Post date: Jul 7, 2015 2:34:59 AM
Zion’s 40th Anniversary at Snell Road
On June 22, 2015 we will have worshiped at Zion on Snell Road for 40 years. Our last service on 21 Milton Street in Geneva was June 15, 1975 and the following week, with great last minute effort, the service of dedication for our new church was held. The building on Milton Street became
the home of Mount Calvary Church of God in Christ in 1974.
Zion had been on Milton St. since 1899 when the decision was made in 1969 to move to or
build a new church. After several options were considered and many delays and problems encountered, 6.5 acres of land was purchased on Snell Road in 1973. Pastor Douglas Laub had been our pastor since 1967 and played a vital role in planning the new church. The design of the church interior, the
seating arrangement around the pulpit and altar and the furnishings placed so that our worship is directed to the cross, were all the vision of Pastor Laub. Our congregation was very saddened when Pastor Laub died in an automobile accident in September 1974.
In April of 1975 a service was held, marking the laying of the cornerstone with a box of some 25 items, including a cassette of the ground-breaking ceremony. Since 1975 Zion has seen many changes. In 1977, due to their ultraconservative view, we left the Missouri Synod and joined the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches [ELCA]. In 1988 Zion became a member of the newly formed Evangelical Lutheran Church in America [ELCA].
In 1989 Cozy Days Pre-School, under the direction of Mary Rose Cass, moved to our facility and then became a ministry of our church in 1999.
In 1994 the process of planning for a new addition to the church began. Ground breaking finally took place in May of 1998 but the new fellowship and educational wing could not be completed until February. We remember and are grateful for the service, leadership and dedication of the pastors, other clergy, deacons and lay leaders who have served and guided us through these past forty years.
Pastor Wendell Henkenmeier - 1975-1980
Pastor Wayne Bacus - 1980-1989
Pastor Daniel Hoffman - 1989-2007
Interim pastors and vicars - 2007–2014
Pastor Lexa Liepe - 2014-present
Article submitted by Christa Biesenbach