SR 110 (LSB 6913XS (3) 91)

SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 110

BY  REICHMAN

A Resolution recognizing and honoring Zion Mennonite Church in Donnellson, Iowa, on its 175th anniversary.

   WHEREAS, the first Mennonites to settle west of the Mississippi River were the John Carl Krehbiel family at West Point, Iowa, on November 1, 1839, just six years after the Iowa Territory was opened for settlement; and
   WHEREAS, by 1845, there were enough Mennonite families in Lee County to formally organize a church service, but this early gathering faced tragedy when their first ordained minister, Reverend Johannes Mueller (Miller), was murdered during a robbery the day before that service on May 11, 1845; and
   WHEREAS, on May 5, 1850, the congregation dedicated the completion of the first Mennonite church west of the Mississippi built out of logs and located about one and one-half miles east of Franklin, Iowa, known as the “Busch” Mennonite Church; and
   WHEREAS, a group of five families from the Palatinate in Germany, settled west of West Point in the Franklin Township area of Lee County, known as the “Franklin Prairie”, and organized another congregation to be known as the Zion congregation; and
   WHEREAS, these families held the first service in late autumn of 1851 in a little frame school house, District No. 4, in Franklin Township, led by Reverend Henry Ellenberger; and
   WHEREAS, the Zion congregation understood that a church community without a school could not exist, so they established the first Mennonite school west of the Mississippi River on August 2, 1853, led by Christian Schowalter who taught for 36 years, maintaining the teaching of the Bible and German grammar until it ceased operation in 1918, during World War I, due to national sentiments against those openly speaking German; and
   WHEREAS, the Zion congregation adopted its first constitution on November 5, 1853, under the official name German Evangelical Mennonite Congregation in Franklin Township, Lee County, Iowa; and
   WHEREAS, on October 21, 1855, the Zion congregation dedicated its first building built of limestone located on the present Zion cemetery, two miles north and one mile west of Donnellson; and
   WHEREAS, at this first stone church, on March 21, 1859, the Zion and West Point churches held a meeting that is considered to be the beginning of the unification of the Mennonite congregations and that led to the founding of the General Conference Mennonite Church on May 28 and 29, 1860, which then met in Nashville, Tennessee, in July 2001 to unite the General Conference with the Mennonite Church to form the Mennonite Church, USA; and
   WHEREAS, on February 2, 1909, the Zion Mennonite Church in Donnellson, Iowa, was dedicated and has faithfully served its congregation for 117 years; and
   WHEREAS, Zion Mennonite became yoked with the Donnellson Presbyterian Church, U.S.A., on August 23, 1970, where both maintained their denomination identity and polity while sharing ministries and working together as Christians to spread the joy and message of the Gospel of Christ for 40 years until the closure of the Donnellson Presbyterian Church on January 31, 2010; and
   WHEREAS, the congregation today is led by Rachelle Luitjens of Olds, Iowa, the 37th pastor overseeing Sunday services and the works of the church; and
   WHEREAS, the mission of Zion Mennonite Church is, “Trusting in God’s hope for our future, we meet God in rich and meaningful worship, nurture each generation to grow in faith, and serve the needs of others in love, here and around the world; as a beacon of God’s love, we invite all people to join our family as we joyfully live together with Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit”; NOW THEREFORE,

   BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE, That the Senate congratulates and honors Zion Mennonite Church’s historical presence in Iowa and for 175 years of Anabaptism and Mennonite fellowship in Lee County, the state of Iowa, and across the globe; and

   BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Senate recognizes that global Mennonites celebrated 500 years of Anabaptism in 2025, honoring its founding by Menno Simons in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1525.