March 19, 2024

Wittemberg Church to open for events

After the final church service was held at the Wittemberg Church last November, it was decided by people with familial ties to the church to establish the nonprofit Wittemberg Church Historical Society and purchase the building.

Jim and Roxann Wormley along with Brent and Suzanne Secor Parker formed the society with the first goal being to prevent the loss of the historical church, 662 Holly Ave., and preserve the building. Currently the emphasis is to collect historical memorabilia including pictures and document of the church and Wittemberg community.

“We are going to try to operate it as a museum and a venue. We are kind of at a point where we thought we should let the community know what we are doing,” Brent Parker said.

Starting in May, the church will be available to rent for family and community events including weddings, rehearsal dinners, baptisms, wedding showers, funerals, family or class reunions, various open houses or music recitals.

The church can seat approximately 100 people comfortably with the community room able to set tables and chairs for about 80 people. Not looking to make a profit, the society would just like to see the building used and enjoyed by the community.

“We hope to charge enough to just to cover out cost and make the facility available for the community to use,” Parker said.

The building has modern facilities with air conditioning and heat along with a full kitchen. There is a basement under the fellowship hall that is also available for use.

“The appeal to it is just the country setting. It is a county church and they are getting rarer and rarer,” Parker said.

The Wittemberg Free Presbyterian Church was established four miles north of Newton as part of the College Farm community in the mid-1850s. It changed to the Wittemberg Congregational Church in 1865 and in 1957 became a part of the United Church of Christ joining three neighboring Evangelical and Reformed Churches for pastoral supply.

The main church structure was built in 1868 and remained for almost 100 years before it was remodeled in 1952 and 1953. A bell tower was added in 1963 and a 25 bell Carillion was installed as a memorial gift. The final building project was the addition of a Fellowship Hall, kitchen and office in 1978.

“The building is really in very good shape. We’ve been doing a little painting and bulb changing but not really anything major. We are doing some outside landscaping but all of that can take place while we are using it,” Parker said.

Along with use as a venue, a museum is planned to showcase the rich history of the building and community that once surrounded it.

“Our main goal is to maintain the historical aspect of it. We’re going to operate it like a museum and hopefully through time we will get more artifacts and pictures that we can keep in the church for people to come see,” Parker said.

For more information or questions about the Wittemberg Church Historical Society or rental of the church, contact Brent and Suzanne Parker at 641-792-6505 or Jim and Roxann Wormley at 641-792-3933.

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