Peace United Church of Christ (Tilden, Neb.) [RG3997.AM]

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY MANUSCRIPT FINDING AID

RG3997.AM:  Peace United Church of Christ (Tilden, Neb.)

Records:  1902-1980

Tilden, Madison County, Neb.:  United Church of Christ

Size:  1 reel of microfilm

HISTORICAL NOTE

Friedens or Peace Evangelical Church was organized by Rev. Otto Satzinger, who was sent by the Mission Board of the Evangelical Church of North America to organize a congregation in Tilden, Nebraska. On April 17, 1902, twenty persons formed a congregation known as Friedens (Peace) Evangelical Church. Two months later, the congregation’s membership had doubled.

Rev. Satzinger was transferred to Omaha soon after the congregation was formed and the first full-time minister, Rev. Gottlieb Robertus, began his tenure in August of 1902. A parsonage was built and the Sunday School started during 1902 as well. The Women’s auxiliary group was begun the following year. Other groups, such as the Young People’s League and the Men’s Brotherhood, were formed later. The Tilden Christian Church was rented for use until 1905, when the Peace Evangelical Church moved into its own building.

The Peace Evangelical Church became the Peace Evangelical and Reformed Church in the 1930s. Then, in the 1960s, it joined the Congregational Church and adopted its present-day name as the Peace United Church of Christ, although it was still often referred to as the Peace Evangelical and Reformed Church. Under its various names, the church has always had the same purpose: “…the fostering and promoting of Christianity by the church; and the inculcation of spiritual life among its members and constituents, in accordance with the scripture of the Old and New Testaments…”

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

This collection consists of nine volumes and a fractional amount of manuscript material on 1 reel of microfilm arranged in three series: 1) Historical Materials; 2) Minutes, 1902-1976; and 3) Church Registers, 1902-1980. This material relates to the history of and ceremonies performed by the Peace United Church of Christ of Tilden, Nebraska.

The Historical Materials of Series 1 include copies of the Evangelical and Reformed Church’s constitutions and by-laws and articles of incorporation for the Peace United Church of Christ. A volume showing the families in the church during 1976 is also provided. Series 2 consists of Minutes, 1902-1976, of the Peace United Church of Christ annual meetings, council meetings, and women’s auxiliary meetings. The annual meeting minutes, 1902-1976, show church board membership, election results, policies and plans, financial reports, pastor tenure and salaries, and reports of auxiliary groups. The church council minutes, 1929-1960, primarily discuss plans and finances. The women’s auxiliary group minutes, 1903-1910, are in German.

The Church Registers, 1902-1980, of Series 3 record baptisms, confirmations, communions, marriages, collections and gifts to the church, deaths and burials, pastors’ resumes, elders, members, and church organization. The subject headings for volume 1 are in German; the headings in volume 2 are in English. The collection was loaned for microfilming in April of 1980.

DESCRIPTION

Series 1 – Historical Materials

Reel 1

Volume

1. 1. Constitution and By-Laws of the Evangelical and Reformed Church, 1944

1. 1. Constitution and By-Laws of the Evangelical and Reformed Church, 1953

1. 1. Constitution of the Peace United Church of Christ, 1960s
      
      Articles of Incorporation of the Peace Evangelical and Reformed Church, 1958

1. 1. Peace United Church of Christ Family Members, 1976

Series 2 – Minutes, 1902-1976

Volume

1. 1. Annual Meetings, 1902-1928 (in German)

1. 1. Annual Meetings, 1902-1927 (translation of Volume 1 into English)

1. 1. Annual Meetings, 1927-1976

1. 1. Church Council Meetings, 1929-1960

1. 1. Women’s Auxiliary Meetings, 1903-1920 (in German)

Series 3 – Church Registers, 1902-1980

Volume

1. 1. 1902-1946 (subject headings in German)

1. 1. 1947-1980 (subject headings in English); and historical records in chronicle form

Item

Program for Investiture of Order of Acolytes, January 1981

ADDED ENTRIES:

Congregational Church in Nebraska

Evangelical Church in Nebraska

Evangelical and Reformed Church in Nebraska

Friedens Evangelical Church (Tilden, Neb.)

Germans in Nebraska

Madison County (Neb.) — Churches

Peace Evangelical Church (Tilden, Neb.)

Peace Evangelical and Reformed Church (Tilden, Neb.)

Peace United Church of Christ (Tilden, Neb.)

Tilden (Neb.) — Churches

United Church of Christ in Nebraska

Revised 06-08-2009   TMM