Our History
Our History
The United Church of Christ has a long tradition of social justice and ministry, from the Amistad ship to modern justice concerns, the UCC has been a forerunner in this area. Locally, St Paul has been in the community of Eudora for 153 years.
St. Paul United Church of Christ was founded on December 27, 1868. The church building was completed in 1871 and services were directed by the Rev. Christian Haas under the auspice of the Evangelical Synod of North America. In 1913 the present church building was built. Due to the strong German heritage of the founders, the first English service was not held until 1916. In 1934 the St. Paul Evangelical Church merged with the Reformed Church and became a member of the union of Evangelical and Reformed Churches. In 1958 the church joined with the Congregational Christian Churches and became the United Church of Christ.
Throughout our history and development, St. Paul United Church of Christ has always striven to be a leader in working with the community. From the very beginning, St. Paul has offered the citizens of Eudora a clearly unique approach to worship. Today the church still remains in the center of community mission work. The church is involved in the community food pantry, a joint vacation bible school and our members are active in all aspects of the life of the community.
During 1997, we have completed a major portion of our physical restoration project. The outside of the church building has received an overhaul. The masonry has been tuck pointed and looks great. A new rear entrance was designed and installed by our own members. Inside we have repaired the cracks and chipped paint in the sanctuary. The interior ceiling was redone, the walls patched and everything received a fresh coat of paint. We had new carpet installed in the sanctuary also.
Upon the celebration of our 125th anniversary in 1993 (and our 150th in 2018), we had the opportunity to look back and reflect upon many interesting things about our heritage. We have changed from within and in relationship to the world around us. However, with all of the changes we are challenged to keep alive the original spirit and mission that was started by our founders. We take pride in our history, but recognize that it is nothing more than a foundation upon which to build our future. With God's help we are ready to do his will