January 2008 Newsletter
A History of Hus Memorial Presbyterian Church, part 3
Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Adapted from a Historical Treatise Written by Charlotte Stelcik
Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Adapted from a Historical Treatise Written by Charlotte Stelcik
The Central West Bohemian Presbytery (cont.)
The fraternal associations in presbyteries worked for the benefit and inspiration of the pastors. The elders and the membership, due to language difficulties, received the spiritual impact of the great Presbyterian Church indirectly through their ministers. To counteract this temporal deficiency all the Bohemian Presbyterian churches in the United States, together with the Independent Reformed churches of Ely, Iowa, and Silver Lake, Minnesota, formed an informal organization called the Evangelical Union. This organization became the training school of the elders and of the members in cooperation among churches. At the first meeting of the Union at Racine, Wisconsin, in 1893, the publication of a Bohemian monthly church paper, “The Union,” was agreed upon and the publication of the paper was committed to Dr. Pisek of New York. In 1896 the weekly Sunday School paper, “The Besidka,” very ably edited Dr. Pisek. The publication of the church monthly was discontinued in 1898. The Sunday School paper was taken over by the Presbyterian Board of Publication and then was supplanted by the incomparable English publications of the Board.
On November 1, 1908, a convention of the Bohemian and Reformed Churches in the United States was held in Omaha, Nebraska, to which Hus Memorial church sent a delegate. This was the beginning of an effort to keep all the Czech churches together. The convention met every year in different Czech churches in various states. Out of this evangelical union grew the organization of the Central West Presbytery to which churches in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota belonged.
The Central West Bohemian Presbytery was established by act of the General Assembly in session at Atlantic City, May 28, 1910, and became part of the Synod of Iowa. In pursuance of the enabling act of the General Assembly the Presbytery was convened by the Rev. Vaclav Hlavaty, pastor of the Bohemian Presbyterian Church of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, at that city on September 12, 1910. In order to secure as full a representation of all churches as possible, the smallest especially, at meetings of the Presbytery, the Presbytery voted a rule to pay out of the Presbytery treasury one-half of the railroad fare to delegated elders and ministers. The rule was fully justified by the returns of hearty cooperation. The educational responsibility was ably led by a line of chairmen of the Sunday School, the Young People, and the Educational Committees. Rev. B. A. Filipi gave the Sunday Schools in the Presbytery a new direction by bringing to the attention of teachers and superintendents the results of the research of the Board of Sunday Schools. The first Sunday School Conference was held at Blue Rapids, Kansas, where it became a biennial institute.
With the exception of Hus Memorial Presbyterian Church of Cedar Rapids, the Central West Presbytery was a rural one. At that time the rural churches were centers of spiritual life, not for a single nationality, but for the whole communities where they were located.
Because of Him ~ Terry
4-5Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you're on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute! 6-7Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. 8-9Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.
On November 1, 1908, a convention of the Bohemian and Reformed Churches in the United States was held in Omaha, Nebraska, to which Hus Memorial church sent a delegate. This was the beginning of an effort to keep all the Czech churches together. The convention met every year in different Czech churches in various states. Out of this evangelical union grew the organization of the Central West Presbytery to which churches in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota belonged.
The Central West Bohemian Presbytery was established by act of the General Assembly in session at Atlantic City, May 28, 1910, and became part of the Synod of Iowa. In pursuance of the enabling act of the General Assembly the Presbytery was convened by the Rev. Vaclav Hlavaty, pastor of the Bohemian Presbyterian Church of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, at that city on September 12, 1910. In order to secure as full a representation of all churches as possible, the smallest especially, at meetings of the Presbytery, the Presbytery voted a rule to pay out of the Presbytery treasury one-half of the railroad fare to delegated elders and ministers. The rule was fully justified by the returns of hearty cooperation. The educational responsibility was ably led by a line of chairmen of the Sunday School, the Young People, and the Educational Committees. Rev. B. A. Filipi gave the Sunday Schools in the Presbytery a new direction by bringing to the attention of teachers and superintendents the results of the research of the Board of Sunday Schools. The first Sunday School Conference was held at Blue Rapids, Kansas, where it became a biennial institute.
With the exception of Hus Memorial Presbyterian Church of Cedar Rapids, the Central West Presbytery was a rural one. At that time the rural churches were centers of spiritual life, not for a single nationality, but for the whole communities where they were located.
Because of Him ~ Terry
4-5Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you're on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute! 6-7Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. 8-9Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.
Philippians 4:4-9 (MSG), Pray About Everything
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