History of Linn County Iowa: From Its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time [1911]Brewer, Luther Albertus
History
History of Linn County Iowa: From Its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time [1911]
Brewer, Luther Albertus
Linn County (Iowa) -- Biography; Linn County (Iowa) -- History; Registers of births, etc. -- Iowa -- Linn County
In religious work the Bohemian people of Linn county have accomplished
splendid results. With the first settlers in this county, the Catholics
of this city had a place of worship. From its modest beginning there
grew one of the largest congregations in the city. And what
enthusiastic and untiring workers this church has! The congregation
consists very largely of the laboring class, but they have accomplished
wonderful results. A splendid church building; a large parochial
school; an assembly hall and a new parsonage are the reward of the
patience and perseverance among the members of this congregation. St.
Wenceslaus church of Cedar Rapids with its manifold work and influence
is a great honor to the people of Linn county.
Way back in the late sixties, on a beautiful and secluded spot on
Hoosier Creek, about one-half the distance between the present site of
Ely and Western, there was erected a small church of the Reformed
Evangelical denomination. There a band of devout men and women met to
worship in the simple manner of the Moravian brothers. Their leader and
minister was a man of grace, of purity of character and rare and
scholarly attainments. His name was Frank Kun. He was a great preacher
and a great teacher. For a time he held the chair of Greek and Latin at
Western College, but as his congregation increased he devoted all his
time to his people. His congregation was entirely of the rural class.
He loved his people and in turn was loved by them. His congregation was
one of the best Bohemian congregations in the United States; his
sermons were masterpieces of art and beauty, full of religious fervor,
stately dignity and depth. His memory will forever be revered by the
people of Linn county. This church is still there; broadening its
sphere of work it now has two branches, one in Johnson county, and one
in Linn county, the last being the old Baptist church in Putnam
township.
In Cedar Rapids the Bohemian people have three protestant churches: the
Fourth Presbyterian, the Bohemian Methodist, and the Reformed church;
all three are prosperous. All of them have large and substantial
memberships and all of them are fortunate in having strong, capable,
and popular men as ministers. Under the wise and liberal policies of
these leaders these churches are doing excellent work among the
Bohemian people.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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