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AUGUST 6, 1975 PLAINDEALER CENTENNIAL EDITION - PAGE 5 Baptist Congregation v - Church Offers Outstanding Services ZION LUTHERAN CHURCH 4206 W. Waukegan Street McHenry use of English persisted until 1926 when it was voted to keep all congregational records in English. That was quite a letdown for the German founders who feared their dear church would lose i ts purity by conforming to the racy ways of modern America. The lit t le church operated a parochial school for nearly ten years from 1899. In 1907 total support paid for the single teacher was $160. They af­ fil iated with the St. Louis-based conservative Lutheran Church- Missouri Synod in 1903. From the congregation's birth ' t i l 1912 it was served by six pastors of Immanuel Lutheran church in Crystal Lake. Then for the next thirty years two pastors from St. John Lutheran church in Woodstock conducted services at least twice a month From 1942 to May, 1946. Pastors Raymond F^issfeldt and Herman Noll of Round Lake served Zion. The former is now in Champaign, 111., and Pastor Noll is at Our Redeemer Lutheran church in Prospect Heights. At the suggestion of A1 Grever, the first resident THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH 509 N. Front Street McHenry Lutheran pastor, the Rev. F.C. Pudsell was called to McHenry in 1946. He was soon succeeded by Pastor Walter Johannes who had to move for reasons of health in May, 1949. It was during these years that Zion incorporated under the laws of the state of Il l inois. President of the congregation at that t ime was Clifford Kiehl, and the secretary was Paul Patzke. A long and successful pastorate began when the Rev. Carl A. Lobitz came from Atchison, Kans., and was in­ stalled on Oct. 2, 1949. A par­ sonage was purchased at the corner of John and Third streets, and the congregation flourished and rapidly outgrew the facili t ies of the first church building. In 1953 Zion formed a building committee of Albert Grever. Stanley Vycital, Warren Kuhlman, R.G. Ullrich, L.H. Booster and Edward Wagner, Sr. They purchased four and a half acres at 4206 W. Rt. 120 and built a new church with a seating capacity of nearly 400 people. The new building was dedicated on Aug. 10. 1958, and the congregation's debt was liquidated in twelve The first service of the First Baptist church of McHenry was held at the First Baptist chapel Sunday, June 18, 1961. Much planning and preparation had been done however, before this event. \ years. In 1959 growing at­ tendance necessitated con­ ducting two services each week, and since then the congregation has worshiped at 7:45 and 10:30 each Sunday morning with Sunday school at nine o'clock. After providing strong spiritual leadership for eighteen years. Pastor Lobitz died in office in 1967 at the age of 69. The congregation then had nearly 900 souls in i ts care. The present pastor. The Rev. Herman Graef, was installed at Zion in October, 1968. The church increased its Christian education program and facili t ies in recent years, and it ministers to the needs of more than 1,400 souls. With a year­ long centennial celebration in 1976. Zion expects to begin its second hundred years of doing what its sign on the highway proclaims: "Sharing God's Love." The first church to be organized itf the community of McHenry county was a Baptist church. The Rev. Joel Wheeler, who was the first minister of the gospel to locate in McHenry county in 1837 was also the minister of this church. However, this church did not continue to function and the area had gone for more than a hundred years without^ a \Baptist witness. This new chapel was a three-year goal of the Rev. Preston M. Denton, Southern Baptist Area missionary, and the result of the efforts of many people. The area missionary was jointly supported by the Ill inois Baptist State association missions department and the Home Mission board of the Southern Baptist convention. The Golden Gate Baptist church of Ft. Worth, Texas, with the Rev. Luther Mann as pastor was a sponsoring church for the new work and the fourteen-month-old Calvary Baptist church, the Rev. Kenneth M. Frazier, pastor, Woodstock, was the co- sponsoring church. In the month of February, 1961, after many months and THE REV. HERMAN GRAEF Zion Lutheran (Continued from page 4) Eleven years later one hundred dollars of that debt remained. Finances were a problem then as they are in most churches now. Sunday of­ ferings in the second half of 1898 totalled $6.55. Six years later a half year 's offerings were $17.32. What other sources of income were is not known, but there must have been some. Annual expenses were about $200, including seven dollars for material and labor to erect 26 feet of fence, $3.50 for a half ton of coal, and fifty cents for two brooms and kerosene. From eighteen to thirty dollars were spent each year to help the needy. In 1894 annual dues for 'each member were set at six dollars, and young people had to contribute two to three dollars. Although records in 1905 show that Sunday offerings at English services (held once monthly) exceded those in German services (held twice each month) by 50 percent - $1.49 to $.92 on one typical Sunday, the congregation in 1906 voted to discontinue English worship services. With their profession of faith founded upon Holy Scriptures and basic confessional writings, Lutherans have always remained united and fairly rigid in doctrinal con­ cerns. But in practical matters such as which language to use, they may differ passionately. In McHenry's Zion congregation, resistance to the many trips to McHenry, a store building was found for sale which could provide temporary housing for the new Baptist mission and an apartment upstairs for a mission pastor. An extra lot was also available (Continued on page 6) This photo shows the Baptist church which served McHenry at Elm and Green streets in 1875. think IT DOESN'T TAKE A LIFETIME TO BUILD A GREAT BANK. IT TAKES PEOPLE . . . HARDWORKING, DEDICATED. IT TAKES PROGRESS. . . CONSTANTLY MOVING AHEAD WITH NEW ADVANCEMENTS. WE'VE COME A LONG WAY SINCE 1969; WORKING TOGETHER WITH THE RESIDENTS OF McHENRY TO BUILD A GREATER TOMORROW. We Pride Ourselves In Being. YOUR GOOD NEIGHBOR IN BUSINESS WE'RE INDEED ALL THE BANK YOU'LL EVER NEED. CHECKING ACCOUNTS REGULAR SAVINGS PREMIUM SAVINGS CHRISTMAS CLUB SAVINGS BONDS REAL ESTATE LOANS MASTER CHARGE TRAVELER CHECKS NIGHT DEPOSITORY LICENSE PLATES INSTALLMENT LOANS BANK BY MAIL SERVICES HOME IMPROVEMENT LOANS AMERICAN EXPRESS EXECUTIVE, CREDIT CARD BUSINESS LOANS R EC R E A TI ON A L V E HIC L E LOANS BANK AMERICARD AUTO LOANS SAFE DEPOSIT BOXES LETTER DROP IEMBER: FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM IEMBER: FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF McHENRY is 60^50 815-385- 3811 ^est Elm Street MKMBKR K.I).I .C. «>1KMBKR KKDKRAL RKSKRYK MeHenrv. Illinois look again. can't make a difference a