The Church at Holstein, Missouri
Immanuels United Church of Christ at Holstein, Warren County, Missouri, USA.
This brick church, the third building the congregation in Holstein has constructed, was dedicated on 28 October 1884.
The large stone in the foreground of this picture, with a brass plaque, was erected across the street from the present church in April 1990 to commemorate the congregation's 150th anniversary.
The stone stands on the former site of the first 2 church buildings and is surrounded by the oldest of the 3 cemeteries in Holstein.
The first church in Holstein was the German Lutheran Church on Charrette, established in February 1839 (Charrette Creek runs southward through the area to the Missouri River, and gives this region of Warren County - the Charrette Hills - its name).
Herman Garlichs, the pastor of the church at Femme Osage, St. Charles County, Missouri, served as the first minister in Holstein. He was a Reiseprediger or circuit minister, traveling regularly among the congregations under his charge. For several years he held services once a month in Holstein; on other Sundays, the services were led by local elders.
A log building was raised in Holstein during the winter of 1839-1840. The first service in the new church was held on 2 February 1840 and a new constitution was adopted.
A new constitution was drafted in 1848 when the Holstein congregation joined the Evangelischer Kirchenverien des Westens. The church in Holstein changed its name to the German Evangelical Church on Charrette.
A fire on 2 January 1855 destroyed the log church. By the end of November 1855 a new brick church building had been erected, at a cost of $1,593.43.
In 1883, plans were made to build an new and larger church building of brick and stone, with a full basement. The new building would stand across the street from the old church. At the annual church meeting in January 1884, the congregation changed its name to the German Evangelical Immanuels Church of Holstein. In October 1884, the new church building was dedicated. Construction had cost $6,702.23.
In 1934, following the merger of the Evangelical and the Reformed denominations in the USA, the church in Holstein changed its name to Immanuels Evangelical and Reformed Church.
In 1939, the congregation celebrated its 100th anniversary.
In 1957, the Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Church in the USA merged to form the United Church of Christ. The Holstein congregation adopted a new name to reflect this union, and became Immanuels United Church of Christ.
Source: Immanuels United Church of Christ. Anniversary Book Committee. The History of Our Church, 1839-1989: One Hundred Fifty Years. Holstein, Missouri: Immanuels United Church of Christ, 1989.
Interior of Immanuels Church in 2005.
The organ was dedicated in May 1909.
A view of Immanuels Church from the south, from the second Holstein cemetery.
A view from the second cemetery, looking west and across the street to the oldest cemetery and the site of the first 2 church buildings constructed in Holstein. The memorial stone and plaque are visible on the middle right side of the photo.
Memorial plaque at Holstein, Missouri.
The inscription reads:
Site of the first German Lutheran Church on Charrette Chartered Feb. 27, 1839 Name revised Feb. 1848 to German Evangelical Church on Charrette Log church destroyed by fire Jan. 1855 Replaced by brick church in 1855 This memorial erected by Immanuels U. C. C. 150th Anniversary Committee April 1990
Burials at Holstein
- Anna Elisabeth Fiegenbaum (1864-1871)
- Johann Heinrich Fiegenbaum (1788-1861) and Catherina Elsabein (Hagen) Fiegenbaum (1786-1853)
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