125 years: Zion reaches milestone

Paul Downer, Annandale Advocate Managing Editor

Starting from a handful of German-heritage families banding together to form a place of worship in 1888, Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church of Annandale's roots run deep.

The Zion congregation will be celebrating its 125th anniversary on Sunday, Sept. 29.

An appreciation for the church's history are evident in the preservation of an early pastor's Bible and other artifacts, the inclusion of pews and benches from the first church building in the balcony and welcome area of the current building, and the ringing of the church's original bell from Germany each Sunday.

Most of all, however, the value placed on that heritage is evident in the ongoing use of the church's original record book, which has a handwritten account of every birth, baptism, confirmation, wedding and death of congregation members from 1888 to 2013.

How has the church managed to retain its vitality over that century and more?

"My answer is that we are faithful to the word of God, and that's the focus," said Pastor Thomas Queck, who is in his 25th year of leading the congregation. 

"We have strong people of the faith - devoted members," added Linda Truenow, a member of Zion's 125th anniversary committee.

Fidelity to God's word is what has kept the church relevant despite the many cultural shifts that have occurred since the 1880s, according to Queck, and no pastor has served Zion for a longer stretch of time.

"We don't go off and follow the trends of the day. We stay to the course of his word," he said.

In the beginning

The first services were held in the German language, with Rev. F. H. Kolbe of Howard Lake visiting private homes in Corinna Township.

Zion was incorporated on Oct. 1, 1888, with charter members Andrew Kuhnley, George Kuhnley and Albert Greisbach and their families.

George Kuhnley donated two acres of land at the corner of County Road 39 and Sugar Lake Road, now Ireland Avenue NW, and the first church building was constructed the same year.

In the first decade a succession of four ministers who lived in Fair Haven and served the Concordia church also traveled out to Corinna Township for regular services.

Zion started an English and German school in 1897. The school continued until 1949, the year after the original church building was moved into town to Zion's present property.

The church welcomed its first resident pastor, Gustav Waack, in 1898, and all services were held in the German language until 1925.

While the cultural background of Zion and other Annandale churches has been diluted over the years, Queck said he believed that St. John's Lutheran Church originally consisted of mostly Scandinavian members, and that St. Ignatius, which had its beginnings in French Lake, had many early members from a French background.

Moving to town

In 1948, in order to be closer to the majority of its congregation members, the entire church building was moved into Annandale. A decade later, the current brick building was constructed and the first services were held Christmas Eve, 1958.

Highlights of the new building included the large stained glass cross at the front of the sanctuary, as well as a custom-made Hunt six-rank organ, which was added during the 1970s. In later years the organ was upgraded to a 24-rank instrument with the aid of electronic technology.

The narthex addition was built and dedicated in 1989, thus adding space for offices, an entry area and a fellowship hall. 

The old church building, which occupied a site that is now an open lot, was sold and converted into apartments. In 1999 the church repurchased the lot and the original building and used it for housing for a short time. The building had deteriorated to such an extent by that time, however, that it was eventually torn down in 2008.

A constant record

Through it all, the rhythms of life were captured by the church's record book, which shows the change over from German to English in its carefully scripted entries.

The book contains records of 966 baptisms, 899 confirmands, 323 weddings and 371 funerals.

"You can tell when the hard times were when you look at the funerals and see some of those ages of the children who died young in the 1880s and '90s," said Truenow. "It was such a hard time. Life was hard."

One of the more notable services was held for Ralph H. Gordon in 1944. He was killed in Italy during World War II, the only member of the church to die in action in any war.

In more recent years, Queck has seen his share of heartache too. Of the 371 total funerals, he has conducted 125 of them.

A similar handwritten book contains the church constitution, written in German, of course.

Members of the 125th anniversary committee laughed about the fact that its records are still hand-written rather than stored on a computer when interviewed last week, and also called attention to the meticulous hand-written script of the early years.

Pastor Queck joked about having to use white-out if a mistake is made with the most recent entries, and noted there were few slip-ups in the early years.

"They never made mistakes back then," he said. Then, by way of explanation he added, "They were Germans."

Celebration day

Now a congregation of about 200 traditional and new families, Zion plans on celebrating its milestone this Sunday with a worship service at 10 a.m. 

The guest speaker will be Dean Nadasdy, president of the Minnesota South District of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod.

Following the service, a catered dinner open to all will begin at about 11:30 a.m., but anyone who does not regularly attend the church should contact the office so the proper amount of food will be available.

A special service of praise and prayer will be held at 2 p.m., and the whole community is invited to attend and share stories of life events that have a connection to Zion.

"The preaching of the word and the sacraments, that's our focus," said Queck. "We serve God, we worship him, and he has blessed us."