Welsh Congregational United Church of Christ

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First Welsh Congregational Church
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Location5 miles (8.0 km) southwest of Iowa City off Iowa Highway 1
Coordinates 41°36′47.3″N91°36′33.8″W / 41.613139°N 91.609389°W / 41.613139; -91.609389 Coordinates: 41°36′47.3″N91°36′33.8″W / 41.613139°N 91.609389°W / 41.613139; -91.609389
Area1 acre (0.40 ha)
Built1887
NRHP reference # 77000528 [1]
Added to NRHPApril 13, 1977

Welsh Congregational United Church of Christ, formerly known as First Welsh Congregational Church, is located in a rural area southwest of Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. [1]

Iowa City, Iowa City in Iowa, United States

Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's population at 76,290 in 2018, making it the state's fifth-largest city. The metropolitan area, which encompasses Johnson and Washington counties, has a population of over 171,000.

National Register of Historic Places Federal list of historic sites in the United States

The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance. A property listed in the National Register, or located within a National Register Historic District, may qualify for tax incentives derived from the total value of expenses incurred in preserving the property.

Contents

History

The first sermon associated with the church was in the home of John Griffith in September 1845, and it is believed to be the first Welsh church "in the whole region west of the Mississippi River", according to a 1905 account in the Columbus Gazette. [2] The congregation was founded as a Congregational church the following year, also in the Griffith home. In 1848 they acquired the same house and remodeled it for their meeting house. The cemetery in the church yard was established in 1851. The meeting house served their needs until their first church building was constructed in 1864. The old building was sold and converted into a horse barn. This congregation is the mother church of two other Welsh congregations. [3] The Iowa City congregation was founded in 1849, and the Williamsburg, Iowa congregation was founded over a dispute about the use of Welsh during services. Owen Evans led those that advocated for English services to found the Williamsburg congregation around 1860.

Congregational church religious denomination

Congregational churches are Protestant churches in the Reformed tradition practicing congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs.

Meeting house Building in which religious and sometimes public meetings take place

A meeting house is a building where religious and sometimes public meetings take place.

Williamsburg, Iowa City in Iowa, United States

Williamsburg is a city in Iowa County, Iowa, United States. The population was 3,068 at the 2010 census. Williamsburg is known for Holden's Foundation Seeds. Aviation pioneer Eugene Ely was born outside Williamsburg.

The present church was completed in 1887 for $1,828.56 and it was consecrated debt-free. [2] For over 50 years it was the location for the annual meeting of the Welsh Congregational Church Association, known as the Gymanfa. It was also the site for an annual Eisteddfod , a festival of oratory, poetry, and musical contests. [3] The congregation continued to worship here until 1954 when it disbanded because of a decline in membership. The closure was only temporary as efforts were begun in 1963 to re-establish the congregation. It is now associated with the United Church of Christ. [4]

Eisteddfod type of Welsh festival of literature, music and performance

In Welsh culture, an eisteddfod is a Welsh festival of literature, music and performance. The tradition of such a meeting of Welsh artists dates back to at least the 12th century, when a festival of poetry and music was held by Rhys ap Gruffydd of Deheubarth at his court in Cardigan in 1176, but the decline of the bardic tradition made it fall into abeyance. The current format owes much to an 18th-century revival arising out of a number of informal eisteddfodau. The closest English equivalent to eisteddfod is "session"; the word is formed from two Welsh morphemes: eistedd, meaning "sit", and bod, meaning "be". In some countries, the term eisteddfod is used for certain types of performing arts competitions that have nothing to do with Welsh culture.

United Church of Christ Protestant Christian denomination

The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical confessional roots in the Congregational, Reformed, and Lutheran traditions, and with approximately 4,882 churches and 824,866 members. The United Church of Christ is a historical continuation of the General Council of Congregational Christian churches founded under the influence of New England Pilgrims and Puritans. Moreover, it also subsumed the third largest Reformed group in the country, the German Reformed. The Evangelical and Reformed Church and the General Council of the Congregational Christian Churches united in 1957 to form the UCC. These two denominations, which were themselves the result of earlier unions, had their roots in Congregational, Lutheran, Evangelical, and Reformed denominations. At the end of 2014, the UCC's 5,116 congregations claimed 979,239 members, primarily in the U.S. In 2015, Pew Research estimated that 0.4 percent, or 1 million adult adherents, of the U.S. population self-identify with the United Church of Christ.

Architecture

The church is located on a rise above a county highway. It is a simple frame building that rests on a concrete foundation. [3] There are four stained glass windows on the side walls. On the roof above the main entrance is a spire that rests on a square base and a hexagonal drum. To the north of the church building is the cemetery.

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References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. 1 2 "The Welsh Congregational Church". Columbus Junction, Iowa: Columbus Gazette. March 29, 1905. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
  3. 1 2 3 Agnes Jones. "First Welsh Congregational Church". National Park Service . Retrieved 2017-05-06. with photos
  4. "Iowa Congregations". Iowa Conference of the United Church of Christ. Retrieved 2017-05-06.