ThisWeek CW 09/11/2014

http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/canalwinchester/news/2014/09/08/churches-mark-175-years-of-shared-history.html

The congregations of two Canal Winchester churches celebrating their joint 175th anniversaries this year can’t escape the name David.

David’s United Church of Christ, where the Rev. David Long-Higgins is a pastor, and David Evangelical Lutheran Church, led by the Rev. Dave Westphal, were started in 1839 by a young couple who moved to Canal Winchester from Pennsylvania.

“John and Elizabeth Dietz were Lutheran and German Reform, respectively, and may have left Pennsylvania to come to Canal Winchester due to their interfaith marriage,” Long-Higgins said.

“In their log cabin, which was located just off of what is now Dietz Drive, the family gathered a congregation of people from both of those similar traditions, and they’d go back and forth between the two for their Sunday services.”

The Dietz family provided the space and would invite traveling ministers to preach, Westphal said. Services would rotate between the traditions, “which are close, but still different strains,” he said.

In 1840, the two congregations constructed their original building on Washington Street in Canal Winchester, where they spent 44 years worshipping together. Then, in the late 1800s when they chose to split, each congregation built its own church.

David’s United Church of Christ, then called David’s Reformed Church, relocated to its present building at 80 W. Columbus St., while David Evangelical Lutheran Church built what is now Peace Lutheran Church at 28 Elm St.

Neither pastor could say for certain why each congregation included David in its name, but they believe it may have been related to the name of the owner of the land on Washington Street where that first church was built.

As far as both are aware — and as ironic as it may be — Long-Higgins and Westphal are the first men named David to lead these individual congregations.

In the 1960s, the congregation of David Evangelical Lutheran Church saw a need to address early childhood education in the area and built an education center on Groveport Road; the entire church eventually moved to its current location at 300 Groveport Road.

Community service and progressive ideals are long-held traditions in both congregations, Long-Higgins said. Projects included not only addressing educational needs but also, until a couple of years ago, hosting the Canal Winchester Food Pantry and Human Services organization, and developing senior housing.

“In 1975, there was a question raised about whether we had people going hungry in village,” he said. “Some people assumed the answer was ‘no’ until we pursued it and found we had a need.

“Then in the 1980s, we asked the question about a need for senior housing, and initially, people said we didn’t have that need, either, but we found that we actually did.”

Today, these ideals have not changed. Frances Steube, for whom the city’s community center is named and who served as Canal Winchester’s first female city council member, was a member of David Evangelical Lutheran Church.

Just this year, David’s UCC recognized how diverse the community has become and, according to Long-Higgins, sought another pastor to reflect this new reality.

For the past eight months, the Rev. Celestine Brooks, an African American pastor from Philadelphia, has served the congregation.

“This congregation has a rich history of progressive activity and they took a bold move in calling me,” Brooks said.

Westphal said the deep connection among traditions, congregations and families in the two churches has led to a deep connection with the community and a desire to be involved.

When the congregations thought about how to celebrate their 175th anniversaries, the community was at the top of the list of who they wanted to celebrate with. On Saturday, Aug. 16, they hosted a Family Fun Day that included activities for children, the Ohio Village Muffins baseball players, food, music and basketball and softball games.

“We had Mayor (Michael) Ebert out to throw the first pitch of our 1890s-style softball game. It was a lot of fun,” Westphal said.

He said a few hundred people turned out for the day, despite rainy weather.

Both congregations are planning special services for October, which is the month the original Dietz church formed. The public is invited to attend:

* On Sunday, Oct. 19, David’s UCC will hold services at 9:30 and 11:15 a.m. dedicated to looking back at the church’s history and envisioning its future.

* On Sunday, Oct. 26, David Evangelical Lutheran Church will host a special Reformation Day service and a meal to be served afterward.

“The current reality is that this is no longer just about our two churches,” Long-Higgins said. “All of the churches in Canal Winchester deserve to celebrate what we accomplish together. No one congregation can do it all, nor should one hope to.

“We see this coming together as a community as a broad expression of our caring. And that spirit of working together is part of all of our churches’ DNA.”