This Sunday, the First United Church, United Church of Christ bell in Belvidere will ring at 10:30 a.m. as the congregation begins a full day of celebration for the church’s 150^th anniversary.

Worship service will include a message delivered by Rev. Kim Wood, conference minister of the Southeast Conference of the United Church of Christ.

Other ministers who have formerly served First United will also participate in the service which includes Holy Communion, open to all. 

Organist Dr. Thomas Zimmerman and pianist Gina Austin will accompany the service along with other special music. 

Immediately following worship, a “world-famous” Belvidere potluck lunch will be enjoyed.  After the meal, members and former members will participate in a program of music and memories, combined with congregational singing of several beloved hymns. 

Rev. Dr. Brian Byrne and the congregation invite everyone to bring a dish and join them on this special day in the life of First United Church, UCC, located at 4099 Owl Hollow Road in Belvidere.

History of the church

Just after the Civil War, many Swiss-German families settled in and near Belvidere, coming primarily from Switzerland, Ohio, and Gruetli in Grundy County, looking for land to farm and an opportunity to succeed in life. 

Several of these Swiss-German families, united by their Reformed faith, cultural heritage and language, joined together to form a church.

Today, that church is First United Church, UCC, located on Owl Hollow Road in Belvidere, and on Sunday, the church members will celebrate their long history with a 150^th-anniversary homecoming.

Delving into the history of First United Church, UCC, is a look back to the history of the area and the nation.

For instance, when the first meeting was held on July 13, 1873, to organize the Belvidere German Reformed Church, the recently settled immigrants spoke only German. 

Early services at the church, which was enrolled as a member of the Indiana Classis of Reformed Churches in December 1874 as First Reformed Church, Franklin County, Tennessee, were conducted entirely in German. 

By 1885, realizing it could not fulfill its ministry to the community of English-speaking people by preaching and teaching in German alone, English preaching services were introduced on Sunday nights, and an English Sunday school class was started. 

On Jan. 1, 1909, the congregation voted to have English preaching two Sunday mornings a month, and by 1920, German services were discontinued. 

Although it has been over 100 years since services were conducted in German in Belvidere, the congregation has often remembered its early Swiss-German heritage with special family-night fellowship suppers with traditional Swiss-German food.

Meeting places & parsonages

Another facet of First United Church’s history that demonstrates the changing scene of the community and the US economy in 150 years is the congregation’s meeting place and parsonage. 

The early founders met originally in homes and then at the Kasserman Schoolhouse 1 1/2 miles north of Belvidere. 

The Kasserman Schoolhouse burned in 1878, and the congregation transferred to the Belvidere Schoolhouse until 1880 when the congregation purchased two acres of land in the heart of Belvidere for $45 for the future home of the church.  The front lot was set aside for the church building and the parsonage, while the rest was left for a cemetery. 

In 1880, the congregation first constructed the original parsonage for $300, but it was destroyed by a fire in 1915, ignited by the spark of a passing locomotive on the tracks that ran along the back edge of the property.  Since then, two other parsonages have followed, and the train through Belvidere and its tracks are just a memory now. 

The initial one-room white clapboard church sanctuary was built during the fall of 1884 and spring of 1885 for $1,750. The church building has seen many changes through the decades, including a two-story addition for Sunday school rooms, a fellowship hall and a kitchen in the 1950s, a brick facade and stained-glass windows in the 1960’s, a steeple in the 1980s, and, of course, scores of improvements and modernizations to the interior.

Name changes

First United Church’s history also parallels the history of organized religion in the nation through its name changes.  

Originally named the First Reformed Church, the church became the First Evangelical and Reformed Church when the Reformed and Evangelical denominations merged under one name in 1934. 

Then, in 1957, the Evangelical and Reformed denomination and the Congregational Christian denomination merged to become the United Church of Christ, and the church became the First United Church of Christ, Belvidere until 1993, when it was decided to change the church name to First United Church, UCC, as it is known today.

Heart of the church

Regardless of changes in language, building, and name, the one thing that has remained consistent throughout the years is the heart of the church, founded by hard-working and caring individuals who sought a place for worship, fellowship and serving together. 

One story of the church bringing the community together is rooted in World War II when 36 young men of the community were enlisted in the armed services and 25 of them members of First E&R Church, Belvidere, as it was called at that time. 

Candle-lighting prayer services were observed weekly at the church for the men in uniform with all 36 young men coming home safe.

Today’s congregation, made up of some who are descended from the earliest founders of the church as well as families and individuals who were drawn to the church for its warm and hospitable nature, takes pride in its generosity and service to local and worldwide missions.