HISTORY OF ZION LUTHERAN CHURCH
2000
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2013
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It was an Easter Sunday in 1906 when a group of Lutherans asked Reverend W. Paulsen of Luana to conduct services in Castalia. Before that, services were held in the United Brethren Church and then the Methodist Church. A formal organization of this Lutheran church occurred on July 22, 1906 and it was called Evangelisch Lutherische Zion's Geminide, now Zion Lutheran.
Nine persons signed the constitution that day, those with familiar names like Breitsprecher, Buddenberg, and Meyer. Several children were baptized in 1906 and the first confirmation class was honored in 1907. During the initial years, student from Wartburg Seminary in Dubuque spent summer months teaching and assisting the pastor. Children were sent to Luana for confirmation instruction.
The first resident pastor, Reverend A.E Guetzlaff, was called on January 21, 1911 and a year later four acres were purchased on which the church and parsonage now stand. The Universalist Church at the Bloomfield Cemetery was purchased for $300 and moved to Castalia, supported by four sets of heavy moves and pulled by a team of horses and crossing a railroad track. The church basement was dug by team and scraper. A parsonage was built in 1912 at the cost of $1,200 and is being used yet today.
Several physical changes to the church building occurred in the last 100 years, with a tower and bell added in 1916, and altar and new windows in 1920, and a church remodeling in 1924, when an altar niche was added. An addition in 1952 provided a cloakroom, a mother's room and overflow area as well as enclosing the front steps. Restrooms were installed in 1954 and property for a parking lot was purchased in 1958. Throughout the years, the kitchen and bathrooms have been modernized, the church office remodeled and siding and a new roof to the church added. An enclosed handicap ramp was contructed on the east side of the church in 2000, allowing access to the church's lower level. In 2003, a new front entrance and handicap ramp to the sanctuary was completed and the church sanctuary was recently repainted and refurbished.
Nine persons signed the constitution that day, those with familiar names like Breitsprecher, Buddenberg, and Meyer. Several children were baptized in 1906 and the first confirmation class was honored in 1907. During the initial years, student from Wartburg Seminary in Dubuque spent summer months teaching and assisting the pastor. Children were sent to Luana for confirmation instruction.
The first resident pastor, Reverend A.E Guetzlaff, was called on January 21, 1911 and a year later four acres were purchased on which the church and parsonage now stand. The Universalist Church at the Bloomfield Cemetery was purchased for $300 and moved to Castalia, supported by four sets of heavy moves and pulled by a team of horses and crossing a railroad track. The church basement was dug by team and scraper. A parsonage was built in 1912 at the cost of $1,200 and is being used yet today.
Several physical changes to the church building occurred in the last 100 years, with a tower and bell added in 1916, and altar and new windows in 1920, and a church remodeling in 1924, when an altar niche was added. An addition in 1952 provided a cloakroom, a mother's room and overflow area as well as enclosing the front steps. Restrooms were installed in 1954 and property for a parking lot was purchased in 1958. Throughout the years, the kitchen and bathrooms have been modernized, the church office remodeled and siding and a new roof to the church added. An enclosed handicap ramp was contructed on the east side of the church in 2000, allowing access to the church's lower level. In 2003, a new front entrance and handicap ramp to the sanctuary was completed and the church sanctuary was recently repainted and refurbished.