Church History

Excerpts from the St. Peter's UCC historical booklet, "A Century of God's Grace" 1864 - 1964:

On June 19, 1864, ten men, recognizing their indebtedness to their God and wishing to worship Him more perfectly, organized the St. Peter Evangelical Reformed Church of Kiel. The signers of the original constitution were Henry Wagenknecht, Frederick Zerler, August Froemming, Ernst Berg, Christian Duerrwaechter, Ludwig Reseberg, John Schilling, Peter Burmahln, Hans, Pingel and Phillip Schilling. The church that they founded has so prospered that it is now bringing God's word to 850 communicant members.

During the first years the members of St. Peter's were ministered to not only by a number of area pastors, but also for a year by theological students from Mission House.

The charter members of St. Peter's worshipped their God in the local schoolhouse until 1969 when they and others of the still small congregation built a small frame church. The church formed a portion of the warehouse of the Kiel Milling Company.

In 1870 Rev. Ludwig Zenk answered a call to serve Town Rhine and Kiel's fledgling congregation on a regular basis. By 1876, St. Peter's had grown large enough to build a modest parsonage and require the full time service of Rev. Zenk.

Under his leadership St. Peter's outgrew the small frame church, and a second church, this time of brick and masonry, was builtin 1889. The new church had a high white altar which was decorated each Christmas by the members of the choir. They would gather in the parsonage then to fashion a wreath and garlands of flowers and leaves to commemorate the festive season.

In the fall of 1891, Rev. Zenk accepted an urgent call from the Reformed Church in Manitowoc, and in the spring of 1892 the Rev. J. Roeck was elected by the congregation. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that Rev. Roeck AND his family answered St. Peter's call since it was the minister's children who had to serve as janitors. The Sunday School Superintendent was the janitor's most severe critic and nearly cost the church her services. She was lured back, however, possibly by the annual salary of the position, $2 per year.

When illness forced Rev. Roeck's retirement in 1903, the Rev. William Rech was called to become pastor of St. Peter's. It was during Rev. Rech's tenure (in 1906) that the present city clock was placed in the tower of the second church. Its cost was $500, of which a large part was donated by the businessmen of Kiel. This clock has faithfully chimed out the hour and half hour for the past fifty-eight years.

Ferdinand Zastrow, a non-member, bequeathed $500 to St. Peter's for the purchase of a pipe organ, and $700 was obtained from the Carnegie-Organ fund through the efforts of the pastor. With over half the price of an organ and water motor thus assured, St. Peter's purchased the pipe organ in 1911. Since that time, it has been reconditioned and modernized on several occasions.