THE HISTORY OF A BALDWIN CITY CHURCH: WORDEN UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

 

Student researchers were Jana Collins, Andrea Crall, Ben Harp, Emily Grabner (2004)

Editor: Dr. George Wiley, Baker University

Photographs

Introduction 

  1. What are the churches of Baldwin City?

  2. Has work on this church's history already been done?  Is there a written history of the church?  If yes to either question, find out more so you don't duplicate someone else's efforts.

  3. What People In This Church Know About Its History?
      Don and Jane Schwartz, who had been members for 57 and 40 years respectively, and Charlene Pohl, who had been a member for 67 years, were the members of the congregation who knew the most about Worden UMC history.  Pastor Dale Lewis also knew additional information about the church after hearing it from other people in the congregation.  These four were  willing to be interviewed.

  4. What Written Documents Or Artifacts Are Available?

The documents and artifacts available consist of old bulletins from 1932, 1933, 1962, and 1969; the old book which the members used to take notes during trustee meetings from 1906; and a timeline of the church’s history that Charlene Pohl and the Schwartz’s put together.    The church also has a pulpit from 1872, a cane seat chair, an old picture of the church, and several original pews.  Orville Pohl built a scale model of the original church  when the new church was built.

 

  1. How Did The Church Get Started?

The Willow Springs area was opened for white settlement after the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act was signed in 1854.  At this time, almost all settlers of the area had been members of religious organizations in the communities from which they came.  As the settlers came to the area, churches were among the first buildings they erected.  During this time, G. Fleischer and J.F. Schreiber of the Methodist Conference of Illinois came to serve as missionaries.  The first Evangelical class in Kansas, at Franklin, was organized by Fleischer on July 4, 1858.  The Willow Springs Church a pradecessor of Worden UMC, was originally part of this Lawrence Mission, and was led by Rev. S.W. McKesson.

 

  1. Who were the founders?

The class was organized by Rev. S.W. McKesson in 1869 and originally had meetings in Central School.  The church had the following charter members: Mr. and Mrs. Charles Warner, Mr. and Mrs. Rev. D.R. Zellner, Mr. and Mrs. Conrad Pippert, Mr. and Mrs. Michael Heffner, Mother Pippert, Mother Fager, Mr. and Mrs. Fredrick Schwartz, and Mrs. George Oehrle.  John Wuerth was the pastor who undertook the building of the church.  [Central School was one of six one-room school houses that merged to become the presant Marion Springs school.]

 

  1. Why did they decide to start a church?

  2. Has the church existed in other buildings than the present one? What were they?
    The congregation held services in Central School, until the new church was built in Worden on land given by Mr. Henry Fager in 1872.  The church was built for $1300, with labor being donated by men of the church.  In 1932 the church had to be torn down because of the widening of what is now U.S. Highway 56.  The State highway department paid the church $3000 for the property.  The last service in the old church was held on Sept 11, 1932, and immediately afterward, the work on a new building began.  The original church’s cornerstone was laid as the cornerstone of the new church on Oct 16, 1932; a crowd of over 600 was in attendance.  The Rev. G.W. Landis, who was the district superintendent at the time, was the guest speaker.  The current pastor, the Rev. Jacob Nelson, gave a brief sketch of the church’s history and charter members; the only charter members surviving were Mrs. C.W. Pippert and Charles Warner, Sr.  During construction, worship took place in the Willow Springs township hall, two miles east of the church.  The first service in the new church was in the basement on January 8, 1933.  It was not until January 29, 1933, that the congregation held its first service in the sanctuary.  The dedication of the new church was in February 1933, and was led by Bishop J.S. Stamm with 500 people present.  This church building continues to serve as the Worden Church.

 

  1. How have major historical events affected the church? Examples: "Bleeding Kansas," the Civil War-World War I-World War II-Korean conflict-Vietnam War, economic crises (like the Great Depression), changes in agriculture, the civil rights movement.
    The Great Depression was a time of poverty and struggle for the church.  Under the leadership of Rev. Jacob Nelson, the congression made the courageous decision to rebuild and expand at the time U.S. Highway 56 was widened.  With this commitment, the church community grew stronger in both faith and families during this time of national turmoil. 

 

  1. What people have been influential in the life of the church over time? (other than the founders). These people might include a particularly beloved pastor (or a particularly unpopular one) or a lay leader.
    Many people have been influential in the Worden United Methodist Church.  The Rev. Jacob Nelson was influential in drawing plans for the new church building and leading the congregation to build it in 1932.  The Rev. E.E. Reep had a unique style and way of presenting his sermons that inspired many in the congregation.  The Rev. Merton Zeisset and his wife Ina started a Bible study at local schools that taught children the word. 

 

 

  1. What controversies has the church experienced?

  2. What gives the church its particular identity or flavor? What makes it different from other Baldwin City churches or from other churches in its denomination?
    As a rural church, Worden UMC is in a central location for many families. The church was once a church for farmers and their families but is now a church for all.  Its located off  U.S. Highway 56 and is easy for many people to find and attend. Worden is unique in boasting an average age of people who attend 30-32 years.  The youthfulness of the congregation shows that Worden will be a presence for years to come.  Area families give high priority to family life, and the church accommodates this priority. All denominations, such as Baptist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, and Mennonite are welcomed, and surprisingly enough, non-Methodists make up more than half of the congregation. Almost every Sunday one new person or family comes to attend the service. Worden prides itself on its welcoming atmosphere, with no one called an outsider.

 

  1. What Is The Mission / Purpose Of The Church?
     During the summer of 2002, the congregation spent much time praying and contemplating how they wanted their mission statement to represent Worden United Methodist church.  They finally decided on: “Prayerfully striving to be Christlike, we extend hope, love, and the message of salvation to all for the Glory of God.” 

 

 

  1. How Has The Church Ministered To The Baldwin City Community?
      The church holds one of the largest Vacation Bible Schools in the Baldwin City area.  The school draws students from as far away as Ottawa and Lawrence.  The first assembly was held in 1948, but the largest attendance has come in the past 6 to 8 years.    The first session hosted approximately 100 pupils and 30 teachers and helpers, and since then, the average attendance has grown to 130.  The vacation Bible school offers crafts, lessons about God, play, and Christian family values. 

In 1940, the church formed a young married people’s class and a junior league.  At around the same time, the church also hosted a Women’s Missionary Society.  Currently, the church has an active women’s group, a youth group, and a non-denominational group called “Faith Weavers.”  There are also mid-week services and Bible studies on Wednesday evenings that are open to the Baldwin community. 

The church prides itself on being a cross-roads for people in the area.  Many of the participants on Sunday mornings are not members of the church.  In this case, Worden ministers to people outside their official membership.

The Worden congregation also has done volunteer work and donated to causes beyond Baldwin.  Members have helped rebuild houses in Elwood, Kansas,  that were damaged in the flood of 1993.   The congregation helped with spring clean up at Hannah’s House, a center for young mothers, and several members helped remodel a building in Horton, Kansas to serve as a worship space.  Several members of the congregation also assist in doing repair work on homes in the area.

 

11. What contact or involvement has this church had with other churches in Baldwin City?
The Worden Evangelical Church helped the Willow Springs Old German Baptist Brethren Church with their national meetings in 1936, 1970 and 1982 by preparing and serving food.  The parish fondly calls these events “The feeding of the 5000.”  The church also holds a joint service with other churches in the community, such as St. John’s United Church of Christ,  Lonestar, Clinton Presbyterian and Washington Creek Church, at Easter and Thanksgiving. 

 

  1. Is the church connected to a judicatory body? (annual conference, archdiocese, etc.) If so, what kind of relations has the church had with its judicatory body?
    The church is part of the United Methodist Church and is a member of the Five Rivers District of the Kansas East Conference of that body.  The church makes its decisions first through an administrative council that meets monthly.  The council includes committees. The church also has a board of trustees for decisions on the building and finances.  These are the decisions that the church takes care of locally.  Other decisions go through the hierarchy of district, conference and national denomination.

 

 

  1. What is the church's polity (how does it govern itself, how do decisions get made)? Are decisions up to the congregation only? Are others involved?

  2. What was the toughest thing the church ever went through?
    In 1932, as U.S. Highway 50 North (present-day U.S. Highway 56) was being widened, Worden Evangelical church was faced with the decision of moving to another home or disbanding.  This situation was difficult.  The economic hardship of  the Great Depression made it hard to finance a move, but the congregation however, decided to do it, including building a new church.  This leap of faith was possibly the most difficult and rewarding thing that the Worden church has experienced.

  3. What Are Some Of The Church's Successes?

 

  1. Other Information
    German settlers around the Worden area who needed a place to worship started the church.  There are two theories about how the church received the name Worden.  It may have gotten its name from John Fredrick Schott, who was the first postmaster of the area.  It is possible that he named the post office Worden after a town that was near his home in Germany.  Another possibility is that the town was named after Lorenzo J. Worden, who was a prominent teacher, abolitionist, assessor, state senator, and postmaster in the area.  The church became the Worden Evangelical Church when the Willow Springs Evangelical Church split from the Eudora circuit.  In 1946 the church merged with the United Brethren to become the Evangelical United Brethren.  In 1968, the Evangelical United Brethren churches in the U.S. merged with Methodist Church and became the Worden United Methodist Church.

 

 

Student Researchers’ Comments.

 

Works Cited.

1. Baker Archives. February 19, 2004. “Annual Worden Anniversary and Homecoming Celebration.” Word from Worden. February 3, 1985.

 

2. Baker Archives. February 19, 2004. “How It All Began At Willow Springs.” Word from Worden. February 1984.

 

3. Baker Archives. February 19, 2004. History of the Worden Church. Pgs. 1-4.

 

4. Pohl, Charlene, Don and Jane Schwartz and Dale Lewis. February 22, 2004. Personal communication.

 

5. Pohl, Charlene, Don and Jane Schwartz, and Dale Lewis. February 22, 2004. Personal communication. A Brief History of Worden Church. February 1946.

 

6. Pohl, Charlene, Don and Jane Schwartz and Dale Lewis. February 22, 2004. Personal communication. Church Buildings.

 

7. Pohl, Charlene, Don and Jane Schwartz and Dale Lewis. February 22, 2004. Personal communication. “Mission Statement.” Church Bulletin February 22, 2004.

 

8. Pohl, Charlene, Don and Jane Schwartz, and Dale Lewis. February 22, 2004. Personal communication. Why Worden?

 

9. Pohl, Charlene, Don and Jane Schwartz and Dale Lewis. February 22, 2004. Personal communication. Willow Springs Evangelical Church.