A Pastor Arrives
In 1870, Dr. John Zvolanek from Texas was invited to be the pastor of the new Lutheran Church. One his most attractive attributes to the community was that he was willing to serve at a meager salary. Besides being a trained and experienced minister, he was also a physician. He was described as having "a strong and courageous character," and was "a good organizer and efficient leader."
According to Joseph Frank Machotka in his history of 1935, "He quickly realized that these two little church groups should make one congregation because they represented one faith, spoke one and the same language, and in truth had been neighbors in old Bohemia and were neighbors here."
Creation of the Bohemian Evangelical Church
After discussing it with the members of the Boards of Trustees of both churches, Rev. Zvolanek proposed on Sunday, May 22, 1870, immediately following a joint service of both congregations in the Lutheran Church, that the Reformed Church and the Lutheran Church should unite as a single church and congregation. After a short discussion, an agreement was drawn up creating the "Ceska Evangelicha Cirkev" (The Bohemian Evangelical Church). This document became the first and most important document in the history of the church. The agreement was written in the Czech language and many of the signatures were made in the old Slavic and German script.
Rev. Zvolanek served the church for ten years after the consolidation. For forty-four years the frame church, built in 1869 served the congregation and the descendants of the signatories.
Building the "New" Brick Church Building
Since by 1913 the church membership had outgrown the capacity of the old frame
building, the present brick structure was erected. The new building was made possible
through the generous contributions of the members of the church and its friends in the
area with a total of $4,000 given.
Many members of the church gave numerous days of labor in excavation or construction of the building. Their hard work and planning held the entire cost of the construction to $4,000. When the new building was dedicated in November of 1913, the Bohemian heritage of the church was obvious with the program for the event printed in both the Czech and English languages.
In 1870, Dr. John Zvolanek from Texas was invited to be the pastor of the new Lutheran Church. One his most attractive attributes to the community was that he was willing to serve at a meager salary. Besides being a trained and experienced minister, he was also a physician. He was described as having "a strong and courageous character," and was "a good organizer and efficient leader."
According to Joseph Frank Machotka in his history of 1935, "He quickly realized that these two little church groups should make one congregation because they represented one faith, spoke one and the same language, and in truth had been neighbors in old Bohemia and were neighbors here."
Creation of the Bohemian Evangelical Church
After discussing it with the members of the Boards of Trustees of both churches, Rev. Zvolanek proposed on Sunday, May 22, 1870, immediately following a joint service of both congregations in the Lutheran Church, that the Reformed Church and the Lutheran Church should unite as a single church and congregation. After a short discussion, an agreement was drawn up creating the "Ceska Evangelicha Cirkev" (The Bohemian Evangelical Church). This document became the first and most important document in the history of the church. The agreement was written in the Czech language and many of the signatures were made in the old Slavic and German script.
Rev. Zvolanek served the church for ten years after the consolidation. For forty-four years the frame church, built in 1869 served the congregation and the descendants of the signatories.
Building the "New" Brick Church Building
Since by 1913 the church membership had outgrown the capacity of the old frame
building, the present brick structure was erected. The new building was made possible
through the generous contributions of the members of the church and its friends in the
area with a total of $4,000 given.
Many members of the church gave numerous days of labor in excavation or construction of the building. Their hard work and planning held the entire cost of the construction to $4,000. When the new building was dedicated in November of 1913, the Bohemian heritage of the church was obvious with the program for the event printed in both the Czech and English languages.
History Continued
