Ebenezer German Congregational Church 1892-1992
The Original Ebenezer Church in 1895
Ebenezer German Congregational Church on NE 7th and Stanton [1]
1999 Photograph of the former Ebenezer German Congregational Church located at NE 7th and Stanton – note that the steeple has been removed.
The First German Congregational Ebenezer Church (Ersten Deutschen Kongregationalen Ebenezer Kirche) was the first and mother church in Portland, organized on April 24, 1892. [2] The name of the church was taken from the following Bible passage.
Confirmation program from 1922
Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the stone Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath the Lord help us.
I Samuel 7:12 [3]
The members of this church immigrated to the United States from the Volga region of Russia and most had been in Nebraska and Kansas for a short duration before coming to Portland in 1890. These early settlers were members of the Brotherhood and immediately began to meet in the houses for prayer meetings and Bible study. In the beginning, the Sunday school met in the Miller home; then John Krieger Sr. built a summer kitchen next to his house where all the meetings were then held. In 1891, this group felt the need of a pastor, as more people were coming from Russia almost every month. Some had known Reverend Johannes Koch in Russia, where he was an evangelist. [4]
Reverend Johannes (John) Koch was the founder of this church. Reverend Koch had formerly served as a schoolteacher in the German colonies and arrived in the United States in 1887. [5] He was ordained a German Congregational minister in 1888 through an interpreter, since he could not understand English. His first churches were in Ritzville and Endicott, Washington. [6] In Russia he had participated in the organization of the Brotherhood movement and there had been elected evangelist and colporteur. In the states of Oregon and Washington he found scattered groups of his former countrymen who were without a pastor. In 1891, Reverend John Koch accepted a call from the people in Portland and organized a German Congregational Church on April 24, 1982. [7] Reverend Koch became the leading force of German Congregationalism on the Pacific Coast, and it was largely through his influence that the Russian Germans in Washington, Oregon and California were brought into the fold of Congregationalism. [8]
The first Ebenezer German Congregational Church was erected in the late fall of 1892. Before the first church was finished Reverend Koch confirmed a class of young people in the Krieger home. The original church was later moved and converted into apartments.
The following excerpt is taken from a letter, dated February 6, 1893, in which the Reverend Koch depicts the religious life of his Russian German congregation in Portland, Oregon:
We have not had a single evening without a meeting since Christmas. Last week our Brethren felt that the evenings would no longer suffice. We therefore had meetings in the houses hither and thither, beginning at nine o’clock every morning and closing at nine o’clock at night. People who were considered to be beyond the reach of grace have been carried along by the power of the revival. Old perverse sinners, drunkards and hardened men, down to children of fifteen, have been reached and have humbly sought forgiving grace. Last Sunday we had reception of members. The church was packed full. Forty-eight converts gathered about the altar. All freely confessed Christ as their only Savior, after a very searching address. Then they were strongly exhorted to steadfastness in the Christian life and the Apostolic Confession of Faith was read to them, to which they all responded with a loud ‘yes.’ Then while the church sang the hymn:
‘To each other we give in covenant
The faithful fraternal hand,’
I gave to each the right hand of fellowship. Then all went down on their knees, sometimes a half-hour at a time. Every man wanted to thank the Lord that he had sought him and found him and given him his hand of fellowship… Thus the work goes on. God be praised! [9]
This was the glorious revival of the winter of 1893, in which, nigh unto one hundred souls were saved, the majority of whom became members of Ebenezer Church. [10]
The following Volga Germans were charter members of the Ebenezer Church: Henry Aschenbrenner, Margaret Aschenbrenner, John Gable, Elizabeth Gable, John Giebelhaus, Margaret Giebelhaus, George Hinkle, Elizabeth Hinkle, John Krieger Sr., Margaret Krieger, John Krieger Jr., Elizabeth Krieger, Henry Kniss, Katharine Kniss, John Leel, Magdalena Leel, John Miller, Alice Miller, Conrad Repp, Emma Repp, George Repp, Margaret Repp, Ludwig Sauer, Magdalena Sauer, Conrad Schnell, Anna Marie Schnell, Conrad Sinner, Katherine E. Sinner, John Schwartz, Katherine Schwartz, Adam Schwartz, Elizabeth Schwartz, Peter Weigandt, Sophia Weigandt, Henry Wolf, Margaret Wolf, Conrad Yost, Elizabeth Yost, Peter Yost, Elizabeth Yost, John Yost, Magdalena Yost, Adam Yost, Katherine E. Yost. [11]
Reverend E. Grieb was the first resident pastor from 1893-1895. Reverend Grieb was educated in Germany and had the desire to be a good pastor. However, the more conservative members of the church accused him of not being a real Christian whenever he suggested that they do anything different from what had been customary in Russia. As a result, he was forced to leave the church in 1895 and Reverend Koch was asked to take complete charge of the church. It was at this time that the parsonage was built. [12]
Reverend John C. Schwabenland was pastor at the church until 1901. At that time Reverend Jacob Fath, one of the most outstanding ministers in the German Congregational filed, led this church until 1903. Reverend Fath was born in Germany but came to the United States as a child in 1846. He was converted while serving as a soldier in the Civil War and decided to become a minister. Reverend Fath’s two and one-half years in Portland left a lasting impression on many members of his congregation. [13]
Reverend Jacob Fath and Family - contributed by Linda Scoggins
In 1903, Reverend John Hopp became the minister of the church. During Reverend Hopp's pastorate, the church at NE 7th and Stanton was built. The following text is from The Sunday Oregonian, November 20, 1904, page 5:
German Church Is Completed. -- The German Congregational Church, Stanton and East Seventh streets, Rev. John Hoppe, pastor, is practically completed, but it will not be dedicated until the Sunday before Christmas. It is yet to be furnished. The church is a beautiful building, and will cost when furnished $6000.
Reverend Hopp's name has been associated with the church from that time until the present. Reverend Hopp was born in Frank, Russia in 1871 where he married Charlotte Miller. Reverend Hopp immigrated to the United States in 1893 and settled in Lincoln, Nebraska. Reverend Hopp decided to enter the ministry of the Congregational church while living in Lincoln and he later studied at the Chicago Theological Seminary form 1898-1903. His first church was in Park Ridge, Illinois where he served from 1902-1903. In 1903, he brought his family to Portland after receiving a “call” from Ebenezer Church. Reverend Hopp served the Ebenezer Church for eleven years.
In 1914, a quarrel broke out over the retention of the pastor. Under the leadership of Reverend Hopp, a large part of the membership then organized the Zion Church on NE 9th and Fremont. Reverend Hopp was a handsome man who met people easily and had a suavity of manner that helps to explain why he was able to keep the loyalty of his parishioners. Reverend Hopp served as pastor at Zion Church until 1936. Because of his long residence in Portland, Reverend Hopp was of great help to the members of the church who wished to take out citizenship paper or needed legal service. [14]
Reverend J.S. Gyorog was the last full time minister of this church and passed away suddenly the latter part of 1984.
Descendants of the first Portland Germans from Russia were holding services at this church as late as May 31, 1992 when the church celebrated its 100th Anniversary. The church disbanded in 1992 and the property was sold to the Foursquare Church.
Pastors of the Ebenezer Church [15]
Rev. Johannes Koch |
1892-1893 and 1895-1899 Reverend Koch founded the Ebenezer church in 1892. Prior to serving the Ebenezer Church, Reverend Koch was pastor at the First Congregation Church in Ritzville, Washington (1882-1891) and the Evangelical Lutheran Congregational Church in Endicott, Washington (1883-1893). After serving at Ebenezer, he again led the First Congregational Church in Ritzville (1893-1895) as well as the Zion Church in the same town (1893-1894). After Zion, he returned to Ebenezer and also served the church in Stafford, Oregon (1895-1899) before going on to the Salem Church in Ralston, Washington (1899-1904). [16]
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Rev. Edmund Grieb |
1893-1895 After serving the Ebenezer Church, Rev. Grieb served the Hofnungs Church in Ballard, Washington (1987-1906), the Philadelphia Church in Odessa, Washington (1897-1898), and the First German Church in Seattle, Washington (1898-1911). [17] |
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Rev. Jacob Legler |
1899-1900
During his time at Ebenezer, Reverend Legler also served the Stafford, Oregon church. [18] |
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Rev. J.C. Schwabenland |
1900-1901 Obituary for Reverend Johann Conrad Schwabenland Der Kirchenbote, Vol. 77 No. 51, 22 Oct 1959 Yankton, South Dakota Pastor Johann Conrad Schwabenland, son of Friederich Schwabenland and his wife, Maria Christina nee Kinzel, was born Nov. 11, 1871 in Straub, Russia. He was baptized by Provost Hoeltz whose son, Pastor Hoeltz confirmed the lad. At the end of December 1891, he came to the United States of America to settle at Fresno, California where he worked for the railroad until 1893. After hearing about our school in Crete, Nebraska, he went there. The school was moved to Wilton, Iowa, which he attended and graduated in 1895. Following that, he entered the Seminar of the German Institute in Chicago and completed his work there in 1898. On an order from Supt. M. Eversz, he went to Glen Ullin, North Dakota where he was ordained into the Holy Ministry on August 16, 1898 and served the Bethanien, Bethesda, Ebenezer and St. Markus churches. He married Dorothea Miller of Portland, Oregon on May 27, 1903. The marriage was blessed with three sons and three daughters of which a son, Walter preceded him in death. In 1953, he and his wife with their six children and eleven grandchildren celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. After Pastor Schwabenland left North Dakota, he came to Portland, Oregon where he took charge of the Ebenezer Church. He went to Odessa, Washington in 1900 and served the Pilgrim and Hoffnungsberg churches. At the same time, he organized three churches, namely: Marlin, Friedensfeld and Zoar. He returned to Oregon in 1905 to serve the Beaverton church and in 1907, he had a call to the Salem church in Ralston and the Warden, Washington church. For five years, he served as Pastor‑at‑Large in the states of Oregon, Washington and Idaho and then Colorado. At the end of 1914, he served the church in Dinuba and after four years, he moved to Lodi from 1918 to 1920 and then he received a call to Viola, all in California. He later served in American Falls, Idaho, in Windsor and Berthoud, Colorado and then a second time in the Pilgrim church in Odessa, Washington from 1933 to 1939. From then on, he and his wife settled in Portland, Oregon in retirement. His loyal life‑partner was taken from his side on December 2,1956. He went to live near his children in California and entered a retirement home. At the age of 87 years, 10 months and 1 day, the Lord took him to his eternal rest on September 12, 1959. His survivors included five children: Ray and Earl, Mrs. Emma Haynes, Mrs. Ruth Studer and Mrs. Anna Elizabeth Morgan; 11 grandchildren; two great‑ grandchildren; a brother and a sister and many faithful friends. After a church service on September 15, in the Free Evangelical Lutheran Cross Church at Fresno where Pastor Carl J. Maier and Pastor T.C. Strobel served and Pastor Nuetzmann of Elk Grove also took part, the deceased was transferred to Portland, Oregon where the Rev. J. N. Sauer and Pastor Fred Heydel in the Second church held a service. The pallbearers in Fresno were: Pastors E. Jeske, R. Klein, E. Dahmer, B.M. Schafer, A. Raugust and H. Beier. The deceased had chosen the text previously: namely, Revelations 14,13 and Hebrews 11,4. The burial took place at the Rose City Cemetery in Portland, Oregon. The final prayer for the deceased was: Yes, soon I’ll be there in the lofty perch O, my Lord, I beseech Thee of one wish; Bring them all with me To the Heavenly Home, to You!
Carl J. Maier, Pastor Fresno, California Reverend Schwabenland’s daughter, Emma Schwabenland-Haynes, grew up in Portland and became a noted scholar. Her works include many articles, papers and books on the Germans from Russia.
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Rev. Jacob Fath |
1901-1903
Reverend Fath served from 1901-1903. The records for the Pacific Conference of Congregational Churches do not indicate that he served other churches. [19] |
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Rev. John Hopp |
1903-1914
Served Ebenezer from 1903 to 1914 and the Zion Church in Portland from 1914 to 1936. [20] |
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Rev. F.A. Willmann |
1914-1918
Served Ebenezer from 1914 to 1918. [21] According to Dianne Oldham of North Canton Ohio, Rev. F.A. Willman served the Ebenezer German Congregational Church from 1914 to 1918. Rev. Fredrick Arthur Willman is Dianne Oldham's great grandfather. He was born in Germany about 1852 and entered the U.S. in 1855. In 1900 he was pastor of an Evangelical Church in Lorain, Ohio; in 1905 he was in Ackley, Iowa and in 1910 he was in McPherson County, South Dakota. |
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Rev. George L. Zocher |
1918-1924
Reverend Zocher was a native of Dresden, Germany, born in 1872. He came to the United States in 1890 to study for the ministry. He attended the University of the Pacific at San Jose, California and became an American citizen on September 9, 1895. A few days later he married Barbara Lou Lindemeyer. Reverend Zocher was in the ministry for 51 years serving churches in Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, South Dakota, Oregon, and Washington. [22] After serving Ebenezer Reverend Zocher went on to the Zion Church in Ritzville, Washington (1928-1933), the First German church in Dryden, Washington (1934-1936) and St. Mark’s Church in Olympia, Washington (1931-1940). [23] Reverend Zocher died in December 1944. Funeral services were held at the Second German Congregational Church in Portland with Pastor H. Hagelganz officiating. Vault interment was at Rose City Cemetery.
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Rev. George H. Graf |
1924-1933 Served Ebenezer from 1924-1933. The records for the Pacific Conference of Congregational Churches do not indicate that he served other churches. [24] Information provided by Arliss Hoskins: George Henry Graf b. 30 Mar 1872 Dobrinka, Russiad. 22 Apr 1928 Portland, Oregonsource: "Kirchenbote" Vol. 57 #21; 26 May 1948 Pastor G. H. Graf, 1907 to Fort Collins, CO, Fall 1907 entered Theological Seminary, Chicago, Il. Completed and ordained 1911 in Ebenezer Congregational Church, Sheboygan, WI. Also served Sutton, Nebraska; Lincoln, NE at Zion Congregational 1916-19; Ft Morgan-Christus Congregational 1919-1922; Berthoud, Colorado - Bethlehem Congregational; Portland, Oregon-Ebenezer Congregational.Died at residence at Route 2 Troutdale, OR. Funeral arrangements by Pearson Funeral Church, NE Knott at Union, buried at Rose City Cemetery. Lived with foster daughter Lydia.Entered theological seminary in Chicago, IL, Fall of 1907 the year he and his wife, Katerina Clauser, came to Ft. Collins, CO. Completed studies 1911 and was ordained in Ebenezer Church in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.He also served churches in Sutton, NE; Zion Congregational Church in Lincoln; Christus Congregational Church in Berthoud, Co; and Ebenezer Congregational in Portland, Oregon. Retired in 1933. Lived with his foster daughter Lydia Sinner. Survived by foster daughter Mrs. Henry Sinner and her husband and two children. Per "Kirchenbote" Vol 57 #21; 26 May 1948.CENSUS: 1920 Fort Morgan, CO; enumeration district 200, ward 4, Sheet 8B; hard to read 8 Jan 1920; no enumerator.724 Graf George H. 47 1907 na 1913 b R, mother tongue L.C.; minister, Christus Congregational Church, Katie 47 mother tongue L.C. no occupationMetzler, Lydia adopted daughter 22 1912 na 1918 L.C. no occupation. This would be the daughter of Georg Adam Metzler and Maria Catharina Clauser b 10 Oct 1859 and d 18 Oct 1933.(Zion Congregation of Portland, OR p44 has Lydia Metzler m Alexander Maier birth of Terry Douglas Maier b 31 Jan 1941; p50 birth of Joan Eliz 24 Mar 1945; p284 married 21 Sep 1935 of Alex and Lydia w/witness Wilma Metzler and Adam Koch; pages 291 & 296 as Witness Lydia Maier.CHURCH: Berthoud, Colorado church the Pastors are not listed. Ebenezer Congregational, Lutheran of Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Graf and his wife Kathy Clauser served until Jan 1915. |
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Rev. Ferdinand Renz |
1933-1935
Served Ebenezer from 1933-1935. The records for the Pacific Conference of Congregational Churches do not indicate that he served other churches. [25]
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Rev. Hugo Becker |
1935-1948
Rev. Becker was sent to Germany for six months to work with POWs and displaced persons under the auspices of the Committee for War Victims and Reconstruction of the Congregational Christian Churches, the Y.M.C.A., and the Prisoners of War Committee of America. [26]
Served Ebenezer from 1937-1948. The records for the Pacific Conference of Congregational Churches do not indicate that he served other churches. [27]
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Rev. Jonathan Weber |
1948-1954
Served Ebenezer from 1949-1955. The records for the Pacific Conference of Congregational Churches do not indicate that he served other churches. [28] |
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Rev. Eric Kallis |
1954-1958
Served Ebenezer from 1957-1958. The records for the Pacific Conference of Congregational Churches do not indicate that he served other churches. [29]
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Rev. J.S. Gyorog |
1958-1984
Prior to serving the Ebenezer Church, Reverend Gyorog was pastor at the Second German Congregational Church in Portland (1950-1958). [30] |
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Endnotes:
[1] Ebenezer Congregational Church Seventy-Five Years 1892-1967, (Portland, Oregon: no publisher, 1967), no pagination, front cover.
[2] Schwabenland Haynes, Emma, My Mother’s People, 1959. Used with permission of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia. p. 66
[3] Ebenezer Congregational Church Seventy-Five Years 1892-1967, (Portland, Oregon: no publisher, 1967), no pagination, back cover.
[4] Ebenezer Congregational Church Seventy-Five Years 1892-1967, (Portland, Oregon: no publisher, 1967), no pagination, 3rd and 4th pages.
[5] Eisenach, George J., Pietism and the Russian Germans in the United States(Berne, Indiana: The Berne Publishers, 1948), p. 135.
[6] Schwabenland Haynes, Emma, My Mother's People (unpublished, 1959). Used with permission of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia.
[7] Schwabenland Haynes, Emma, My Mother's People (unpublished, 1959). Used with permission of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia., p. 66.
[8] Eisenach, George J., Pietism and the Russian Germans in the United States(Berne, Indiana: The Berne Publishers, 1948), p. 135.
[9] Eisenach, George J., Pietism and the Russian Germans in the United States(Berne, Indiana: The Berne Publishers, 1948), pp. 135-136.
[10] Ebenezer Congregational Church Seventy-Five Years 1892-1967, (Portland, Oregon: no publisher, 1967), no pagination, 6th page.
[11] Ebenezer Congregational Church Seventy-Five Years 1892-1967, (Portland, Oregon: no publisher, 1967), no pagination, 4th page.
[12] Schwabenland Haynes, Emma, My Mother's People (unpublished, 1959). Used with permission of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, p. 67
[13] Schwabenland Haynes, Emma, My Mother's People (unpublished, 1959). Used with permission of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, p. 86.
[14] Schwabenland Haynes, Emma, My Mother's People (unpublished, 1959). Used with permission of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, pp. 86-87.
[15] Ebenezer Congregational Church Seventy-Five Years 1892-1967, (Portland, Oregon: no publisher, 1967), no pagination, 9th through 13th pages.
[16] History of the Pacific Conference of Congregational Churches of Washington, Oregon and Idaho, p. 8.
[17] History of the Pacific Conference of Congregational Churches of Washington, Oregon and Idaho, p. 6.
[18] History of the Pacific Conference of Congregational Churches of Washington, Oregon and Idaho, p. 8.
[19] History of the Pacific Conference of Congregational Churches of Washington, Oregon and Idaho, p. 5.
[20] History of the Pacific Conference of Congregational Churches of Washington, Oregon and Idaho, p. 7.
[21] History of the Pacific Conference of Congregational Churches of Washington, Oregon and Idaho, p. 13.
[22] Newspaper article, December 13, 1944, p. unknown.
[23] History of the Pacific Conference of Congregational Churches of Washington, Oregon and Idaho, p. 13.
[24] History of the Pacific Conference of Congregational Churches of Washington, Oregon and Idaho, p. 6.
[25] History of the Pacific Conference of Congregational Churches of Washington, Oregon and Idaho, p. 10.
[26] Newspaper clipping from The Oregonian or The Journal, date and page unknown.
[27] History of the Pacific Conference of Congregational Churches of Washington, Oregon and Idaho, p. 4.
[28] History of the Pacific Conference of Congregational Churches of Washington, Oregon and Idaho, p. 13.
[29] History of the Pacific Conference of Congregational Churches of Washington, Oregon and Idaho, p. 8.
[30] History of the Pacific Conference of Congregational Churches of Washington, Oregon and Idaho, p. 6.