Alburnett Christian Church...
Strives to conduct it's life in accordance with the pattern and spirit of the New Testament.
We believe the scriptures to be the inspired Word of God and adequate to rule upon the
faith and practice of all God's people.
The congregation is not part of a denomination. We are totally free as an independent
body of "Christians only". The congregation is under the shepherding of elders. Our
elders are: David Maier; Dale Kouba; and Chad Soukup.
Membership in our congregation rests upon the terms laid down in the New Testament
for one to become a Christian. Those terms are:
Hear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Romans 10:14
Believe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Acts 16:13
Repent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Acts 2:38
Confess . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Romans 10:10
Be Immersed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Acts 2:38
Live the New Life . . . . . . . . . . . . .Romans 6:5
To Become a Christian Today:
1. At the singing of the invitation hymn, proceed to the front of the auditorium.
2. You will be asked to confess your faith in Christ.
3. You will be immersed at your earliest convenience.
To Transfer Membership to This congregation:
If you are an immersed Christian, proceed to the front of the auditorium at the
invitation time and indicate your intention. You do not need a letter of transfer
from another congregation.
Strives to conduct it's life in accordance with the pattern and spirit of the New Testament.
We believe the scriptures to be the inspired Word of God and adequate to rule upon the
faith and practice of all God's people.
The congregation is not part of a denomination. We are totally free as an independent
body of "Christians only". The congregation is under the shepherding of elders. Our
elders are: David Maier; Dale Kouba; and Chad Soukup.
Membership in our congregation rests upon the terms laid down in the New Testament
for one to become a Christian. Those terms are:
Hear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Romans 10:14
Believe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Acts 16:13
Repent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Acts 2:38
Confess . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Romans 10:10
Be Immersed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Acts 2:38
Live the New Life . . . . . . . . . . . . .Romans 6:5
To Become a Christian Today:
1. At the singing of the invitation hymn, proceed to the front of the auditorium.
2. You will be asked to confess your faith in Christ.
3. You will be immersed at your earliest convenience.
To Transfer Membership to This congregation:
If you are an immersed Christian, proceed to the front of the auditorium at the
invitation time and indicate your intention. You do not need a letter of transfer
from another congregation.
Alburnett Christian Church
Pastors and Years of Service
Ben Shoemaker 5 years - 1904
Stephensen - 10/1913
L. Hough - 9/1914 - 5/1915
Robert Jones - 9/1915
E.C. Sarchett - 10-23 - 1/1930
Perry Schaler - 1/1930 - 7/1931
F.A. Andrew - 9/1931 - 1/1935
Gordon Smith - 1/1935 - 11/1937
C.C. Miller - 1/1938 - 9/1938
Maurice Swisher - 12/1938 - 11/1942
Lloyd Patten - 12/1942 - 1/1945
Hugh Orchard - 2/1945 - 2/1949
Norvin Nolte - 3/1949 - 10/1950
C.V. Pence - 12/1950 - 5/1953
Kenneth Dudley - 5/1953 - 8/1955
Elmer Baker - 10/1955 - February 1957
Dr. Marion Williams - (Supplied)
Don Manworren - 9/1958 - 8/1961
Howard Hake - 9/1961 - 7/1963
David Warner - 8/1963 - 7/1965
Dr. William Knight - (Supplied)
Ben Sanderson - 1/1966 - 6/1967
Dr. Marion Williams - (Supplied)
Scott Callahan - 5/1968 - 11/1969
Joe Semcos - (Supplied)
Larry Holder - 5/1970 - 6/1976
Phil Prickett - 6/1976 - 6/1978
Jack Cronkhite - 7/1978 - 12/1979
Daryl Martin - 3/1980 - 5/1982
Bob Lawrence - 8/1982 - 9/1996
Dale Maloney - 12/1996 - 7/1999
H. Daniel Peterson - 8/1999 - Present
Pastors and Years of Service
Ben Shoemaker 5 years - 1904
Stephensen - 10/1913
L. Hough - 9/1914 - 5/1915
Robert Jones - 9/1915
E.C. Sarchett - 10-23 - 1/1930
Perry Schaler - 1/1930 - 7/1931
F.A. Andrew - 9/1931 - 1/1935
Gordon Smith - 1/1935 - 11/1937
C.C. Miller - 1/1938 - 9/1938
Maurice Swisher - 12/1938 - 11/1942
Lloyd Patten - 12/1942 - 1/1945
Hugh Orchard - 2/1945 - 2/1949
Norvin Nolte - 3/1949 - 10/1950
C.V. Pence - 12/1950 - 5/1953
Kenneth Dudley - 5/1953 - 8/1955
Elmer Baker - 10/1955 - February 1957
Dr. Marion Williams - (Supplied)
Don Manworren - 9/1958 - 8/1961
Howard Hake - 9/1961 - 7/1963
David Warner - 8/1963 - 7/1965
Dr. William Knight - (Supplied)
Ben Sanderson - 1/1966 - 6/1967
Dr. Marion Williams - (Supplied)
Scott Callahan - 5/1968 - 11/1969
Joe Semcos - (Supplied)
Larry Holder - 5/1970 - 6/1976
Phil Prickett - 6/1976 - 6/1978
Jack Cronkhite - 7/1978 - 12/1979
Daryl Martin - 3/1980 - 5/1982
Bob Lawrence - 8/1982 - 9/1996
Dale Maloney - 12/1996 - 7/1999
H. Daniel Peterson - 8/1999 - Present
The History of the Alburnett Christian Church
(Revised, December 9, 2021 by Ed Crosby, Church Historian)
You are…God’s people and members of God’s household, built on the foundation
of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.
Eph. 2: 19,20
And upon this rock I will build My church.
Matt. 16: 18
Early records of the growth of the Christian Church in Linn County show that the movement was started in 1844 with the founding of the Marion Christian Church at Hunter’s Island, later known as Shiloh, and now Hiawatha. Meetings were held in the homes of members as the beginnings of most early churches show, being conducted by the members themselves; there were no finances available for the salary of a regular minister.
On November 7, 1849, the first circuit was organized of Jackson, Scott, Cedar, Johnson, Jones and Linn counties, and Elder N.A. McConnell was called to serve as first district missionary. The difficulties of financing church work during this period were brought out by the fact that Elder McConnell received a salary of but three hundred dollars a year..this to be solicited and collected from the members of the church by McConnell himself. Elder McConnell, in his trips through the country, rode horseback, and in the first six months of his service to his new charge, covered eighteen hundred miles in this fashion, preaching more than a hundred and forty sermons..many of which were given late at night. During his travels here and there through the territory assigned to him, he established many of the churches of the Christian denomination which function today, including the Lafayette Christian Church.
Elder McConnell served as pastor at Lafayette and preached in surrounding communities. He conceived the idea of constituting a church at Alburnett, then known as Burnett-Trentham, and persuaded the people to organize a Sunday School in the village as a nucleus.
A school was opened in the waiting room of the depot until the RR Officials decided they needed the space. As there was no other space available, the school was discontinued for a time. A hall was built by A.C. Burnett that the Methodist Church furnished, and Christian Church occupied jointly for worship and Sunday School. It was evident that little could be done without a church building. On the ninth of September, 1891, N.A. McConnell wrote a subscription and circulated it, obtaining names of persons who would support the new church with membership and finances. McConnell left the field, and the work of finishing the subscription was taken up by James Hastie, assisted by John Lanning.
Elder J.G. Encil came into the field and assisted greatly with his leadership and counsel. At a meeting September 22, 1892, Elder Encil submitted a plan of the church, which was adopted and a building committee named consisting of Jas Hastie, John Lanning, A.C. Burnett, C.H. Frick, and Amos Lyon. The committee immediately set about procuring stone and other building material for the foundation of the church to be built on those lots donated by A.C. Burnett for that purpose. Stone was contracted to be delivered on cars at Central City. After the foundation was laid and finished, the contract of furnishing the building material and doing the work of building the church was given to Thomas Harring of Center Point for $1,050.
Elder Encil commenced to preach in the hall for the Christian Congregation at Alburnett on July 10, 1892, and preached regularly every two weeks in the afternoon on the Lord’s Day.
FROM THE CHURCH RECORDS: “At a meeting of the Disciples held in Alburnett, November 1, 1893, N.A. McConnell, having been called to assist in the organization of a church in the place, preached a sermon on the Church, after which 20 persons enrolled their names as applicants for membership and having personally by word expressed faith in Christ and willing to fellowship each to each other.
The hand of fellowship was extended from each to each and they were declared a Church of Christ.
Upon the nomination by N.A. McConnell of John Lanning and S.G. Turner for Elders and C.H. Frick and J.M. Schweitzer for deacons, the church unanimously elected them as nominated and the church was declared scripturally organized.
After this, A.C. Burnett was unanimously elected clerk.
The following 20 names are charter members:
John Lanning Ida L. Lillie
J. M. Schweitzer Sadie Wilson
J. G. Turner Rebecca Turner
C.H. Frick M. J. Lanning
J. A. Wilson Margaret E. Ford
Almeda Frick Emaline Laurence
A.C. Burnett Alfred Laurence
Etta March Lizzie Schweitzer
G.B. Bunger Meta Bunger
Francis Bunger Minnie Bunger “
In its early years, the church was served by various ministers and evangelists. Revival or tent meetings were held from time to time for several weeks, with new converts strengthening the church. These meetings were an important function of early churches.
Brother B.F. Shoemaker was secured to be minister, sharing his time with Lafayette. This cooperation between the two churches continued for several years. A furnace had been added to the basement and gas lights installed. In 1907, Brother Shoemaker was hired for full time ministry, as his work was concluded at Lafayette. Because there was no housing available in Alburnett, the congregation decided to buy a house for use as a parsonage. A house was bought for $1,125, part of the money being raised by a cash subscription paper circulated among the members, raising $800. This method of raising money was continued through the years; loyal members contributing when the need arose.
Pastors L. Hough and R.B. Jones served the church the next years. Rev. E. C. Sarchett was called in September, 1923. The church grew under this ministry, making several improvements to the building and redecorating by the Ladies Aid Society. Rev. Sarchett resigned in 1930, and the next several years the church was served by part-time pastors. Perry Schuler and F. A. Andrews preached on Sundays until January, 1935. Gordon Smith was called to serve the Alburnett Church and the Christian Church in Center Point. This union lasted until January, 1945, with Pastors C.C. Miller, Maurice Swisher and Lloyd Patten filling the pulpits. These ministers lived in Center Point.
An addition was built onto the church in 1938, paid for by the Ladies Aid. The kitchen was moved from the basement into the new addition. This was a great improvement, as the food had been prepared in the basement and handed up through a trap door in the Sunday School room.
When Center Point decided they wanted a full-time minister, Rev. Hugh Orchard, a retired minister living in Cedar Rapids, agreed to preach for the Alburnett Church until they could secure a full-time minister. In 1947, Rev. Orchard reminded the congregation he was just filling in. A subscription of members resulted in pledges of $2,600, and with the sale of the old parsonage bringing $4,000, it was decided that plans should go ahead to build a new parsonage as soon as materials and labor were available. A building committee of Lester Miller, Clarence Stahly, Herman Koch, Pauline Wagner and Cecil Wright was named.
The building was started in August, 1948. After a considerable delay, because of a shortage of materials and waiting on labor, the parsonage was completed about March, 1949. Pastors Norvin Nolte , C.V. Pence, Kenneth Dudley and Elmer Baker preached until 1959.
Over the years extensive work was done on the church building. A full basement was dug under the church, giving much needed additional Sunday School space. A new floor was laid in the sanctuary, new pews installed, installation of city water, the building of a covered entryway to the basement and a garage was built.
From the beginning years, the Alburnett Church had cooperated with the Disciples of Christ in missionary giving and searching for ministers. At this time, a plan was worked out with the Lafayette Church whereby the two churches would work together and use the services of students at the Drake Divinity School. In June, 1958, Donald Manworren was given a call to preach. He agreed to come, living in the parsonage during the weekends, spending four days in Des Moines, and serving full time during the summer. The church prospered in all ways during this arrangement. Howard Hake continued with this plan through July, 1963. David Warner was hired as a prospective student, but decided not to attend Drake.
Ben Sanderson, Scott Callahan and Larry Holder preached in the next years.
In 1968, with guidance from the Des Moines office of the Disciples of Christ, serious consideration was given to conduct meetings with the Methodist Church in Alburnett concerning a merger. After attending one meeting, a vote by ballot resulted in any further study being discontinued. The Alburnett Christian Church had been affiliated with The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) up to 1968. At this time, a vote of the congregation resulted in the request for withdrawal of its name from the Year Book of Christian Churches (Disciples of Christ).
The next addition to the church building was built in 1969, increasing space in the basement and in the sanctuary, costing $13, 906. It was paid for in November of 1970.
Phil Prickett, Jack Cronkhite and Daryl Martin were next to serve as pastors. Bob Lawrence came to the field in August of 1982 and was followed by Dale Maloney. The parking lot, which was bought in 1972, was blacktopped in 1992.
H. Daniel Peterson was next to serve as pastor of the Alburnett Christian Church. He came to serve in August of 1999 and in October of 2000 another ambitious building program was begun. It included an addition with classrooms in the rear, a consolidated entryway with an elevator in the front. The extension of the church parking lot, and roofing the entire structure was completed. Gerald Houts was contracted to build the addition, and many church members gave of their time and effort to help out wherever they could. A new church sign was erected in 2010 replacing the sign that was built in the 1960’s. The years of 2013 and 2014 saw further updates to our Church. In 2013 the sanctuary received new carpeting and the meeting room adjacent to the sanctuary was remodeled with new windows and drywall. In 2014 the Church basement floor was completely refinished with new epoxy paint and the kitchen was expanded/remodeled.
A Congregational Meeting was held on October 29, 2017 whereby the Church Constitution and By-Laws were amended by the members present with the required 2/3 majority vote. The new Constitution was brought up to date to reflect the way our church had been conducting business for several years. The previous update was done in June, 1982.
On November 3, 2019 the Alburnett Christian Church held an open house in honor of H. Daniel Peterson and his family for 20 years of service to the church and the community of Alburnett. His family consists of his wife, Melanie and their children, Andrew, Bethany, Joshua and Becca.
December 22, 2019 was another milestone reached by 2 of our devoted members. Esther Clemans and Saloma McCright were recognized with a plaque honoring each of them for 80 years of dedicated membership to our church.
The Spring of 2020 brought with it the greatest challenge, to date, for the Alburnett Christian Church. On March 8, 2020 the first confirmed cases of the Chinese Flu (COVID-19) were detected in Iowa. This flu virus was believed to have originated in Wuhan, China at an open-air meat market. The Chinese Communist government at first denied the existence of this disease but as time went on and more and more cases were reported worldwide China finally admitted the disease probably originated within its country. This disease soon became pandemic and spread worldwide very rapidly and was deemed to be very contagious. On March 9, 2020 Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed a Proclamation of Disaster Emergency for the state of Iowa. Schools were closed for several weeks and the first fatality from the Chinese Flu in Iowa was recorded on March 25, 2020. A few days later on March 29 the first fatality in Linn County was reported. At this time the Alburnett Christian Church was closed for several weeks.
On April 2, 2020 Governor Reynolds ordered schools to remain closed through the end of April. By mid-April it became clear that this virus was spreading rapidly and Governor Reynolds ordered all schools in the state of Iowa remain closed for the remainder of the school year.
On May 14, 2020 Iowa reported record new weekly unemployment claims of 20% for eight straight weeks. All three public universities in Iowa (University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa) reported tens of millions of dollars in financial losses as a result of the pandemic.
Throughout the summer and into the fall of 2020 the Chinese Flu pandemic spread rapidly in the state of Iowa. On August 31, 2020 Iowa was reported to have the highest rate of positive virus cases in the United States.
On November 10, 2020 Governor Reynolds issued a proclamation that, among other things, "prohibited all social, community, recreational, leisure or sporting gatherings with more than 25 people indoors or 100 people outdoors unless all people over the age of 2 wear masks" and required that "all events of over 10 people must ensure 6 feet of social distancing between groups." This proclamation was to be in effect through November 30, 2020.
As a result of this proclamation, our church, through the leadership of the Elders and input of the congregation, instituted new procedures for conducting worship services at the Alburnett Christian Church. Seating within the sanctuary was restricted to meet the 6 foot spacing requirement and communion was served in the side classroom/meeting space adjacent to the sanctuary. Instead of passing the communion trays, individual disposable cups were made available in order to prevent the possible transmission of the virus. Instead of passing the offering plates, members simply placed their givings in the offering plates as they exited the sanctuary at the end of the worship service.
Throughout this time period there was a noticeable decline in attendance to our worship services and Sunday School was canceled. Our minister, Dan Peterson, worked diligently to record the worship service each Sunday and was able to post it online via the internet for people who were interested. During this difficult time the members of the Alburnett Christian Church continued to financially support the church to the best of their abilities and at this time we are pleased to report our church is still financially sound.
At the time of posting this update to our church's history (December 9, 2021), statewide cases of the Chinese Flu in Iowa have totaled 584,387 and the number of deaths has reached 7,550. More and more citizens are becoming vaccinated and church attendance has almost reached normal levels when compared to pre-pandemic attendance.
Our country is still experiencing difficult challenges with this virus and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future but through our faith in God and willingness of the American people to persevere we hope someday to return to life as normal.
The Church has always been an active and loyal supporter of missions, both home and foreign. The first record of giving to home and foreign missions was in 1894, and this commitment has been an important share of the finances of the church through the years. During their term of membership with the Disciples of Christ, the Church accepted and met their goal nearly every year. In 1947, the Alburnett Church was fourth in all Christian Churches in Iowa in per capita giving as noted in the Year Book, giving $9.47 per member for missionary and benevolent causes. Since 1982, 8% of every dollar given is earmarked for missions or benevolence in the community.
The women of the Church have readily accepted the role of service; whether in spiritual leadership, financial help or by laboring in love. Some of the items found in the records are the final payment of a furnace, the last payment on the parsonage, a new sidewalk and the majority of the expense of remodeling the kitchen in 1987.
Some interesting items of expense have been: 1893 - 38 rolls of wallpaper at $.15 per roll, 43 yards of border at $.05, 280 yards of muslin for the walls at $.0425; light bill in the 1940’s - $1.02.
The Alburnett Christian Church currently is a part of the Independent Christian Church/Church of Christ Fellowship and participates in various community meetings.
There have been many loyal families serving this church through the years, several of three generations. Many members have been asked to serve in different functions, and have willingly accepted the role. The Lord has blessed His Church here and will continue as this congregation shows their love and obedience to Him.
(Revised, December 9, 2021 by Ed Crosby, Church Historian)
You are…God’s people and members of God’s household, built on the foundation
of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.
Eph. 2: 19,20
And upon this rock I will build My church.
Matt. 16: 18
Early records of the growth of the Christian Church in Linn County show that the movement was started in 1844 with the founding of the Marion Christian Church at Hunter’s Island, later known as Shiloh, and now Hiawatha. Meetings were held in the homes of members as the beginnings of most early churches show, being conducted by the members themselves; there were no finances available for the salary of a regular minister.
On November 7, 1849, the first circuit was organized of Jackson, Scott, Cedar, Johnson, Jones and Linn counties, and Elder N.A. McConnell was called to serve as first district missionary. The difficulties of financing church work during this period were brought out by the fact that Elder McConnell received a salary of but three hundred dollars a year..this to be solicited and collected from the members of the church by McConnell himself. Elder McConnell, in his trips through the country, rode horseback, and in the first six months of his service to his new charge, covered eighteen hundred miles in this fashion, preaching more than a hundred and forty sermons..many of which were given late at night. During his travels here and there through the territory assigned to him, he established many of the churches of the Christian denomination which function today, including the Lafayette Christian Church.
Elder McConnell served as pastor at Lafayette and preached in surrounding communities. He conceived the idea of constituting a church at Alburnett, then known as Burnett-Trentham, and persuaded the people to organize a Sunday School in the village as a nucleus.
A school was opened in the waiting room of the depot until the RR Officials decided they needed the space. As there was no other space available, the school was discontinued for a time. A hall was built by A.C. Burnett that the Methodist Church furnished, and Christian Church occupied jointly for worship and Sunday School. It was evident that little could be done without a church building. On the ninth of September, 1891, N.A. McConnell wrote a subscription and circulated it, obtaining names of persons who would support the new church with membership and finances. McConnell left the field, and the work of finishing the subscription was taken up by James Hastie, assisted by John Lanning.
Elder J.G. Encil came into the field and assisted greatly with his leadership and counsel. At a meeting September 22, 1892, Elder Encil submitted a plan of the church, which was adopted and a building committee named consisting of Jas Hastie, John Lanning, A.C. Burnett, C.H. Frick, and Amos Lyon. The committee immediately set about procuring stone and other building material for the foundation of the church to be built on those lots donated by A.C. Burnett for that purpose. Stone was contracted to be delivered on cars at Central City. After the foundation was laid and finished, the contract of furnishing the building material and doing the work of building the church was given to Thomas Harring of Center Point for $1,050.
Elder Encil commenced to preach in the hall for the Christian Congregation at Alburnett on July 10, 1892, and preached regularly every two weeks in the afternoon on the Lord’s Day.
FROM THE CHURCH RECORDS: “At a meeting of the Disciples held in Alburnett, November 1, 1893, N.A. McConnell, having been called to assist in the organization of a church in the place, preached a sermon on the Church, after which 20 persons enrolled their names as applicants for membership and having personally by word expressed faith in Christ and willing to fellowship each to each other.
The hand of fellowship was extended from each to each and they were declared a Church of Christ.
Upon the nomination by N.A. McConnell of John Lanning and S.G. Turner for Elders and C.H. Frick and J.M. Schweitzer for deacons, the church unanimously elected them as nominated and the church was declared scripturally organized.
After this, A.C. Burnett was unanimously elected clerk.
The following 20 names are charter members:
John Lanning Ida L. Lillie
J. M. Schweitzer Sadie Wilson
J. G. Turner Rebecca Turner
C.H. Frick M. J. Lanning
J. A. Wilson Margaret E. Ford
Almeda Frick Emaline Laurence
A.C. Burnett Alfred Laurence
Etta March Lizzie Schweitzer
G.B. Bunger Meta Bunger
Francis Bunger Minnie Bunger “
In its early years, the church was served by various ministers and evangelists. Revival or tent meetings were held from time to time for several weeks, with new converts strengthening the church. These meetings were an important function of early churches.
Brother B.F. Shoemaker was secured to be minister, sharing his time with Lafayette. This cooperation between the two churches continued for several years. A furnace had been added to the basement and gas lights installed. In 1907, Brother Shoemaker was hired for full time ministry, as his work was concluded at Lafayette. Because there was no housing available in Alburnett, the congregation decided to buy a house for use as a parsonage. A house was bought for $1,125, part of the money being raised by a cash subscription paper circulated among the members, raising $800. This method of raising money was continued through the years; loyal members contributing when the need arose.
Pastors L. Hough and R.B. Jones served the church the next years. Rev. E. C. Sarchett was called in September, 1923. The church grew under this ministry, making several improvements to the building and redecorating by the Ladies Aid Society. Rev. Sarchett resigned in 1930, and the next several years the church was served by part-time pastors. Perry Schuler and F. A. Andrews preached on Sundays until January, 1935. Gordon Smith was called to serve the Alburnett Church and the Christian Church in Center Point. This union lasted until January, 1945, with Pastors C.C. Miller, Maurice Swisher and Lloyd Patten filling the pulpits. These ministers lived in Center Point.
An addition was built onto the church in 1938, paid for by the Ladies Aid. The kitchen was moved from the basement into the new addition. This was a great improvement, as the food had been prepared in the basement and handed up through a trap door in the Sunday School room.
When Center Point decided they wanted a full-time minister, Rev. Hugh Orchard, a retired minister living in Cedar Rapids, agreed to preach for the Alburnett Church until they could secure a full-time minister. In 1947, Rev. Orchard reminded the congregation he was just filling in. A subscription of members resulted in pledges of $2,600, and with the sale of the old parsonage bringing $4,000, it was decided that plans should go ahead to build a new parsonage as soon as materials and labor were available. A building committee of Lester Miller, Clarence Stahly, Herman Koch, Pauline Wagner and Cecil Wright was named.
The building was started in August, 1948. After a considerable delay, because of a shortage of materials and waiting on labor, the parsonage was completed about March, 1949. Pastors Norvin Nolte , C.V. Pence, Kenneth Dudley and Elmer Baker preached until 1959.
Over the years extensive work was done on the church building. A full basement was dug under the church, giving much needed additional Sunday School space. A new floor was laid in the sanctuary, new pews installed, installation of city water, the building of a covered entryway to the basement and a garage was built.
From the beginning years, the Alburnett Church had cooperated with the Disciples of Christ in missionary giving and searching for ministers. At this time, a plan was worked out with the Lafayette Church whereby the two churches would work together and use the services of students at the Drake Divinity School. In June, 1958, Donald Manworren was given a call to preach. He agreed to come, living in the parsonage during the weekends, spending four days in Des Moines, and serving full time during the summer. The church prospered in all ways during this arrangement. Howard Hake continued with this plan through July, 1963. David Warner was hired as a prospective student, but decided not to attend Drake.
Ben Sanderson, Scott Callahan and Larry Holder preached in the next years.
In 1968, with guidance from the Des Moines office of the Disciples of Christ, serious consideration was given to conduct meetings with the Methodist Church in Alburnett concerning a merger. After attending one meeting, a vote by ballot resulted in any further study being discontinued. The Alburnett Christian Church had been affiliated with The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) up to 1968. At this time, a vote of the congregation resulted in the request for withdrawal of its name from the Year Book of Christian Churches (Disciples of Christ).
The next addition to the church building was built in 1969, increasing space in the basement and in the sanctuary, costing $13, 906. It was paid for in November of 1970.
Phil Prickett, Jack Cronkhite and Daryl Martin were next to serve as pastors. Bob Lawrence came to the field in August of 1982 and was followed by Dale Maloney. The parking lot, which was bought in 1972, was blacktopped in 1992.
H. Daniel Peterson was next to serve as pastor of the Alburnett Christian Church. He came to serve in August of 1999 and in October of 2000 another ambitious building program was begun. It included an addition with classrooms in the rear, a consolidated entryway with an elevator in the front. The extension of the church parking lot, and roofing the entire structure was completed. Gerald Houts was contracted to build the addition, and many church members gave of their time and effort to help out wherever they could. A new church sign was erected in 2010 replacing the sign that was built in the 1960’s. The years of 2013 and 2014 saw further updates to our Church. In 2013 the sanctuary received new carpeting and the meeting room adjacent to the sanctuary was remodeled with new windows and drywall. In 2014 the Church basement floor was completely refinished with new epoxy paint and the kitchen was expanded/remodeled.
A Congregational Meeting was held on October 29, 2017 whereby the Church Constitution and By-Laws were amended by the members present with the required 2/3 majority vote. The new Constitution was brought up to date to reflect the way our church had been conducting business for several years. The previous update was done in June, 1982.
On November 3, 2019 the Alburnett Christian Church held an open house in honor of H. Daniel Peterson and his family for 20 years of service to the church and the community of Alburnett. His family consists of his wife, Melanie and their children, Andrew, Bethany, Joshua and Becca.
December 22, 2019 was another milestone reached by 2 of our devoted members. Esther Clemans and Saloma McCright were recognized with a plaque honoring each of them for 80 years of dedicated membership to our church.
The Spring of 2020 brought with it the greatest challenge, to date, for the Alburnett Christian Church. On March 8, 2020 the first confirmed cases of the Chinese Flu (COVID-19) were detected in Iowa. This flu virus was believed to have originated in Wuhan, China at an open-air meat market. The Chinese Communist government at first denied the existence of this disease but as time went on and more and more cases were reported worldwide China finally admitted the disease probably originated within its country. This disease soon became pandemic and spread worldwide very rapidly and was deemed to be very contagious. On March 9, 2020 Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed a Proclamation of Disaster Emergency for the state of Iowa. Schools were closed for several weeks and the first fatality from the Chinese Flu in Iowa was recorded on March 25, 2020. A few days later on March 29 the first fatality in Linn County was reported. At this time the Alburnett Christian Church was closed for several weeks.
On April 2, 2020 Governor Reynolds ordered schools to remain closed through the end of April. By mid-April it became clear that this virus was spreading rapidly and Governor Reynolds ordered all schools in the state of Iowa remain closed for the remainder of the school year.
On May 14, 2020 Iowa reported record new weekly unemployment claims of 20% for eight straight weeks. All three public universities in Iowa (University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa) reported tens of millions of dollars in financial losses as a result of the pandemic.
Throughout the summer and into the fall of 2020 the Chinese Flu pandemic spread rapidly in the state of Iowa. On August 31, 2020 Iowa was reported to have the highest rate of positive virus cases in the United States.
On November 10, 2020 Governor Reynolds issued a proclamation that, among other things, "prohibited all social, community, recreational, leisure or sporting gatherings with more than 25 people indoors or 100 people outdoors unless all people over the age of 2 wear masks" and required that "all events of over 10 people must ensure 6 feet of social distancing between groups." This proclamation was to be in effect through November 30, 2020.
As a result of this proclamation, our church, through the leadership of the Elders and input of the congregation, instituted new procedures for conducting worship services at the Alburnett Christian Church. Seating within the sanctuary was restricted to meet the 6 foot spacing requirement and communion was served in the side classroom/meeting space adjacent to the sanctuary. Instead of passing the communion trays, individual disposable cups were made available in order to prevent the possible transmission of the virus. Instead of passing the offering plates, members simply placed their givings in the offering plates as they exited the sanctuary at the end of the worship service.
Throughout this time period there was a noticeable decline in attendance to our worship services and Sunday School was canceled. Our minister, Dan Peterson, worked diligently to record the worship service each Sunday and was able to post it online via the internet for people who were interested. During this difficult time the members of the Alburnett Christian Church continued to financially support the church to the best of their abilities and at this time we are pleased to report our church is still financially sound.
At the time of posting this update to our church's history (December 9, 2021), statewide cases of the Chinese Flu in Iowa have totaled 584,387 and the number of deaths has reached 7,550. More and more citizens are becoming vaccinated and church attendance has almost reached normal levels when compared to pre-pandemic attendance.
Our country is still experiencing difficult challenges with this virus and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future but through our faith in God and willingness of the American people to persevere we hope someday to return to life as normal.
The Church has always been an active and loyal supporter of missions, both home and foreign. The first record of giving to home and foreign missions was in 1894, and this commitment has been an important share of the finances of the church through the years. During their term of membership with the Disciples of Christ, the Church accepted and met their goal nearly every year. In 1947, the Alburnett Church was fourth in all Christian Churches in Iowa in per capita giving as noted in the Year Book, giving $9.47 per member for missionary and benevolent causes. Since 1982, 8% of every dollar given is earmarked for missions or benevolence in the community.
The women of the Church have readily accepted the role of service; whether in spiritual leadership, financial help or by laboring in love. Some of the items found in the records are the final payment of a furnace, the last payment on the parsonage, a new sidewalk and the majority of the expense of remodeling the kitchen in 1987.
Some interesting items of expense have been: 1893 - 38 rolls of wallpaper at $.15 per roll, 43 yards of border at $.05, 280 yards of muslin for the walls at $.0425; light bill in the 1940’s - $1.02.
The Alburnett Christian Church currently is a part of the Independent Christian Church/Church of Christ Fellowship and participates in various community meetings.
There have been many loyal families serving this church through the years, several of three generations. Many members have been asked to serve in different functions, and have willingly accepted the role. The Lord has blessed His Church here and will continue as this congregation shows their love and obedience to Him.