Jean-Baptiste Evraets was an immigrant from the Walloon area of Belgian who came to Green Bay where he ran a very successful boarding house complete with stables and a tavern. He began his transition from bartender to church founder in the 1870's, when his wife fell critically ill. Every doctor he consulted told him there was no hope for her survival, so in desperation he turned to a Spiritualist medium who was said to possess the gift of healing; Mrs. Evearts suprised everyone, except the medium by recovering completely.
As he was paying for the medium's services, Evraets felt the Spiritualist healer searching his eyes. The medium told him that he, too, had the gift of healing and gift of prophecy. "If you will stop your business of selling rum and permit the spirits to work through you, you will become a great speaker, bringing messages of power to a people hungering for light."
Thankful and impressed, Evraets dropped the tavern business and began developing his powers as a medium. He soon had a modest following. He began a Spirit Circle in Green Bay in July 1876, and his followers believed in him so much that they put up the money to build a small spiritualist church in Green Bay, on the corner of Cherry and Madison streets. The services were given in Walloon (a Belgian language) and church was well attended by many Belgians. John presided over many baptisms, marriages and funerals in Brown, Kewaunee and Door Counties.
While visiting relatives in the Catholic community of Gardner, he decided to hold a few Spiritualist services in private homes. Reverend Stevnard, Pastor of nearby St. Mary's Church, got wind of Evraets' activities and resolved to put an end to them. He declared that no one can communicate with the dead - such a feat would be impossible if he, a priest, were present and forbade it. This proclamation so provoked a Mr. Harris Duchateau, who was one of Evraets' followers, that he bet $1,000.00 that Evraets could indeed communicate with the spirit world. The priest accepted the challenge, and they scheduled a confrontation for June 22, 1885, at the home of an impartial local resident.
A hundred or more spectators assembled on the designated date, eager to witness the showdown. Most were Rev. Stevnard's parishioners. Although Evraets arrived on time, the Stevnard didn't show up. Eventually someone in the restless crowd dispatched a horse and buggy to fetch him, but he refused to return, claiming he wasn't fully prepared. He finally appeared before the gathering and he claimed he never made the bet. He went on to rebuke his parishioners for attending such a spectacle. Many of Stevenard's parishioners left their parish and when Duchateau funded the building of a new church in Gardner, they became Evraets' new parishioners. The first baptism at White Star Church was June 8, 1886.
For some time, John and wife Odile ran both the Green Bay and Gardner church. When John passed away in March, 1900, devoted follower Alex Dewarzegar, with his wife Rose, took over the Gardner church and Stephanie Zwara took over the Green Bay church. Stephanie passed away in 1928, and Rose then took over the Green Bay church, and she also took on the Gardner church after Alex's death in 1937. Rose faithfully ran both churches until her death in 1951. The Green Bay group built a new church at Webster and Pine shortly before Rose's death. That church closed in 1958 but the building still stands. Alex and Rose's nephew Milton Dewarzegar was a devoted member of White Star Church and left a sum of money to the church in order to sustain us. Without his generosity this church likely would not have survived this long.
After Rose's death, Clara Twele took over the Gardner church until her death in 1991. Our current reverend, Mary L. Taylor has been reverend of the White Star Church since 1993. Guest speakers and temporary reverends of both churches include Melvin O. Smith, Tillie Corbisier, Floyd Thurnston, and Irma Marth.
Today White Star Psychic Science Church is the only Spiritualist Church in northeast Wisconsin. Although its congregation is far smaller than previously, it has been in continuous operation since its founding in 1886. Headstones in the cemetery reveal its long history. Graves of the Cobisier family date from the church's first year, and grave plots are still currently available for purchase.
The tidy, one-room building that has served for so many years stands at the edge of an apple orchard. In the spring, petals from blooming trees float down and cover the lawn and roof. Wide steps with a wheelchair ramp lead to a door topped by a stained glass window that depicts a white star. In front, a sign welcomes all, declaring "Unity in Diversity". Inside, pressed tin walls, lace-curtained windows, an upright piano, and framed sepia toned photographs are reminders of the church's long history. In back, a double door outhouse flanked by a white picket fence nestles among mature oak trees. We hope when you visit, you will feel the history of the magic still encapsulated in every molecule of our church and grounds.