Church: Greenwood Immanuel UCC (Centennial - 1974)

Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
E-mail: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org 

Surnames: Camarin, Siebert, Vriesen, Koch, Clark, Holmes, Logue, Ley, Savides

----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI) 7/11/1974

Greenwood Immanuel Church of Christ (Centennial - 1974)

More than 600 registered for the centennial celebration of Immanuel United Church of Christ on Route 2 Greenwood. Twelve other states and many points in Wisconsin were listed among the returnees last Sunday.

The congregation had its beginning with meetings in the Decker School in 1873 and was organized in 1874. The following year 40 acres of land was purchased. A two-story log building was constructed and it was then known as the German Reformed Emanuel Church. The extra land was for the pastor’s horse and cows. It is still owned by the church.

A second church was built in 1890 for not much more than $900. This became the school house when a third church was erected in 1910. The church tower was removed from the schoolhouse in 1944.

The new church had a bell which was used for an informative system of tolling in addition to a Satruday evening angelus. With modern communication and the sexton in another town, this is no longer part of the schedule.

Through the years the church has been updated and modernized. A large addition was built in 1952. This included kitchen facilities. Stained glass windows were installed in 1957; in more recent years new pews and carpeting were added.

The Rev. Pacifico Camarin and his wife, Priscilla, constructed a grotto between the parsonage and church especially for the centennial. He has also used his talents in making a church sign for the corner on the county trunk east of the church.

The church has always been affiliated with Lakeland College, formerly the Mission House, at Plymouth. It was the mother church to Salem Church in Braun Settlement and Zion Church in Greenwood. The Zion United Church of Christ continued since its beginning in 1905. Salem closed in 1951 due to shortage of ministers, but their ladies aid society continues under the same name. Immanuel has a Guild.

The mother church established a cemetery board in 1926 to care for the East and The West Cemeteries and Forest Hill at Braun Settlement.

Two services were held Sunday to commemorate the event. The men’s choir, youth choir, teen choir and the all church choir took part in the services. Former pastors assisted the Rev. Camarin.

Among the visiting ministers and their families present were: The Rev. and Mrs. Dennis Siebert and son, Mineral Point; Rev. Otto Vriesen and daughters, Norwood, Mn; Kenneth Vriesen, Milwaukee; Rev. and Mrs. Charles Koch and Linda, Sheboygan; Rev. and Mrs. Gary Clark and family, Neillsville; Rev. and Mrs. Lee Holmes, Marshfield; Rev. and Mrs. David Logue and children, Greenwood; Dr. and Mrs. Ralph P. Ley, conference president, Madison; and Rev. James Savides, Northwest Wisconsin Conference association, Eau Claire.