Bethel Christ was founded in 1959, as an Evangelical and Reformed Church, a predecessor denomination to the United Church of Christ. The first worship service was held on September 13, in the temporary location pictured below, on Midred Avenue. One hundred forty five people attended worship on that day. The first baptisms were on September 20, of Donald Duaine and Dorothy Schaper. On December 13, there were 97 "charter members" that formed the membership of Bethel congregation.
Pastor Herb Schafale was called to serve Bethel
Church in March of 1960, and Bethel was received
into the South Illinois Synod on May 3 of that year.
The new church site, at the present location, was dedicated on December 18, 1960. Groundbreaking at the new site was July 8, 1961. Mrs. Louise Roland, the oldest member of the congregation, turned the first spade of soil.
The first worship service held at the present site was on July 7, 1963. By December of that year, church membership was 267.
In the late 1960's, the church was served by Pastor Lester Sontag, then by Pastor Fred Bretsch.
In 1971, Evenlyn Henny took office as church president. Many women had served on Consistory, but Evenlyn was the first female president. David Hohmann, a student at Eden Seminary, served as part-time pastor, from September 1971 to May 1972. Keller Gierse was ordained to ministry in June 1972, and served Bethel church until November of that year.
Bob Schantz, who worked full time in social work in East St. Louis, served as Interim Pastor from late 1972 to early 1974. Immanuel Baptist Church shared the building with the Bethel congregation until their new church building was completed in August 1974.
On October 9, 1973, the
congregations of Bethel Church and Frieden's Church in Caseyville
met and decided to call a full-time pastor to serve the two
congregations. Ann Asper Wilson was called by both congregations
in March of 1974. Worship services at Bethel were rescheduled to
11:00 am, to give Ann more time to visit and arrive from
Frieden's.
The first Bethel rummage sale was held in April 1974. The congregation celebrated its fifteenth year in November of 1974.
The year 1975 was filled with mission activities, such as Bethel support for six black colleges in the South, hosting area church events on world hunger, canned food drives, etc. Members also participated in two float trips, the Muny Opera, an ice cream social, a trip to Powell Hall to hear Handel's Messiah, and many other events.
In 1977, Rev. Ann Wilson ended her pastorate at Frieden's Church, and was called as full-time pastor at Bethel Church.
David Greenhaw, then a senior at Eden Seminary, taught a series of Bible classes on the Holy Spirit in 1978. Dr. Greenhaw has gone on to become the President of Eden Seminary. Vacation Bible School that summer featured a study of the Old Testament.
In the summer of 1979, Bethel Church joined with Cahokia United Methodist Church and King of Kings Lutheran Church for a summer vespers series. The pastors rotated as speakers, and worship was held in a different church each month.
In our twentieth year, 1980, Bethel Church had 145 members, and no longer received mission support from the UCC Illinois South Conference. The Confirmation Class visited Emmaus Home in Marthasville, Missouri, Eden Seminary, and St. Clair County Church Emergency Service.
After serving Bethel Church for seven year, Rev. Ann Wilson left in 1981 to become Assistant to the President at Eden Seminary. In October, Rev. Jerry Paul began as Interim Pastor. A search committee was formed, and Rev. James Mory was called, to begin full time pastorate in September 1982.
On Easter morning, 1984, a community sunrise service was held at Cahokia Park. Bethel Church served a hot breakfast afterwards at our church. A twenty-fifth anniversay celebration was held September 23, 1984. Pastor Herb Schafale, the first minister at Bethel, returned for the celebration, which included a dinner and program at the Lady of the Snows Shrine in Belleville.
Rev. Jim Spielberger served Bethel Church in the late-1980's. His death was a shock, and prompted a period of mourning and recovery.
In 1994, Linda Smalec, a licensed
pastor and student at Eden Seminary, began a part-time pastorate
at Bethel Church, until her graduation from seminary and
ordination in 1997.
Krista Betz, who grew up in Bethel Church, was ordained as a United Church of Christ minister here on July 23, 1995.
Good Shepherd of Faith UCC, a new church start, met at Bethel Church for six months in 1996, until they found rental space in East St. Louis. A congregation of Latter Day Saints met for a time in the Bethel church building, until they constructed their own building in Milstadt.
The Bethel congregation celebrated its fortieth anniversary on September 26, 1999. Don Jones served as pastor at that time.
Bevery Kahle, a student at Eden Seminary was called as part-time pastor in August 2000. She was ordained in July 2001, and was called to Zion United Church of Christ in Indianapolis.
Rev. Carol Shanks, formerly of St. Paul UCC in Waterloo, was called as pastor of Bethel Church, and began serving in fall of 2001.
The United Church of Christ was born in 1957, the
result of a merger of two denominations, the Congregational
Christian Church and the Evangelical and Reformed Church.
These in turn had been created by earlier mergers:
A much more complete UCC History is found on the UCC Web site.
Check the Eden Archives for information about the official materials of the Evangelical and Reformed Church and congregational records on microfilm, which are kept at the Eden Seminary/Webster University campus in Webster Groves, Missouri.
Home | Worship | Beliefs | Spiritual Growth | Retreat Centers | Children & Youth | Service | Membership | Leaders | Facility