6 minute read
‘BLEST BE THE TIE THAT BINDS’
By Bob Fitch
“When I think about our church, a verse comes to my mind from the song ‘Blest Be The Tie That Binds.’ The verse says ‘We share each other's woes, our mutual burdens bear; and often for each other flows the sympathizing tear.’
I just think that's us,” said Susan Konz, 55, a lifetime member of Seney Methodist Church. Her great grandfather was the church’s pastor in 1926 and 1927, almost 100 years ago.
Matthew Vondrak is one of the church’s younger adult members at age 19. Driving up from the Merrill area, he and his family joined his grandfather at the Seney church when Matthew was about 10 years old. “My grandfather appreciated the traditional, small church and my parents were the same way,” he said. The ties that bind have kept him coming. “It’s more of a family than just a church. That’s why I’ve stayed here.”
Darrel Lancaster, 84, said Seney Methodist is a happy family. “Pretty much everybody in this church gets along. There’s no bickering and we don’t have any major fights. You can talk to anybody here. If anything comes up, we close ranks.” Darrel’s great grandfather, William C. Lancaster, was one of the church’s early Sunday school superintendents in the 1870s, after moving here from England.
Earl Albert, 89, has also been a member for more than half of the church’s existence. “I’m not putting down a big church, because there's a lot of good people going to those churches, too. But it seems like the bond among members is stronger with smaller churches.” the home of leader Stephen Reeves. In 1871, the group moved its meetings to a schoolhouse located in section 24 of Elgin Township. In 1874, Rev. J.T. Walker, pastor of the Le Mars Methodist Church, helped officially organize the congregation. Services were moved into Seney when a schoolhouse was built in the village in 1876, at which time the church also formally incorporated.
Seney Methodist Church is celebrating 150 years of strong bonds. Current and past members, friends, and past ministers will celebrate at a worship service at 9 a.m. on Sunday, June 9th. The service will be followed by a photo session and luncheon. At 2 p.m., memories will be shared along with cake and coffee. The village of Seney is located about five miles north of Le Mars on Highway 60.
Planting Seeds With Faith
The seeds of the church were planted in 1870 when about 30 MethodistEpiscopalians began gathering at
In 1880, the church constructed its own building, measuring 28 x 40 feet. The same building is still in use, although it has been expanded several times. Railroad official George Seney (for whom the town is named) provided $1,000 of the church’s $1,600 in construction costs. He was also responsible for starting the large grove of larch trees, a long-time area landmark that was just south of the church.
For decades, the larch grove was the site for many events, including Sunday school, church picnics, Independence Day celebrations, and a Christmas manger scene. Darrel and Earl can remember church members playing volleyball next to the grove. Another life-long member, Roger Hawkins, 77, remembers when the church had its own softball team (the Seney Sluggers) competing in a church league. “We were actually a pretty decent team. It was a slow pitch league, so you had to have patience for the ball to get there.”
A SELF-RELIANT CHURCH
Currently, Seney Methodist doesn’t have a pastor and relies on pulpit supply for Sunday services. For much of its existence, the church has either shared pastors with other rural churches or used students from Westmar College or Morningside College. This reality has made the church very self-reliant. Susan said, “When it comes down to the nuts and bolts of having to do things, it is the board and the people pitching in.” Kathleen Hawkins, 69, agreed: “We are a smaller church and we do a lot of things within the congregation. We have a lot of talents here.” Members sided the church; if cleaning needs to be done, the word goes out and people show up with their mops and buckets; if trees need to be trimmed, others show up with power tools and tractors. Earl remembers in the early 1950s when the church decided to add a basement. “Raising the foundation, re-wiring, plumbing, the whole nine yards, we did it ourselves. Once the plan was in place, the money we needed showed up and we never borrowed a dime.”
Focus On Fellowship And Missions
Years ago, the church started a chicken dinner as a fall fundraiser. It evolved into a pork chop dinner and is the church’s biggest event of the year – drawing up to 500 people. It falls on the second Tuesday of October and is held in the church basement. “It’s still a successful fundraiser,” said Kathleen. “More importantly, though, it’s a time of fellowship, for bringing both the church and the community together.”
Earl and Matthew both said Seney Methodist Church has always had a strong focus on missions, especially local families and organizations. Kathleen said, “We have a mission of the month we started in 2006. It came out of a Bible study that was really well attended and inspired a lot of us.” Sometimes the support comes in the form of boots-on-the-ground work and sometimes it’s cash donations. The church is quick to respond to disasters in Iowa such as tornadoes and floods. Members have provided assistance to local families who have faced loss from fire or a significant auto accident. They’ve packaged food for Then Feed Just One, served lunch at the Gospel Mission, and financially supported Safe Place, veterans, Adopt a Family and many others.
