Home » A Child Was Born On A Bed Of Straw And A Church Flourishes For 125 Years

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The Immanuel Lutheran Church, located five miles east of Rockwell City, Iowa, on Highway 20, recently celebrated its 125th Anniversary.

The congregation gave thanks that day for a severe blizzard, a determined family and the birth of a child on a bed of straw--for had these events not occurred in the 1870s, the church would not exist.

"It's exciting," said the Rev. John R. Lohman. "For a small church in this remote setting to be here for 125 years is remarkable. These are the greatest people on earth, and it has been a blessing to be their pastor.

Paul Sonnenfeld, church president, said, "These are hard-working people who put God first in their own families, and that nurtures our congregation."

While many rural churches are dying, Immanuel grows. They also recently dedicated a new 4000 square-foot annex, something virtually miraculous in the rural Iowa environment. The church is located in Calhoun County, an area of 527 square miles, which boasts having only one traffic stop light and a shrinking population of 11,000 divided among 12 small towns that range is population from 50 to 2200. 

The congregation can thank a blizzard and a baptism for their existence. It happened in the 1970s.

Seven Lutheran families looking for Iowa farmland were trapped for several days in a March blizzard in Manson. They were taken in by local families and slept on improvised straw mattresses.

As a result of the long delay caused by the storm, they decided not to trek further north, and ended up purchasing land in the area east of Rockwell City where they settled.

A year later, one of the original seven families produced a child, born in a log cabin on a straw-filled mattress. They were determined to have the baby boy baptized by a Lutheran minister. One was located north of Manson.

In those days travel was difficult. The family drove a lumber wagon over rutted, frozen roads to have the baby baptized. After the ceremony, the parents of the infant asked the pastor, if he would come to the Rockwell City area to conduct services in their homes.

The Rev. Theodore Mattfeld agreed. He preached to groups who assembled in private homes for several years, until Immanuel Church was built. Had it not been for the blizzard, the families would have settled further north. Had it not been for the birth of the child in such a meager setting, and the events which ensued, Immanuel would not have been built in the area.

The story has an eerie familiarity.

 

Marty RicKard Bio

Marty RicKard attended William Penn College , Iowa State University and University of Southern Mississippi , from which he holds a BS degree in journalism and photojournalism. He also has a Masters Degree in photography, in addition to the Craftsman, CPP, and A-ASP degrees. Marty spent two years as a technical writer for White Motor Company, and has worked for the Charles City Press, Mason City Globe-Gazette, and Davenport Times-Democrat. He was co-owner of the weekly New Sharon Star, where he was twice named Iowa Master Columnist for his article, which was syndicated in twenty Iowa newspapers. For more than a decade Marty's regular column appeared in the Professional Photographer magazine. He has been published in many other magazines and newspapers, including Writer's Digest, Writer Advice, Golf Digest, Resource Magazine, Picture, Range Finder, and Darkroom. In addition to his writing credits, Marty has won numerous photography awards, has lectured in 48 states, and has traveled internationally as lecturer, and judge. He was one of thirty from the U.S. to participate in the first cultural exchange with China in 1986. He currently is a regular columnist for Lens Magazine, and a full-time writer of fiction and poetry. He is the author of two poetry books and one volume of short stories. He is an entertaining speaker.