Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Henrietta UCC 140 years of Ministry




I grew up in an area that described itself by the name of the township.  When I tell people that I am from Henrietta, Ohio they look puzzled.  Not many people have even heard of it.  Henrietta United Church of Christ is my home church.  It began as a German Reformed Congregation in 1873.  They are having a celebration in honor of their 140th anniversary on October 13th.  Unfortunately, I will not be able to be with them due to my weekly Sunday commitments. They asked me to write something up about the impact of the church on my faith journey as I am the only member to enter ordained ministry from the church. After reading my comments,  someone told me that I should add them to my blog.  So here are my reflections in honor of my home church's 140th anniversary.

Henrietta friends,

Most of the important things that happen to us in life happen beyond our choosing.  Some people call these” random events” or “accidents of birth” or “good fortune” or “circumstances beyond our control.”  Scripture calls the ordinary circumstances of our lives that shape us, “God's plan”. So it came to be that Chester and Donna Franklin found a home to rent on Garfield road between Green and Gore Orphanage roads in 1950 when my sister Christine was two and my second sister Joyce was on the way.  In 1959, they built a home on the adjacent lot, which by virtue of its location to Henrietta UCC shaped the life of the baby born to them that same year. 

The symbolism of the design of the Church itself served as a spiritual reminder for me.  As a kid, I would ride my bike back and forth on Garfield Road, circling the church parking lot and then gaining speed for  "the hill" just past Charles and Idabelle Berg's house where a small creek passed under the road.  The creek afforded me with the entertainment of snails, frogs, turtles and other such critters that were attracted to it.

As the sun sets in the evening, the shadow of the steeple lengthens down Garfield road in a way that points to some unseen spiritual reality.  In addition to the astronomical observatory that my father and I enjoyed on the lot beside our house,  the steeple of the church was a true landmark and cornerstone of my life.  The steeples’ presence assured me of  the reality of spiritual things and has had an enduring influence in my life. 

There was something about the one third/ two third yoke with St. John's in South Amherst that caused the members at Henrietta to take special responsibility and care for the white church by the road. I was a teenager when the extra classroom and bathrooms were completed.  Most of the work was done by members and Ben Krysik asked me to crawl into the unfinished basement and shovel slag through the opening for the basement floor. 

The Henrietta Youth always put on a large Christmas play production each year and I still remember some of the parts that I had. Dianna Krysik took a great deal of interest in the spiritual care of the Youth in Youth Fellowship during those years.  A few days before high school graduation, I spent my eighteenth birthday in the gravel parking lot beside the church as the youth held a square dance and later shared a cake to help me celebrate.  On Father's Day, a week after graduating from High School, Rev. Lawrence asked me to preach the sermon in honor of both occasions. 

Confirmation with Rev. Wilbur Stell was fun as classes were held with me, Randy Ronez and Dianna Hawke.  Some classes and trips were held with the St. John's Confirmands as well. During the winter we had snowball fights in the St. John's parking lot and later, I played baseball against a number of those students in High School.  Rev. Stell gave me a card that I carried with me for a long time which read, “ Only one life will soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last. For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain.”  St. Paul’s little phrase, “For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21) has meant a lot to me over the years in many different and surprising ways.

Christmas Eve Candlelight services were also special.  It was always a central part of our family Christmas celebration. I have good memories of standing next to my Dad on Christmas Eve singing Carols. (He didn't usually like to sing, but he enjoyed Christmas carols. We tried to get to church early so that we could sit in "our" pew, which was on the far side of the east/west aisle where I could wiggle and my Dad could stretch out his legs.) All of these experiences led to my developing sense of call to ministry and interest in the church.

As a youth, I remember the kindness of the Berg brothers, Roger McCartney, Tom Hawke, Don Krebs, Ray Brown (For whom I also baled hay) and others,  who asked me how things were going and how school was coming along.  As my Mother began to suffer from memory problems, on one Sunday in 2004, I determined to bring her to worship in Henrietta.  She thoroughly enjoyed it and until her death in 2007, despite the fact that she couldn't remember much of anything else, she would always ask me, “Do you remember that time we went to church in Henrietta?”   My Mom's life, from 21 to 78, was enriched by the friends she made at Henrietta UCC. I can't imagine who my parents would be without the church in the center of their lives.

Rev. Paul Eaton deserves our gratitude for faithfully serving in the yoked parish since 1990. I can't write these things without mentioning the importance of Henrietta UCC connecting me to the larger United Church of Christ.  I can't imagine how my life may have been different without the collective impact of the UCC and its commitment to justice and peace  for people in need here and throughout the world.  Over the years, the UCC has provided a vital connection with faithful people trying to live out the Gospel in a changing world.  I am grateful for the connections made and retained since those early days in Henrietta church and the opportunities for spiritual growth and service that have continued since.

Throughout my ministry I have kept a reminder of Henrietta in my office. At a dinner that you held for me in 1981 when I left Ohio to attend Eden Seminary in St. Louis, the congregation presented me with a wooden plaque with the following  poem written in script;
Great is the power of might and mind
But only love can make us kind
And all we are or hope to be
 is empty pride and vanity
If love is not a part of all,
the greatest man is very small.
A fitting summary of faith at Henrietta church!  Please excuse the length of this note, as  I originally planned much less, but I have a lot of memories on that short stretch of road. 
God bless you all as you celebrate 140 years of ministry!!

Sincerely,

Rev. Dr. Kevan S. Franklin
Pastor, Trinity UCC
Wooster, Ohio




Henrietta UCC Celebrates 140 years

On Sunday, October 13, the Henrietta UCC will celebrate 140 years of faith and ministry beginning at 11:00 a.m. with Rev. Paul Eaton leading the service. Located at 52861 Garfield Road, Birmingham, the church is on the corner of Garfield and Green, and about a mile south of SR 113. The public is invited to a special worship service, followed by light refreshments and a time to view the special displays and exhibits that range from 1873 to the present time. 

Founded by a group of German and Swiss immigrants, the history of this little country church is intertwined with that of Vermilion, Brownhelm, Birmingham, Florence, Berlin Heights, Mitiwanga, and later So. Amherst.  It’s the story of families who shared the German Reformed faith and arrived in the area between 1840 – 1860.  These immigrants cleared and farmed the land; worked in the quarries, on the railroads, and in the Lake Erie fisheries; and started small industries and businesses in the area.  It’s also the story of one particular family, Adam and Mary (Englebry) Latteman, and their German Reformed pastor, Rev. Gerhardt Kuhlen. 

Adam had arrived in the U.S. about 1851, married Mary Englebry and had children in Brownhelm and Vermilion.  Rev. Kuhlen was serving the Vermilion German Reformed church as well as the one at Brownhelm Station.  When Adam bought property in what many referred to as the “German Settlement” in Henrietta Township, he invited Rev. Kuhlen to come and hold worship services in homes in 1872.  By early 1873, Adam had convinced many of his neighbors that they needed a place for baptisms, weddings, funerals, and weekly worship in their neighborhood.  Land was donated by Heinrich Heidrich, over 22 families gave money, a cornerstone was laid in May, and a 28 x 40 building was completed and dedicated in September.  There were 60 members, mostly from Henrietta and Florence Townships, and Rev. Kuhlen was elected as the pastor.  He served this church, as well as the Vermilion and Brownhelm churches, until the end of 1874 when Henrietta called Rev. Johannes B. Braun, who had arrived from Germany just 5 years before.

But Rev. Kuhlen wasn’t done.  He and some of the Vermilion parishioners thought there should also be a church near Mitiwanga and Ceylon so he started a 4th church on April 4, 1874, with services being held in the District School House, Vermilion Twp, for the first six years.  The German Reformed Church of Mitiwanga was built in 1880 at the corner of Frailey and West Lake Roads, and renovated in 1905.  (The building is still there but is now privately owned.)  The Henrietta and Mitiwanga churches soon decided to share a pastor and they were a “charge” until 1952.   In 1902, a parsonage was built at East Drive and Lake Road.  In the 1890’s and until about 1918, the pastor would hold Sunday morning service, get on the Lake Shore Electric interurban at Stop 147 in front of the Mitiwanga church, take it to Berlin Hts, switch to the Green Line Interurban and get off at Stop 13 on the Altmiller farm, just east of the Henrietta church. 

In 1920, the size of the church doubled with the addition of a parish hall, nursery, and kitchen.  The sanctuary was turned to face the west, the balcony was removed, the front door was moved to the new addition, and 13 stained glass windows were installed on all four sides of the building.  They soon had electricity as well, with poles running along the interurban line from the Birmingham substation. 

In 1934, the German Reformed and the German Evangelical churches decided to join together and form the Evangelical and Reformed church.  It took several years to work out the differences and write a constitution so it wasn’t until 1942 until the Henrietta church officially became the Henrietta E & R.  But until that time, it had been referred to by several other names – The First Reformed Church of Henrietta Township, near Birmingham, Ohio; the Henrietta Reformed Church near Birmingham; the Birmingham Reformed Church, near Birmingham; and even the Birmingham E & R Church

In 1952, Henrietta became part of the NE Ohio Synod of the E&R Church, while the Mitiwanga church remained with the NW Ohio Synod.  Henrietta was then yoked with a former German Evangelical church, St. John’s of So. Amherst. The two churches came together to build a parsonage in So. Amherst, which was dedicated on January 31, 1954.   Today, St. John’s and Henrietta can celebrate being a yoked parish for 61 years. 

The UCC was formed in 1957 but Henrietta’s name did not change until it was incorporated as the Henrietta United Church of Christ in 1961.  In 1958, the kitchen was remodeled and two years later the sanctuary was again turned to face the south, the ceilings were lowered and a folding door was installed to divide the sanctuary from the parish hall.  The renovation was dedicated Nov. 6, 1960.  Ten years later fifteen new pews were purchased and dedicated.

Thanks to Ben Krysik, the last renovation was completed in 1976 adding two new classrooms, a small basement and, for the first time in 103 years, indoor restrooms!  As with all the other projects, it was the church council, the Women’s Guild, the Sunday School, and the Youth Fellowship members all working and sacrificing together that made it possible.

Kathy Bruns, the great-great granddaughter of Adam and Mary Latteman, has written a history of the church that will be available at the celebration.  She says, “Our history is, of course, the stories of those who have passed through the doors of this church over the years.  The lives of twenty-two ministers and hundreds of families have intersected here as they worshiped, worked, celebrated, grieved, prayed, and served together. It is a story of sacrificing, giving, and modeling for each other and their children how to extend grace, show mercy, and live out the love of Jesus Christ. From this little church, there are believers scattered all over the country and the world, serving where they have been planted and spreading the Gospel through word and deed.  We are coming together to celebrate the fact that the stories of our ancestors are still being written. If your story intersects with ours, I’d love to hear from you – kibruns@gmail.com.”    



Contact information for the newspaper:
Kathy Bruns, PO Box 567, Angola IN 46703
260-905-6763 cell

Thank you!  

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