Peace United Church kicks off 150th years of service, faith, fellowship

     Peace United Church of Christ in Monticello, originally known as German Reformed Church, is celebrating its 150^th anniversary this year.

   “We celebrate the church based on when the cornerstone was laid,” noted Church Secretary Angela Seemann. “The church was built by the people here. It is the people who come together.”

   The cornerstone of the church was laid on June 13, 1875. Construction on this “new church” was completed and dedicated on Oct. 31, 1875.

   Recently, the Express sat down with Pastor Frank Shepherd, Jr. and members of the 150^th Committee (Jan Schneiter, Angela Seemann, Randy and Sue Brokaw, and Betty Hasler) to discuss their year-long plans to celebrate and honor the church’s history and heritage. (Also serving the committee are church board members Michelle McDonald, president; Brian Seemann, vice president; and Peggy Cleeton, treasurer.)

   The church kicked off its 150^th anniversary in January with the annual meeting.

   “That kind of kicked it off with discussions about what we’re going to do throughout the year,” said Seemann.

   In February, they held “Sweet Harmony Sunday,” an all-music service. Members of the church of all ages performed songs or sang various selections throughout the morning.

   “It was beautiful,” remarked Shepherd. “It was basically celebrating music. We had some congregational requests, too.”

   “A lot of it was historical music,” added Randy.

   “The choir sang two specific songs that were relative to 1875,” said Seemann.

   Peace Church’s next celebration service will take place Sunday, March 30, at 10 a.m. This service will honor the church’s German heritage. They’re calling is “Guten Tag (good day) and God’s Grace.”

   “We found a German prayer and a German blessing,” said Seemann. “We’re trying to bring in a German translator from the University of Iowa.

   “The other project we’ve been working on is interviewing members, people who’ve been with the church,” she continued. “One member talks about how the church used to have German services. It used to all be in German and then it was German-English.”

   “A big share of the congregation was German; German-Swiss is what it amounts to,” Randy said.

   The service will include traditional German hymns, prayers, a video and stories highlighting the church’s past, and a German feast (bratwurst, sauerkraut, pretzels, and strudel).

   So many of Monticello’s churches, of many denominations, have German roots. Peace Church is no different…

   The history of the church appeared in the Monticello sesquicentennial book from 1986.

   In 1870, a Rev. George Retting of Dubuque came to Monticello “to preach the gospel to the German-speaking people of this community.” At that time, just four families “desired to conduct regular worship services.”

   “That’s dedication!” remarked Randy.

   Before they had a permanent place to hold worship, services were held in the Kinsella Hall and Marvin’s Hall.

   “It was started by a group of congregations out here in Richland Township,” Randy said.

   The first elder of the church was George Stuhler. Chris Siebenthal was named deacon.

   The surnames of some of the first members were, to name a few, Arduser, Eilers, Matthiessen, Retting, Rohr, Thoeni, and Jacobs. They were all German descendants.

   Many of those current members on the 150^th committee have lasting roots within Peace Church.

   “The names that were mainstays when I joined the church, there’s not as many here anymore,” said Randy. “It used to be a farmer’s church. That was the main occupation of the members. Now we have one or two farmers…”

   Sue Brokaw’s maternal grandparents, Schilts, who were from Switzerland, were members of the church.

   For Hasler, it ws her paternal grandparents, Burrichter.

   Schneiter’s husband, Jerry, was born into Peace Church.

   “His grandmother was an Arduser,” she said. “It’s wonderful that we’ve made it that many years.”

   The German Reformed Church, as the church became known in the early years, was part of a larger parish at the time.

   “It consisted of an aggregation made up of Peace Church, Richland Center, and Spring Valley,” notes the sesquicentennial book. “Difficulties soon arose between these separate groups, which led to the severing of their alliance.”

   After four and a half years of renting facilities for church services, the congregation voted on May 30, 1874 to erect a permanent church facility.

   Following the completion of the church in October 1875, a personage was built in 1878. Work on the home was donated by members.

   In 1879, the first confirmation class was taken into membership.

   In 1888, the size of the congregation outgrew the initial church. The “edifice was enlarged” when the church purchased two lots to the east of where the church sits today on Cherry Street.

   A couple of years later, in 1891, another addition was added on the north end to provide space for the new electronic organ.

   Peace Church used to be known for possessing the oldest pipe organ in any church in Jones County. The electronic organ replaced a Gothic-style organ that was used for 65 years.

   “As with anything new, this organ was received with mixed feelings and attitudes in the community. Those who accepted it and loved its tone were the majority. But some were lukewarm or even cool in their feelings toward it,” read an Oct. 31, 1955 article in the Express.

   In January 1917, English was introduced into the church services.

   “America would shortly find herself at war with Germany and ‘Deutsch’ (German) as a language was temporarily out of favor,” noted the sesquicentennial book.

   In 1934, the Reformed Church united with the Evangelical Synod for form the Evangelical and Reformed Church, becoming part of the larger fellowship known as the Monticello Evangelical Church.

   In 1957, another merger took place with the United Church of Christ (UCC). The church adopted the name Peace United Church of Christ, which has been the name of the church for almost 70 years.

   “The Reformed Church, they believed more in the reformation, the theology. The Reforms thought the tradition started with Martin Luther. He started the reformation and then churches grew out of that,” explained Shepherd. “This was a German Reformed Church. That would have been, in essence, the denomination. They then joined the Evangelical Church. Then the Evangelical and Reformed Church joined up with the Congregational churches (UCC). That’s how the UCC was formed. It’s all still within the Reformed tradition, even today. We still believe in reformed theologies as UCC.”

   On Sept. 28, 1958, the education wing was dedicated. This project included 4,000 hours of labor donated by the members of the church.

   The current parsonage where Rev. Shepherd and his family reside, was built in 1965 and dedicated on Oct. 23, 1966.

   A new bell tower was built in 1974.

   In 1975, Peace Church celebrated its 100^th anniversary. A June 19, 1975, article in the Express noted the two oldest church members at the time: Mrs. Lena Thompson and Mrs. Lydia Zumbrunnen.

   In 1981, the exterior of the church was bricked, and an elevator was installed in 1992 for handicapped accessibility.

   Throughout 2025, the church will have monthly themed celebrations: April 20, “The Tomb is Empty, but the Church is Full,” urging families to attend Easter Sunday and fill the church with lilies, love, and gratitude. May 10, “Celebrate the Women Who Inspire Us,” honoring Mother’s Day. June 14, “Breakfast with the men Who Make a Difference,” honoring Father’s Day.

   “One thing I am going to do for those events is focus more on celebrating the women of the church, the history of the women in the church. For Father’s Day, the men of the church. I’m going to focus more on talking about the German history,” offered Shepherd.

   (NOTE: The Mother’s Day and Father’s Day events are just for those who attend Peace Church. All other monthly celebrations will be open to the public.)

   July 6, “Celebrating 150 Years of Faith & Freedom,” in honor of the Fourth of July. Aug. 24, “Celebrating 150 Years of Peace Youth,” kicking off a new school year. This service will be led by the youth of the church.

   Sept. 14 will be the church’s official 150^th celebration at Camp Courageous, following the regular church service: “Celebrating 150 Years of Peace, Faith, & Love.” A meal will be served at Camp, with the public invited. The church is also inviting former pastors of the church, as well as former members and their families.

   “We’ll recognize the oldest members of the church, longest members, things of that nature,” offered Beemann.

   Oct. 19 will be the return of the church’s Harvest Festival.

   “It’s been gone for a while and now we’re bringing it back,” said Shepherd.

   “It’s an in-gathering from the harvest,” said Randy. “Way back when, farmers would bring some corn in and throw it in a bin out here for sale. It was an in-gathering, a thankfulness of what God provided for us. It’s a fundraiser for the church.”

   “There were also crafts. Everybody would bring in their crafts and baked goods to sell,” added Sue.

   Nov. 2 will be the “All Saints Day Celebration,” honoring the lives and legacies of the faithful who have come before us with a candlelight remembrance service and inspirational music.

   Dec. 14, “Celebrate 150 Years of Christmas Joy,” with carols, candlelight, and a Christmas skit.

   Work on the 150^th anniversary started a couple of years ago, knowing the time would go by fast.

   “I started reminding people of the 150^th two and a half years ago. It finally kind of took off,” joked Randy. “And it’s here already. That two and a half years flew by!”

   “Part of that was so we could start working on some remodeling,” said Seemann.

   The entire basement of the church was redone, including the kitchen area.

   “Our members have done a lot of work here,” praised Shepherd.

   The Brokaws have been working hard putting together a timeline of the history of Peace Church, including photos and special memorabilia from over the years.

   “We asked the congregation to help us out with some information and newspaper clippings and photos,” Sue said.

   Peace Church is located at 410 E. Cherry St., Monticello.

   (Follow the Monticello Express for updates on Peace Church’s 150^th anniversary.)