Monroe United Methodist Church celebrating 175 years

Preceding even the founding of the State of Iowa, the Monroe United Methodist Church has a long, rich history intertwined with the city itself. From its humble beginnings in the town known as Tool's Point in 1844 to the current church sandwiched between Lincoln Street and Franklin Street, the members of the Methodist Church are excited to celebrate 175 years of worship.

"We're really excited about the year," Pastor Van Dickens said. "When I first came here in July, I was told they were approaching the 175th year. That got me real excited and now we're all excited about the plans that are going on."

The festivities start at the 9:30 a.m. service Jan. 27 with members dressed up in period costumes taking part in skits and involving the congregation with old gospel songs and a dinner to follow.

"The first one is the kick-off and it is the biggest, special part of it. There will be people in costume, it is going to be fun," organizer Patty Eilander said.

To take people back to the time when the church was founded, there will be no organ, blankets will be available to keep warm (but they said don't worry, the heat will still be on) and props will be placed throughout the church for scenery. The story will start with the re-telling of the first years of the church and continue through history until the terrible day the church burned down and how the community rallied to save the organ and the process of building the current church.

"We will have people with hammers and boards acting like they are building. In between all of this, there are going to be songs to mark the different time periods," Eilander said. "We are going to do the collection a different way because it was done differently then. Men will sit on one side of the church with the ladies and children on the other side, as it was done then."

Also on the 27th, following the service, a meal will be furnished for the all those in attendance. Visitors are asked to come and enjoy the fellowship time and the tasty food including pulled pork, baked beans, cheesy potatoes and a variety of sides.

"We don't want them to bring anything, everything will be here for any visitors," Eilander said. "All the visitors have to do is show up and enjoy, that is all they need to do, enjoy what we have."

The year of celebration will continue in February with the "Share a memory, warm the heart" program. The anniversary committee is asking people who have memories from the church to bring in old pictures and share the story that accompanies it.

"Maybe at a wedding or a family gathering they had at the church. If they worked at a turkey supper or the bazaar or the ice cream social, any pictures they have," Eilander said. "Also, memories, if they worked at those things, maybe they have a memory that has stuck with them all of those years that was funny, or maybe it wasn't funny then but it is funny now."

The committee is then going to make poster boards to share the photos and memories and scatter them throughout the church for people to see all year long.

"In June, we will be having a reunion and we are hoping to get a lot of the people who live in the nursing homes or those who moved out of town and don't attend the church anymore but maybe they can come on that special day," Eilander said. "We're hoping on a really nice reunion, something really special."

Monthly events, that will be announced as they are planned will take place throughout the year. The congregation is inviting anyone, including those who may have gone to UMC at sometime in the past or those curious about the church, to stop by and see what the celebration is all about.

"Part of this is in the light of the bigger picture of what we are about. We went through a visioning process last year and developed a vision statement and some plans. The big focus is reaching out to the neighbors. So anything we do, including the 175th, is with that in mind," Dickens said. "Our big emphasis is to try to invite people, bring them in, people who have been a part of the church in the past, those who are curious and celebrate our history."

Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com