by the Rev. Juren and the Rev. Adolph Chlumsky, noted early-day Czech community preachers. The church cemetery was established later that year. Membership in the church grew from 52 families in 1900 to 92 families in 1925. A new church/Sunday school building was erected at this site in 1931 to meet the spiritual needs of a growing congregation. By mid-1940, English had replaced Czech as the language used in Sunday school and worship services. The congregation was served by part-time pastors until 1981 when a full-time pastor was called. The church continues to serve the local community with spiritual guidance and outreach programs. (1994)