Change of Name
Some time during the twenty-six years of ministry of Rev. Joseph Misicka (1909-1935), the name of the church was changed from the "Ceska Evangelicka Cirkev" to the "Blue River Valley Church." The new name was chosen to be more symbolic of the community it serves.
Annual Homecoming Instituted
On the last Sunday in June 1930, the custom of the Annual Blue River Valley Church Homecoming and Reunion was established. Not only is the event a time of reunion, but also a time to reach out to new friends. Homecoming has for decades featured guest speakers and special music during services in both the morning and afternoon. A huge midday potluck picnic has become an institution for the time between the services. The most important culinary duty assigned to anyone at the picnic has become that of the "Official Homecoming Lemonade Master." To partake of homecoming lemonade has been characterized by some as one of the greatest "blessings" of homecoming, so its concoction has been traditionally entrusted to only the eldest male members of the congregation.
The Sixty-Fifth Anniversary
By the time the sixty-fifth anniversary of the church was celebrated on 30 June 1935, a number of milestones had been reached. Despite trying social changes and a debilitating economic depression, the church saw steady growth in membership and a developing spirituality. Gradually the older Czech people had been passing on and their descendants inter-marrying with the non-Czech Americans to whom the Czech language was foreign. Slowly the order of service changed from Czech to English.
The Little Church in the Valley
At the One Hundredth Anniversary, held in June of 1970, there were still a lot of the older members of the church who spoke and understood the Bohemian language of their parents and grandparents. They continued to make the old Czech foods and bring them to the church dinners. Most of the names on the church membership lists were of Czech origin.
In the years since then, much of what was Bohemian has faded. New limbs and branches have sprouted from these old Bohemian roots and different "American" shoots with dissimilar origins and traditions also have been grafted onto the old trunk. This tree bears a rich diversity of fruit for the Lord and will continue to thrive and be bountiful as it is fed with the Word, watered with Love, warmed by the light of the Spirit, protected from the weeds and vines of ungodly influence and given room to grow.