History
of
On December 1, 1969, the first meeting was held at Al Pike's residence. Beginning exploration was stipulated in a call accepted by Pastor Ralph Martens of Faith, Sussex. Since the Pike family was a member of Faith and lived in Hubertus, they were asked to host preliminary meetings. Five families were present at this first meeting --Pike, Grosse, Gossfeld, Ruch and Lane.
The second meeting was held on January 20, 1970 at Al
Pike's residence. Six families were present at the second meeting -- Pike,
Grosse, Gossfeld, Ruch, Lane and Kidney (eleven attended). On January 31, 1970,
eleven students from the seminary met at Al Pike's residence to canvas the
Hubertus area.
The rental of the Friess Lake Fire Hall was negotiated
with Friess Lake Advancement Association by A. Pike, R. Ruch and W. Gossfeld
for $50 per month. The first church service was held in the Friess Lake Fire
Hall on February 1, 1970, with 56 in attendance and 19 in Sunday School. Pastor
Ralph Martens of Faith Lutheran in Sussex led the service. Hymnals, together
with smaller items were kept in a locker we provided at the fire hall. The
larger items were stored in Gossfeld's garage and had to be hauled down every
Sunday and set up for services, after first clearing miscellaneous debris
within the hall. Cindy Pike (at age 11)
and Mrs. Raabe alternated as church organist.
In August of 1970, Pastor John Raabe, from the Synod
Mission Board, agreed to serve our congregation, and on November 10, 1970, our
congregation organized itself as Crown of Life Ev. Lutheran Church. The name of
our congregation was suggested by Pastor Ralph Martens. The church constitution
was adopted by our congregation on December 1, 1970. The Constitution Committee
consisted of A. Pike, Richard Ruch, Layne Kidney, Walter Gossfeld and Pastor
Raabe. Original typing was done by Mrs. Rita Cunard at Inland Diesel with
booklets printed on Inland's printing press. The original printing of the
constitution was kept in a brown (tag board) type loose leaf binder. There were
additional pages at the back of the book that contained signatures, dates and
addresses of our members as they were accepted into membership. In the early
years, all new members were contacted by the Stewardship Committee and asked to
sign the Constitution signifying their acceptance into membership. The book was
normally kept in the Pastor's office.
A church choir was started and sang for the
Children's Christmas Eve Service on December 20th. Mrs. Raabe served as the
first choir director. Mrs. Jean Holmburg served as the second choir director
for the next six years. The choir rehearsed every Wednesday evening at the
Holmburg's home until the church was built.
A Bible Class, studying the Book of Revelation, was
organized and held every second and fourth Thursday, at 7:30 p.m., at the R.
Effert's, 4675 Hubertus Road.
The first Confirmation class for children met
Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. with Dean Brooker, Roger Duffy, Susan Redrick, Cindy
Pike and Pamela Lane being instructed.
Our
congregation was incorporated on January 12,1971.
The 1970
yearbook shows 16 families, 13 voting members, 32 communicants and 61 souls.
Listed were:
Mr. & Mrs. Henry
Brooker and Dean & Linda
Mr. & Mrs.
William DeMunek and Randall & Cheryl
Mrs. Robert Effert and
Daryl, Derek, Kim & Kelly
Mr. & Mrs. David
Frailing and Beverly, Vicki & Jeffrey
Mr. & Mrs. Walter
Gossfeld and Sandi & Shelli
Mrs. J. K. Dixner and
Karl, David & Kristin
Mr. & Mrs. Dudley
Eickstedt and Daniel & Donald
Mr. & Mrs.
Kenneth Grosse and Mark, JoAnn, Gina & Tammy
Mr. & Mrs. Layne
Kidney
Mr. & Mrs. Donald
Kisch and Kevin & Kim
Mrs. Edmund
Kryszewski
Mrs. Gerald Lane and
David & Pamela
Mr. & Mrs. Alfred
Pike and Cindy & James
Mr. & Mrs.
Raymond Prosek and Michelle
Mr. & Mrs.
Richard Ruch and Sally, Gary & Betsy
Mr. & Mrs. Gary Verhalen and Tamara
On August 18, 1971, six acres of land on the corner
of Hubertus Road and Tally Ho Trail were purchased for $10,500. Duane Anderson,
synod architect, was hired to draw preliminary plans and subsequent
construction drawings.
On January 11, 1972, our congregation called a
graduating seminary student as a permanent pastor. However, not enough men were
graduating, and synod was short of funds, etc. On June 5, 1973, Pastor Paul
Pankow was called as our first resident pastor.
On July 16, 1973, a parsonage was secured for $35,000
at 1450 Mount Lane; Hubertus, Wisconsin. This parsonage was purchased by our
Wisconsin synod for use by Crown of Life. After the permanent home was built,
our synod sold the property with all funds and profits, if any, going to the
synod. Crown of Life paid no rent while Pastor Pankow and family lived there.
Ground breaking of the new church building took place
on July 22, 1973, and on August 5, 1973, Pastor Paul Pankow was installed as
our first resident pastor.
In late October of 1973, the actual construction of
our church began. Harrison Duffy (member) obtained an excavator at no charge to
us and dug the basement. Duane Anderson, of our synod, was the architect. Basic
construction was done by the contractor, but the bulk of the finishing work was
done by the congregation and their friends.
Our new church was dedicated to the glory of God on
December 1, 1974. An open house for the community was held on dedication
Sunday. Pastors Pankow, Raabe and Koeplien officiated at the dedication service
in the evening. Opening ceremonies took place at the morning service.
A day school was provided at Peace, Hartford, for
those families who were interested. Financial assistance for tuition costs was
offered by the congregation.
On January 21, 1975, our congregation voted to
establish youth and Pioneer groups, and our Lutheran Girl Pioneers were
chartered in September of 1975.
To provide further Christian education opportunities,
Crown of Life joined the Kettle Moraine Lutheran High School Federation on
April 7, 1975.
Construction of the new parsonage at 1282 Tally Ho
Trail; Hubertus, Wisconsin began in November of 1974 at a cost of $38,000. It
was completed in August of 1975. Its
dedication was held on June 8, 1975.
On October 14, 1975, Crown of Life joined the
Wisconsin Institutional Ministry. By December of 1975 , the congregation had
grown to 236 baptized souls, 144 communicants, and 56 voters.
On January 18, 1977, the congregation voted to be
self- supporting. At this time 20 children of the congregation were attending
Christian Day Schools of sister churches.
Mr. Mark Hinds was called on February 19, 1978 to
become the principal and teacher of our new Christian Day School. Principal
Mark Hinds was installed on July 9, 1978. Our Christian Day School was opened
on August 28, 1978 with 30 children enrolled.
On October 17, 1978, the congregation resolved to
allow Aid Association for Lutherans to establish a branch at Crown of Life.
Our school was growing, so on August 9,1979, Miss
Bethel Kock was installed as our first teacher of the primary grades. Forty
children were enrolled when our Christian Day School opened with the addition
of a Kindergarten. Miss Kock served our school until June of 1981.
With the school enrollment increasing, it was
determined that an addition was needed for the school. July 13, 1980 saw the
ground breaking for a two room school addition to be built. Fifty children were
enrolled in our school at this time.
Our tenth anniversary under God's guidance was
observed on November 7, 1980.
The new school addition was dedicated on January 18,
1981. Mrs. Margaret Hinds was installed as our Kindergarten teacher on August
23,1981. At this time, Mrs. Linda Kasten was also installed as the new teacher
of the primary grades. Fifty-nine students were under the daily Christian
instruction of our three teachers. Mrs. Kasten served our school until June of
1983.
On July 10, 1983, Miss Lisa Jeske was installed as
the new teacher of the primary grades in our school. Miss Jeske served our
school until June of 1985.
A special anniversary service was held on October 28,
1984, in honor of Pastor Pankow's 25 years in the ministry.
On April 21, 1985, a farewell dinner was given for
Pastor Pankow and his family. Pastor Pankow faithfully served our congregation
for 11 years and 9 months, before accepting an exploratory mission call to
Portage, Wisconsin.
Prof. Wayne Mueller served our congregation as
interim pastor from April 22, 1985 until June 15, 1985. On June 23, 1985,
Pastor John C. Schneidervin was installed as our second resident pastor.
The following year, on June 20, 1986, Miss Jean
Christensen was installed as our new primary grades teacher. Miss Christensen served our school until
July of 1988. Then Miss Gwen Kammueller
was extended a one year call to serve as our primary grades teacher. She was installed on August 21, 1988. Miss Kammueller served our school until July
of 1989. On February 12, 1989, Crown of
life extended a call to Miss Sharon Becker to serve as our primary grades
teacher. She accepted our call and was
installed on July 30, 1989.
On April 26, 1993, Mr. Mark Hinds resigned as
principal/teacher, and Mrs. Margaret Hinds resigned as teacher at Crown of
Life. Our congregation then extended
through our synod’s assignment committee a call to Mr. Mark Kahrs, who was
graduating from Martin Luther College.
He accepted our call and was installed as our new principal and upper
grades teacher on July 25, 1993. The
following year, on August 28, 1994, Mrs. Nancy Ebeling was installed as our new
Kindergarten teacher.
The PEACE organization of our congregation
was organized around this time. PEACE stands for "Parents Encouraging
A Christian Education."
The fall of 1993 saw the rebirth of our youth group
under the guidance of Mr. and Mrs. Mark Kahrs. The youth group endeavored to
promote spiritual growth in the youth of our congregation through
Youth Bible Classes on Sunday, as well as planned activities and outings. In
1995 some activities were also held with other area congregations.
As the 25th anniversary of the congregation was
gradually approaching, the suggestion was made that the congregation try to
acquire a complete set of new paraments in time for the 25th anniversary
celebration. Throughout 1994 and early
1995 families of the congregation donated the present paraments being used in
our church.
1995 was a
year of excitement for our congregation.
Not only had we reached our 25th year of service to our Lord, but we
also embarked upon new endeavors to reach out to the community. As part of this
endeavor, a Task Force was organized in the spring of 1995. The various
committees in the Task Force were:
Community Outreach
Projects - Coordinator, Linda Mejchar
New Member
Assimilation - Coordinator, Jean Mueller
Athletic -
Coordinator, Dwayne Ketterer
Social Activities -
Coordinator, Susan Kahrs
Member Care -
Coordinator, Evelyn Bublitz
Publicity -
Coordinator, Beverly Schuelke
Recruitment - Coordinator, Vicki Lemke
We also began our Invisible Sunday School Program in
September of 1995. Fifty-two reprintable lessons and small boxes of crayons
were purchased for this program. Packets were assembled with a lesson, pages to
color, and a box of crayons. These packets were then distributed to various
area businesses to be offered to their customers at no charge to occupy the
children of their customers. To date, we have businesses in the Menomonee Falls
and Richfield areas participating in this endeavor.
In the fall of 1995, Crown of Life began a new K4
program, and Mrs. Becky Wierschem was hired to teach these young souls.
The exciting year of 1995 reached its concluding
crescendo in the Christmas Day Song Service.
Amid the praise to God for the gift of his Son Jesus, our gracious Lord
moved the hearts of his people to give the last $18,000 that was needed to pay
off the congregation’s Church Extension Fund Loan with our synod. The 25 year loan came due on December 31,
1995. By our Lord’s grace the loan was
paid in full and on time. Our Lord’s
Spirit had also moved our members to give $40,000 during the twelve weeks
leading up to Christmas Day, 1995. This
tremendous outpouring of gifts to pay off the congregation’s church loan
concluded the Debt Retirement Program, which was begun in the fall of 1989
under the theme “My Love Gives From The Heart.” The program was kicked off with an every member visit that was
conducted by Kenneth and Doris Chandler.
In 1989, when the Debt Retirement Program was begun, the congregation
owed $179,000 on its church. Between the
fall of 1989 and Christmas Day of 1995 our Lord enabled his congregation of
Crown Of Life to give $250,000 to pay off the principle and interest that was
due on the loan. On January 28, 1996,
the church officers of Crown Of Life together with our pastor burned the
mortgage at the conclusion of the Sunday worship service amid the joy and tears
of our members.
In 1996 the congregation obtained a ten year Property
Improvement Loan from AAL in the amount of $50,000. This loan made it possible to make much needed repairs and
improvements to the church and to the parsonage, which had to be put off during
the years our congregation was raising the funds to pay off its CEF church loan
with our synod. The loan enabled us to
repair the church roof and install new carpeting in the church, to pave the
parking lot, and to install in the parsonage new windows and floor coverings in
the kitchen and family room . Through
offerings that the members gave over and above their weekly offerings, plus
several large offerings which were given, our Lord enabled his congregation to
pay off this ten year loan in two and a half years.
Our lower grades teacher Miss Sharon Becker was
married and became Mrs. John Schmidt on June 8, 1996. She resigned effective June 1, 1997, before having her first
child. On May 17, 1997, our
congregation called from Martin Luther College through our synod’s assignment
committee Mrs. Melanie Schoeneck to serve as our primary grades teacher. She accepted our call and was installed on
August 3, 1997.
In 1996 Crown Of Life’s Church Council formed a
Constitutional Review Committee to review the congregation’s constitution and
to look into writing a new one, which would better serve the congregation. Mr. Theodore Mech and Mr. Robert Washow were
asked to serve as this committee. From
the fall of 1996 through the spring of 1997 the two men met. They wrote a new constitution which was based
on our synod’s most recent model constitution for congregations. The newly written constitution was submitted
to the Church Council and to the voters for review. It was officially adopted at the voters’ meeting held in October,
1997.
The voters of Crown Of Life approved in 1996 a Senior
Vicar Program for our congregation. A
senior seminary student would be asked to assist our pastor from September
through May with the distribution of Holy Communion and to preach in one week’s
services per month. The Lord blessed
our congregation with its first senior vicar in September, 1996. To date our senior vicars have been: Michael
Helwig, Daniel Heiderick, Matthew Kuske, Anthony Fix, William Ritchie, and
Christian Christenson.
In April of 1997 special gifts were received for the
purchase of our present candelabra, which stand on each side of the altar.
In early 1998 our congregation was informed of the
need for an electronic keyboard to accompany the children when they sang in
church. At that time our congregation
also knew that its electric, tube driven organ was in a deteriorating
condition. The voters therefore
authorized Mrs. Sharon Schmidt and our pastor to price electronic pianos as
well as electronic keyboards. They
reported to the Board of Elders that a Yahama Clavinova electronic piano could
be purchased for $4,000, not including the cost of its needed external
amplifier and speakers. The Board of
Elders recommended to the voters on October 27, 1998, that the electronic piano
be purchased after it was brought in for a trial in our services. The voters approved purchasing this
instrument and necessary equipment when sufficient funds could be obtained to
supplement what was in the then current New Organ Fund. The congregation was advised of this
decision. Within a few short weeks
several families of our congregation gave special gifts which enabled us to
purchase our current electronic piano, amplifier, and speakers. Mr. Jerome Zier of our congregation procured
the external amplifier and speakers at a reduced price through his place of
employment and installed them for us.
An Expansion
Study Committee was formed in early 1998.
Its assignment was to look into the possibility of our congregation’s
building two or three above-ground classrooms, a gymnasium/fellowship hall, and
a large narthex on the church to accommodate fellowship before and after our
services. The committee held some preliminary meetings with the contracting
firm of Anderson-Ashton. Afterwards,
the committee conducted a survey of the congregation’s members to learn what new
facilities they thought should be built.
A number of listening sessions were conducted by Mrs. Christina Johnson
in behalf of the committee to listen to the members’ suggestions for every room
of the new facility if it were to be built.
The results of the listening sessions and a report on a meeting with
Anderson-Ashton were given to the voters in its October 27, 1998, quarterly
meeting. The members of this committee were:
Mr. Theodore Mech, chairman
Mrs. Christina Johnson
Mr. Dale Garman
Mr. Dennis Sprenger
Mr. Scott Meissner
Mrs. Jeanette Meissner
Mr. Robert Bublitz
Mr. Robert Washow
Pastor
Schneidervin, advisor
In the spring of 1998 our principal Mr. Mark Kahrs
accepted a call to serve as principal of our sister congregation in
Kewaskum. Our congregation extended a
call to a graduating senior of Martin Luther College through our synod’s
assignment committee. Our call for a
graduating principal and upper grades teacher could not be filled. Afterwards, during the short time that our
synod allowed calls to be extended to teachers in the field, our congregation
issued two more calls. These calls were
returned. At the voters’ meeting in
July our congregation then asked Pastor Schneidervin to serve as its interim
principal. He served in that capacity
throughout the 1998/1999 school year.
To fill the vacant classroom, Crown Of Life extended a one year call to
Mrs. Jennifer Kuske, the wife of our senior vicar for the coming school
year. She accepted our one year call
and was installed on August 30, 1998.
Throughout the years from 1993 to 1998 the enrollment
of our day school had been declining, reaching a low of 8 students in the fall
of 1998. During the 1998/1999 school
year our interim principal and Board of Education began an energetic program to
rebuild our school from the bottom up.
The members of the board at the time were: Mr. Dale Garman, chairman;
Mr. Dwayne Ketterer, Mr. Robert Hauck, and Mr. Timothy Selig. The board adopted a three pronged program
for rebuilding the school. First, a
recruitment program would be begun.
Second, the curriculum would be updated, with the goal of making Crown
Of Life’s Day School the best elementary school in the area. Third, the building of new school facilities
would be sought, which would include two or three classrooms and a gymnasium. To kick off this program our interim
principal visited every family in our congregation with school age
children. He visited the parents who
had their children in area public schools as well as the parents of the 8
children in our school at the time.
Through these visits he listened to what the parents had to say about
our school and what they thought was needed to make them interested in
enrolling their children in our school.
In these visits the interim principal also explained the three pronged
program that the Board of Education had adopted to rebuild the school from the
bottom up. In the spring of 1999 the
interim principal and the newly elected chairman of the Board of Education,
Chris Schneidervin, invited all the parents to an open meeting to discuss the
findings from the visits. A number of
parents attended and began to express interest in enrolling their
children. Their doing so, however,
depended upon Crown Of Life’s obtaining a full-time principal and teacher for
the coming school year.
On December 24, 1998, upon having her first child,
Mrs. Melanie Schoeneck resigned as our primary grades teacher. Mrs. Jennifer Kuske then assumed full
responsibility for teaching the 8 children in our day school for the remainder
of the school year.
The Board of Elders recommended to the Church Council
and voters on October 27, 1998, that the congregation consider engaging our
synod’s Parish Assistance Program. This
recommendation was adopted and all the councilmen and various board members met
with Rev. Ronald Heins of our synod’s Parish Assistance Program on November 24,
1998. He outlined the various phases of
the Parish Assistance Program and its projected costs. On January 26, 1999, the Board of Elders
recommended to the voters to engage Parish Assistance and explained how the
program would be funded. The voters
approved the recommendation.
During the first quarter of 1999 our interim
principal shared with the members of Crown Of Life and our Board of Education
the idea of purchasing the equipment to install a weathernet in our
school. The weathernet would bolster
our reading, mathematics, science, and computer curriculums. Once connected to Milwaukee’s WITI-TV,
Channel 6, weathernet program, our school’s weathernet would also give our
school tremendous exposure and advertising on the Channel 6 weather
programs. This idea was warmly
received. Within a few weeks members
gave special gifts and memorials in excess of $4,500 to purchase the equipment.
On February 20, 1999, members of our congregation
attended the first Parish Assistance Seminar, which was conducted by Rev.
Ronald Heins in the hall of the Pioneer Bowling Alley. This seminar led the congregation to approve
entering Phase II, the Analysis, of the Parish Assistance Program.
On February 22, 1999, our congregation extended a
call to Mr. Wade R. Cohoon II, to serve as our principal and teacher of all
eight grades. Our gracious Lord led him
to be excited about what Crown Of Life was doing to build its school for the
next century and new millennium. He was
eager to be a part of our school program and accepted our call on March 3,
1999.
In April,
1999 the Crown Of Life Expansion Committee added three members to work on
arranging the financing for the proposed education and fellowship
facility. The three added members to
work on this financing project with Mr. Theodore Mech, the Expansion Committee
Chairman, were: Mr. William Mattson, Mr. Richard Klingele, and Mr. Dwayne
Ketterer. Mrs. Deborah Mattson assisted
them with typing up and creating an attractive booklet on the financial
information of our congregation to submit to the various lending institutions
for consideration. The membership of
the Expansion Committee then consisted of:
Mr. Theodore Mech, chairman
Mr. Robert Bublitz
Mr. Dale Garman
Mr. Dwayne Ketterer
Mr. Richard Klingele
Mrs. Vickie Lemke
Mr. William Mattson
Mr. Dennis Sprenger
Mr. Robert Washow
Principal Wade Cohoon, advisor
Pastor
Schneidervin, advisor
Mrs. Becky Wierschem, who had been hired to teach our
K4 program, asked to be relieved of her position on June 1, 1999.
Principal Wade Cohoon was installed on July 18,
1999. The school opened that fall with
sixteen students enrolled.
During the summer of 1999 Mrs. Ginger Bonow was
interviewed by our Board of Education for the position of teaching our K4
class. She was given the position soon
after her interview and she started teaching the class in September.
On July 18, 1999, the voters authorized a special
fund drive within the congregation to raise the preliminary money needed to
proceed with the building of the proposed new education and fellowship
facility. The voters commissioned Mr.
Chris Schneidervin and Pastor Schneidervin to put a capital fund raising
program together for the congregation.
They designed the Forward by Faith special offering program, which was
developed as a PowerPoint computer presentation and was also printed in color
for an every family visit.
In the summer of 1999 our Information Technology
Group also began an energetic program to obtain and install up-to-date
computers, printers, and computer programs in our school. This was done in the interest of furthering
our computer curriculum for the children.
A family also donated a new computer and printer to begin the equipping
of a school/church office.
The installation of the weathernet equipment in August
of 1999 was overseen by our newly formed Information Technology Group. Our weathernet was made active by the middle
of September, 1999.
The team of
callers for the Forward by Faith special offering program were assembled and
trained in early September, 1999. The
team started their family visitations on September 19, 1999, and concluded them
by October 17, 1999. A Special Gift
& Commitment Sunday was conducted on October 24, 1999. On that day our gracious Lord moved the
hearts of his people to give $120,000, plus additional 3 year pledges totaling
$129,000. The team of callers were:
Mr. Dennis Sprenger
Mr. David Schneidervin
Mrs. Linda Mejchar
Mrs. Vickie Lemke
Mrs. Carla Stanossek
Mrs. Jeanette Mueller
Mrs. Doris Chandler
Miss. Shirley Radeck
Mr. Chris
Schneidervin
On October 31, 1999, our congregation extended to
Mrs. Ginger Bonow a teacher’s call to teach the K4 program and to help us begin
planning a K3 program as well.
Phase II of
the Parish Assistance Program was completed on November 5 & 6, 1999, with
the presentation of the Diagnostic Analysis Report. Phase III of the program was then begun with a Listening Thursday
and Sunday to hear the members’ concerns and suggestions for our congregation. This information was then given to our newly
formed Vision of Ministry Planning Task Force.
The members of the Task Force were:
Mr. Timothy Holmes
Mrs. Deborah Mattson
Mrs. Sharon Schmidt
Mrs. Vickie Lemke
Mrs. Catherine Washow
Principal Cohoon
Pastor
Schneidervin.
At their annual meeting in January, 2000, the voters
approved the proposal for constructing two above ground classrooms with a
gymnasium/fellowship facility. The
voters gave their approval to the Expansion Committee’s interviewing and hiring
an architect and building contractor.
After interviewing several architectural firms, the Expansion Committee
in February, 2000, hired Excel Engineering to be our architect.
On March 4, 2000, the Vision of Ministry Task Force
began to meet weekly to write a Mission Statement.
Enrollment in grades 1 to 8 were beginning to pick
up. It was estimated we would have
about 20 or more children enrolled in those grades at the start of the
2000/2001 school year. Our congregation
then issued a call to Mrs. Susan Mueller on April 4, 2000, to serve as our
primary teacher. Our Lord moved her to
be excited about the rebuilding of our school and she accepted our call.
In April, 2000, after interviewing several building
contractors, the Expansion Committee hired C.D. Smith to be our general
contractor.
In April, 2000, the voters gave their final approval
to construct the education and fellowship facility with the financing to be
arranged through FirstStar Bank.
The Vision of Ministry Task Force concluded its work
on June 10, 2000. It then submitted its
Vision of Ministry Mission Document to the Church Council and then to the
members of the congregation. The Vision
of Ministry Mission Document envisioned a new organizational structure that
would enable our congregation to carry out the Vision of Ministry it was
presenting.
On July 6, 2000, the Town of Richfield Planning
Commission approved the building plans that our congregation’s architect, Excel
Engineering, submitted to it.
A Ground Breaking Service was conducted on July 23,
2000, for the construction of our new education and fellowship facility. This service was conducted at the end of an
outdoor service, in which Mrs. Susan Mueller was installed, and in connection
with a church picnic that followed.
In September of 2000 our new K3 program started
up. About 20 children were enrolled in
the K3 and K4 programs during the 2000/2001 school year.
The voters adopted the Vision of Ministry Mission
Statement with its proposed organizational restructuring at their quarterly
meeting held on October 29, 2000. A new
Leadership Team would replace the existing Church Council. The members of the Leadership Team were
elected by the voters.
Our pastor started Bible study classes for our new
Adult Spiritual Growth Program in September, 2000. This program was a part of our Adult Grow Vision of Ministry
Program, which was under the leadership of Mr. Robert Washow. The first classes were overview courses of
the Old and New Testaments and an Adult Information Class. Twenty-five adults enrolled in these first
classes. Additional classes are being
planned, namely: Church & Ministry, Gifted to Serve, Role of Man and Woman,
and Team Leadership. The classes are
being offered to all communicant members of our congregation. Attendance in these classes is required of
all leaders, men and women, of our congregation.
Our general contractor, C.D. Smith, started
construction of the education and fellowship facility on October 22, 2000.
Following our
adopted Vision of Ministry Mission Statement with its new organizational
structure, the members of our new Leadership Team took office on January 1,
2001. The team members were:
The Executive Committee:
Mr. Theodore Mech, president
Mr. Michael Mejchar, secretary
Mr. William Mattson, controller
Pastor Schneidervin, advisor
Mission Overseers:
Mr. Dennis Sprenger, Come Overseer
Mr. James Pier, Join Overseer
Mr. Robert Washow, Adult Grow Overseer
Mr. Robert Hauck, Child Grow Overseer
Mr. Kim Lemke, Serve Overseer
Mr. Charles
Schultz, Share Overseer
Under our new
organizational structure a Shared Services Group was created to support the
Executive Committee. The Shared
Services Group consisted of:
Mrs. Deborah Mattson, Technology Coordinator
Mrs. Jayne Jungmann, the Administrative Coordinator
Mr. John
Quill, the Building & Grounds Coordinator.
Mrs. Sharon Schmidt was installed as Crown Of Life’s
Director of Music on January 28, 2001.
This new position was created as part of our Come-Worship Vision of
Ministry Program.
In 2001 Crown Of Life remained dedicated to its
community outreach as it has been for years.
The Great Commission is the basis by which our Evangelism Team members
endeavor to reach our community. Mr.
Timothy Holmes has spearheaded our evangelism efforts for many years with the
assistance of his wife Diane. They
continue their efforts under our Share Vision of Ministry Program, which is
headed by our Share Mission Overseer, Mr. Charles Schultz. We currently have 11 neighborhood block
watch families, who deliver 2,200 fliers every month. We also subscribe to a service that provides us with names and
addresses of new families who have moved into our area. These new families are sent a welcome
brochure and invitation to visit Crown Of Life’s church and school. We then attempt to personally visit as many
of these new families as possible to extend an invitation to learn of their
Savior through our various programs.
Special Easter and Christmas invitations are sent to the 115 families on
our unchurched mailing list. In the
future we will look into various ways in which we can use our new facilities to
reach the unchurched in our local area.
Starting in March, 2001, on the week ends and on
evenings during the week, a great many members, women as well as men, began
painting the interior of our education and fellowship facility, which was still
under construction at the time. Even
though the concrete floor of the gymnasium had not yet been poured and the
floor was dirt with piles of gravel scattered about, our members began painting
the interior walls and ceiling of the gymnasium, as well as the bathrooms, the
kitchenette, and the balcony. As the
construction of the interior hallways and classrooms progressed, our many
members painted those areas. Amid the
on-going construction and painting Mr. Jerome Zier began installing our modern
fire alarm system with its wiring, as well as the wiring for our computer
network which was designed by our Information Technology Group.
Construction of our new facility was completed on May
31, 2001. Numerous members then pitched
in to help with the massive clean-up that had to be done. On June 9, 2001, an Arbor Day was held. Under the direction of Mr. Kim Lemke and Mr.
Dennis Sprenger the grounds around our new facility and our church were
landscaped. Under the leadership of Mr.
Robert Bublitz, our head painter, together with Principal Wade Cohoon the
exterior of our church began to be repainted to match the colors of our new
education and fellowship facility.
During the summer months our Principal Wade Cohoon,
our staff of teachers, and our Christian Education Committee, together with
other members moved the furnishings and materials for the classrooms of grades
1 through 8 from the downstairs classrooms to the newly constructed
above-ground classrooms. At the same
time the downstairs classrooms were repainted and set up to accommodate our
kindergarten and preschool programs.
Amid the moving of the classrooms a new office area was also set up in
the smallest of the three downstairs classrooms. Members donated materials and furnishings for our new classrooms
and fellowship area.
The first day of school for our children and teachers
in our new education facility took place on August 22, 2001. This first school day in the new facility
began with an opening service conducted by Pastor Schneidervin, with Mrs.
Ginger Bonow serving as the organist.
Former Pastors
Pastor Ralph
Martens - pastor at Faith,
Sussex helped organize our congregation
Pastor John
Raabe - from Synod Mission Board, August,
1970 to August 1973
Pastor Paul
Pankow - our first resident pastor, August 5, 1973 to April
21,1985
Prof. Wayne
Mueller - vacancy pastor from April 22, 1985 to June 15, 1985
Pastor John Schneidervin - our second resident pastor June 23, 1985 to the present
Former
Senior Vicars
Seminarian
Michael Helwig -September, 1996 through May, 1997
Seminarian
Daniel Heiderick -September,
1997 through May, 1998
Seminarian
Matthew Kuske -September, 1998 through May, 1999
Seminarian
Anthony Fix -September,
1999 through May, 2000
Seminarian
William Ritchie -September,
2000 through May, 2001
Seminarian Christian Christenson -September, 2001 to the present
Former Teachers
Mr. Mark Hinds -
July 9, 1978 to July 16, 1993
Miss Bethel Kock -
August 9, 1979 to June, 1981
Mrs. Margaret Hinds -
August 23, 1981 to July 16, 1993
Mrs. Linda Kasten -
August 23, 1981 to June, 1983
Miss Lisa Jeske -
July 10, 1983 to June of 1985
Miss Jean Christensen -
June 20, 1986 to July of 1988
Miss Gwen Kammueller -
August 21, 1988 to July of 1989
Mrs. Sharon Becker/Schmidt- July 30, 1989 to June 1,
1997
Mr. Mark Kahrs -
July 25, 1993 to June 30, 1998
Mrs. Nancy Ebeling -
August 28, 1994 to the present
Mrs. Becky Wierschem
- August of 1995 to
June, 1999
Mrs. Melanie Schoeneck - August 3, 1997 to December 24, 1998
Mrs. Jennifer Kuske -
August 30, 1998 to June, 1999
Mr. Wade R. Cohoon II -
July 18 to the present
Mrs. Ginger Bonow -
November 14, 1999 to the present
Mrs. Susan
Mueller - July 23, 2000 to the
present
Present School Staff
Mr. Wade Cohoon II -
principal and grades 5-8
Mrs. Susan Mueller -
grades 1-4
Mrs. Nancy Ebeling -
kindergarten
Mrs. Ginger
Bonow - K3 & K4
Current Leadership Team
Executive
Committee:
Mr. Theodore Mech,
president
Mr. Michael Mejchar,
secretary
Mr. William Mattson,
controller
Pastor Schneidervin,
advisor
Shared Services Group Under The
Executive Committee
Mrs. Deborah Mattson, Technology Coordinator
Mrs. Jayne Jungmann, the Administrative Coordinator
Mr. John Quill, the Building & Grounds
Coordinator.
Mission
Overseers
Mr. Dennis Sprenger,
Come Overseer
Mr. James Pier, Join
Overseer
Mr. Robert Washow,
Adult Grow Overseer
Mr. Robert Hauck,
Child Grow Overseer
Mr. Kim Lemke, Serve
Overseer
Mr. Charles Schultz, Share Overseer
Current
Education Committee
Mr. Robert
Hauck, chairman
Mr. Kenneth
Hughes
Mr. Craig
Adams
Mrs. Kara Rosenthal
Current
“Come” Worship Coordinator
Mrs. Patricia Pier
Current
Organists
Mrs. Sharon Schmidt, music director
Miss DeAnn Bartman
Mrs. Christine Sitzman
Mrs. Judy Ketterer
Mrs. Glorianne
Adams
Current Sunday School Teachers
Miss Amy Schraufnagel
Mrs. Jayne Jungmann
Mrs.
Debra Hauck
Mrs.
Laura Nigbur
Mrs.
Kara Rosenthal
Mrs.
Glorianne Adams
Miss Emily Cohoon
Current
“Join” Member Directory Committee
Mrs.
Jean Mueller
Mrs.
Kara Rosenthal
Mrs. Elaine Reimer
Current
“Join” Fellowship Committee
Mr.
Dale Garman
Mrs.
Debra Hauck
Mrs.
Jayne Jungmann
Mrs.
Patricia Pier
Mrs.
Sheryl Hughes
Mrs.
Laura Nigbur
Mr.
Timothy Holmes
Mrs.
Gail Luck
Mrs.
Jean Holmburg