Faith United Church of Christ

History

Faith United Church of Christ was founded 26 May 1969, with the union of Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church and Windsor Evangelical Congregational Christian Church.

Windsor Evangelical Congregational Church was organized 16 January 1904 by a group of Volga Germans who had moved to the Windsor area.  In 1906, they built a small church at the corner of Elm and Second Street, which was expanded through the years.  Windsor Evangelical became affiliated with the United Church of Christ (UCC).

Zion Evangelical Lutheran was founded in 1914, also by Volga Germans.  The German-language congregation was not affiliated with any Lutheran body, but rather with what was then known as the Evangelical Synod of America.  Church membership rose to 700 between 1930 and 1940.  But World War II and dissension among members regarding the language to be used at worship services resulted in a considerable loss of members.  In 1961, Zion decided to affiliate with the newly-formed United Church of Christ (UCC), and changed its name to Zion United Church of Christ.

In 1969, both Zion United and Windsor Evangelical needed to remodel or expand their facilities, and with the encouragement of UCC Conference Minister Charles L. Burns, they decided to merge into one congregation.  This merger became official on 26 May 1969 under the new name of Faith United Church of Christ.