Back in 2006, we acquired Allen's Grandma's 1954 Chevy Bel Air.
Allen's grandfather purchased the car brand new for Grandma (Schlosser) Graber so that she would have something reliable. He passed away the next year.
Grandma drove that car to the grocery store in Pretty Praire (just a few blocks from her home) and also to the Pretty Prairie church that was 3 miles down the road in the country. Allen says that Grandma Schlosser was the slow driver. The other Grandma Graber (Grandma Bretz) was the fast driver and they loved to ride with her!
I can still remember when my Dad, who pastored the church, was running behind because my mother took too long getting ready in the morning. He wanted to pass that SLOW vehicle but my mother said that would not be appropriate for the pastor to pass that elderly lady!
After Grandma Schlosser passed away, Al's father got the car. But when his Dad went into the nursing home, Allen purchased it from him.
We drove it to our home, an hour away.
The tires were not in good condition and on the way, one of the tires shredded apart. He put on a spare to get us home.
No seatbelts but you can hang on!!
It has run fairly good over the years although one time we did have to take it in to get some maintenance work done on it.
We've enjoyed taking many friends and family on rides to Sonic over the years. Only our granddaughter Claire did not enjoy it. The gas fumes got to her.
This year, Allen decided it was time to sell the car. It made me very sad, but I said as long as it went to someone in the family, I wouldn't mind so much. Word got out that Grandma Schlosser's car was for sale. And Allen's cousin's son decided he would like to have it.
We took it for a last run to Sonic.
After eating, we did one last run dragging Main. Complete with a train, of course. This is Newton, afterall.
We gave the car a good wash.
Final night in our garage.
The next day we drove the car to North Newton to Allen's cousin's house. We were combining a Krehbiel family reunion with the sale of the car. All the fellas had to check out the car.
Allen had to tell the story about Grandma Schlosser suing Fidel Castro!
If you want to know, call him!
The 4 Krehbiel sisters, Al's 1st cousins.
They had the first turn riding in Grandma's car.
Everyone who wanted to got a ride.
Then the deed was done.
The new owners.
May it bring them much joy! Good-bye, sweet Bel Air!
Last Sunday we went to Pretty Prairie to celebrate the First Mennonite Church's celebration of 140 years since it's beginning.
Alice Krehbiel is still playing the organ! She was the organist when my Dad was the pastor there in 1971- 1977.
A picture of the choir in 1909. The couple who are circled are Allen's grandparents!
The program began with a call to worship from the choir. Allen's brother, Sid, and our sister-in-law, Gayle sing in the choir. We were surprised to see the choir enter from the back of the church and not through the door up front.
Here I am beside Allen (back row, 3rd and 4th from the left) in the youth choir back in 1972. Back in those days, we would walk up the steps from the basement that opened up to the choir loft. But evidently, those steps aren't very sturdy anymore and several have a hard time climbing steps anymore. Plus they store things back there now.
Also, in the 70's, there were 2 pulpits. One was for the pastor, the other for other speakers. If you look at the current church photos, there is 1 pulpit and it is so very nice!
We sang "For God So Loved Us", the first verse in German.
Gott ist die Liebe, lasst mich erlosen, Gott ist die Liebe, Er liebt auch mich. Drum sag ich noch einmal: Gott ist die Liebe! Gott ist die Liebe, Er liebt auch mich.
God loves me dearly, Grants me salvation, God loves me dearly, loves even me. Therefore I’ll say again: God loves me dearly, God loves me dearly, Loves even me.
What a joy to sing that song! I grew up singing this in German at our school.
Allen's cousin, Royce Krehbiel, read the history of the church. On the screen is the picture of the first church building.
I asked Royce if he could send me a copy of what he read. Anyone who missed this celebration might enjoy this. I have put it at the end of this post.*
Peter A. Graber, pictured below, was Al's great-grandfather.
He was a deacon.
My Dad.
We sang the song "To God Be The Glory" - I love that song!
1 To God be the glory, great things He hath done, So loved He the world that He gave us His Son, Who yielded His life our redemption to win, And opened the life-gate that all may go in.
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, Let the earth hear His voice; Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, Let the people rejoice; Oh, come to the Father, through Jesus the Son, And give Him the glory; great things He hath done.
2
Oh, perfect redemption, the purchase of blood, To every believer the promise of God; The vilest offender who truly believes, That moment from Jesus a pardon receives.
3
Great things He hath taught us, great things He hath done, And great our rejoicing through Jesus the Son; But purer, and higher, and greater will be Our wonder, our transport when Jesus we see.
There were 7 reflections given. Some from retired pastors who came for the celebration - Stan Schrag, Pastor Lester Zook, Interim Pastor Dave Denlinger and Interim Pastor Everett Schultz. Letters were read from other pastors or the widows; Mrs. Richard Tschetter, Pastor Elmer Wall, Mrs. Don Roberts. Sid read the ministry memory from Pastor Elmer Wall.
The children's choir sang "There Were Twelve Disciples". There was a children's story also, told by Chris Krehbiel, explaining to them the history of our ancestors from Switzerland. (I should have taken a photo)
"Great Is Thy Faithfulness". I started videoing on the 2nd verse.
Brother Sid sang with his quartet. "I Sing the Mighty Power of God" and "What a Day That Will Be".
It was so gospel centered and very encouraging to us.
We enjoyed a delicious meal in the basement. Allen was very excited that there was mack kuchen (poppy seed roll).
What joy we had connecting with people from our past! Just delightful!
There were 2 rooms that we could see items from the past and videos too. One video had my dad giving the church a Japanese plaque when he left the church.
I asked where the common communion cup was. (Can you imagine everyone drinking from the same cup?) We used it when we got married. Steph Basinger said she would have to hunt it down!
We had fans like this in our church in Japan also!
There was a picture of the church back before there was back wall put up to cover up the pipe organs. Hmmm. We will have to see if they took out the windows that are back there next time we go. This is actually a picture from the wedding day of Allen's Unlce Vic and Aunt Helen. See all the flowers?
Looking at "all church" photo from 1959.
Allen was 4 years old and in the front row.
Had to visit our folks' graves.
On the way home, we stopped to see Lake Cheney which is suffering from drought. The lowest level of water levels in 50 years.
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* History of First Mennonite Church – Pretty Prairie, Kansas (10/2024)
"The formal organization of the Mennonite Church in Albion Township, near Pretty Prairie, Kansas, took place in the Andrew Schwartz home located across the section from the current church building on October 10, 1884. There were 33 charter members, (that counts the men only), 29 married and 4 unmarried. At that meeting a pastor was chosen. Twenty-one men from the local fellowship were nominated, and from these nominees J.J. Flickinger was selected by lot to be the first minister and spiritual leader.
The first winter the congregation met in the home of Andrew Schwartz and later John B. Graber. By this time they had 30 families and 88 members. In order to provide a central meeting place, in 1885 a store building was purchased in Cheney, Kansas, for $80.00, moved to the present site and remodeled. That same year the congregation joined the General Conference. A new and larger building was built in 1889 for $1200.00. In 1897, eight years later, this building was destroyed by a tornado. With an insurance payment of $1000.00 they built a larger, more elaborate building to house the increased membership of 96 families and 270 people. That building served until May 5, 1905 when a fire of unknown origin completely destroyed the church and its contents. Immediately the congregation set out to build a more spacious and functional building than they had so far. October 10, of that same year a new building (36 X 56) was dedicated with a seating capacity of 600, costing $4,100.00.
Music was always an important part of worship. There were no instruments used at that time and no books with notes. Good singing was achieved by having a fore-senger or song leader who would set the tune and rhythm as well as read the words. In 1909 a formal choir was organized. The choir members, together with their director bought a reed organ for $5.00 for choir only. Two years later in 1911 the church bought a new reed organ for $115.00 and in 1914 the first piano was purchased.
The structure of leadership for the first 10 years was very simple. In 1887 John G. Graber was elected as assistant minister under J J Flickinger and Peter A. Graber was elected and ordained as a lifetime deacon. The two pastors and deacon made all the decisions at that time. In 1895 they wrote the first constitution which provided for an elected three-man deacon committee to involve more people.
The first Vacation Bible School started a couple of years after the church organized in the church building. The number of children grew quickly. By 1891 Bible School was held in the different school buildings in the area. School was only six months so VBS was two months. When school was extended to eight months VBS was shortened to six weeks.
The first Women’s Mission Society started in 1902.
In 1910 Rev. J.J. Flickinger resigned as pastor after 25 years of service, which he had served without remuneration of any kind. The other two men resigned also, raising the question of calling someone ‘outside’ the congregation to be minister. Perhaps someone younger with better education and more fluent in English. This became a very disruptive issue within the church for 9 years. Finally with the help of the General Conference Committee the congregation agreed to call a minster outside the membership and asked Rev. J.J. Flickinger to continue as associate pastor.
Rev. J.B. Epp was selected to become that pastor starting in 1919. Being the first non bi-vocational pastor with a salary of $1,200 per year and given a parsonage the church purchased for $1,500. The added financial responsibilities caused the congregation to write a new constitution that established a Trustee Committee to handle the finances of the church. Rev. Epp was a former missionary himself, and instituted regular mission offerings. It was also his leadership that arranged for the first Bible Conference to be held in this church in 1920. A large tent was erected on the church grounds to accommodate all the visitors. It was about this time that the first light plant was installed at the church to provide better lighting. Some of you might remember the small building out back.
During World War 1 the Mennonites were again faced with opposition because of their use of the German language and their non-resistance stance regarding military service. German schools were discontinued and speaking German in public was discouraged. There was a classification in the service for non-combatants. After the war Mennonite communities across the nation joined together to send relief aid to the needy areas of Germany and Russia. This resulted in the formation of the Mennonite Central Committee or MCC. Cattle, wheat and even a Ford tractor were shipped to help those farmers.
In 1922 Rev. N.W. Bahnman was chosen to succeed Rev. Epp. Since his family needed more room a building committee was appointed and plans were laid to build a new parsonage on the church grounds. An additional acre of ground was donated by the John J. Graber family and a two story, five bedroom house was built for $4,300.
J.W. Lorenz was installed as pastor in 1925 and served until 1932. It was during his time here that the church decided a new more modern building was necessary. Because they intended to re-use lumber from the existing building the last service in it was February 6, 1927 and the first service in the new one (this present building) was February 5, 1928. The church met in the high school gym during the construction. The total cost of the building was $33,000 plus the used lumber and donated labor. Each member of the congregation was asked to not only donate financially but also a certain amount of free labor. A new grand piano was purchased for the dedication of the building. One of the discussions with the design of the present building was whether to have two entrances like the old building or change to one front entrance. It was decided to continue with two entrances since at this time the men sat on the west side and the women on the east. In 1930 the Men’s Chorus was organized. The first ushers were appointed in 1931.
In March of 1932 Rev. S.M. Musselman came to minister to this growing congregation. The language question became more of an issue. Rev. Musselman could preach in both German and English. At first the children were taken to the basement during the message and taught in English while he preached in German. In 1933 the first English preaching service was introduced once every month. Later they went to two Sundays a month in English. It was also about this time that electric service from K.G. & E. electric service came, so use of the light plant was discontinued. As a result it became possible to modernize the parsonage and install running water and restrooms. However, outhouses were still in use at the church. In 1933 consecration of children was instituted and communion went from a common cup to individual cups.
In 1937 Rev. P.P. Tschetter was called to pastor the church. In 1941 the first yearbook was printed. During this time the church sent out one of their own members to the mission field. Lillian Schrag went with Sudan Interior Mission and the Sunday School classes pledged to support one-half of her support at $40 a month. This was soon extended to full support. By 1943 three Sundays a month were in English and only one Sunday in German.
After Rev. Tschetter resigned and before hiring another pastor it was decided to move the parsonage to Pretty Prairie where all the utility services were available. The house was moved and remodeled at a cost of $8,000. The house was moved May 4, 1948 and in September of that year Dr. Howard G. Nyce started his ministry. Since he was not fluent in German all the services went to English. 1949 is when church bulletins were started. In 1950 the church basement was remodeled, the restrooms installed in the church, as well as a public address system installed. In 1951 the New electric Wick pipe organ was installed at a cost of $10,000.
From 1951 to 1957 five more missionaries were sent out from our fellowship with the congregation underwriting their full support; In 1951,Harold and Gladys Graber went to Africa; in 1953, Elsie Winsinger, went to Africa;in 1954, Mary Schrag, went to India; in 1955 Amy Bergen, went to Brazil; and in 1957, Calvin Flickinger, went to Colombia, South America.
The congregation reached the high point in membership in 1954 with 646 members and 950 in Sunday School. The Youth Fellowship was established in 1956.
Six months after DR Nyce left, Missionary Gerald Bergen and Rev Leroy Stucky filed the pulpit.
In 1958 Rev. Elmer Friesen came as pastor, serving until 1961. The church started the library in 1961with an anonymous donation. Also in 1959 plans were drawn up and Prairie Sunset Home was built with the original two wings. Also about this time, the transition started of sitting together as families for the church services.
Rev. P.P. Tschetter came back as interim pastor from September 1961 to June 1962. Then Rev. Ben Rahn assumed the duties in July of 1962 and served until 1970. Around this time is when the Good News Club was started as well as helping with the Cheney Lake worship service during the summer months. In 1963 women were invited to the business meetings of the church and given voting rights.
Two more missionaries went out. Stan Schrag went to the Bahamas through the Gospel Missionary Union and Leona Schrag was sent to Zaire, Africa, by the General Conference Commission on Oversees Mission. We would be amiss not to mention all the people that went into either full time Christian service or short term service. The list is too long for this report, but the ministry from this congregation has been felt all over the world fulfilling the Lord’s command to “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel”.
The next big project undertaken by the congregation was the building of Sunday School rooms. The total cost of the classroom space in the wings, remodeling the sanctuary, adding new heating and air conditioning came to $140,000.
Rev. Peter Voran and his wife Lois returned from the Japan mission field to serve as pastor from 1971 to 1977. A delay in them coming home brought Rev. Curt Siemens as Interim Pastor from August of ’70 to Aug. of ’71. In 1976 the last German adult Sunday School class was discontinued. Vorans left in Sept. of ’77. Harold Ratzlaff filled in as Interim till the end of October of ’77.
Rev. Richard and Ruth Tschetter became the Eleventh pastor November 1977. 1979 a new parsonage was made available for the church. In 1981 the congregation gave Stan Schrag a call as an assistant pastor. In 1984 the 100 th Anniversary of the church was celebrated with a full slate of weekend activities.
When Rev. Tschetter left October of 1990 Stan Schrag filled the pulpit till Aug. of 1991. Rev. Richard Ratzlaff was Interim Pastor for a month and a half till Rev. Elmer and Winifred Wall came Oct. 1991. They were here until August of 1998. 1991 the stage was remodeled to one podium. Rev. Ben Friesen was Interim Pastor from Oct. 18, 1998, to Jul 3, 1999.
Rev. Les and Grace Zook were installed as pastor Jul. 4, 1999 and were here till June 30, 2013. ‘99 was also the year that Prairie Sunset Home was closed. With huge support from the community it was opened again a couple of years later but now as a community run home. The Praise Band began leading one Sunday a month in 2003. That same year the elevator was installed and the basement restrooms remodeled.
The 125th Anniversary was celebrated August 9, 2009. This involved a whole weekend of celebration in which many of you participated.
Main conflicts with our Biblical Worldview that led us in 2010 to leave the General Conference and become an independent Mennonite Church.
Rev. Dave Denlinger was Interim Pastor from Jul 1., 2013 to Sept.13, 2014. Pastor Don and Deb Roberts came Sept. 14, 2014, to Jul. 2, 2017. Pastor Don was influential in getting Awana started in 2015.
Wednesday nights currently have been consistently running around 100 kids, 3 years old through high school. 2016 was also the first year of a centralized budget.
Everett Schultz served as Interim Pastor Jul. 3, 2017 to Apr. 30, 2018. Then Pastor Don Roberts returned from May 1, 2018 to his passing June 21, 2020. Everett Schultz served again as Interim from Jun 22, 2020 to May, 31, 2021. In 2019 a remodeling of the foyer and the wings took place.
On Jun 1, 2021 James and Britany Blake begin their ministry here, serving to the present.
We are here today praising God for his goodness, his provision, and his faithfulness over the years and throughout the many changes in the life of the church. We have experienced changes in culture and the world around us, changes in leadership, even changes in our practice, yet, He remains unchanging and faithful. I am reminded of the words of the song that says: “may all who come behind us find us faithful."
