Blooming Grove addition blessed

Members of Methodist congregations in Janesville and Waterville took part in a joint celebration Sunday, June 26, 2022, to commemorate the completion of a new addition at the Blooming Grove United Methodist Church in rural Morristown. While Minnesota bishop David Bard visited to help bless the new addition, the congregation spent time remembering the rich history of the church.

The congregation started 166 years ago in March of 1856 when a German Methodist missionary named Rev. Grotchenmeyer began preaching in the local area, which at the time was known as “West Prairie.” Grotchenmeyer preached during the Civil War when the prairies and farmland of today were almost entirely undisturbed forests.

From this gathering of Methodists, two Methodist congregations began: the German site named Bethel located in Blooming Grove’s current spot, and Immanuel, located 3.75 miles west in a Swiss settlement.

The Methodists built the first Immanuel church in 1862. After 21 years, they sold the building and constructed a new church, the bell for which was cast in St. Louis circa 1900. 

Meanwhile, the Bethel Church was constructed in the early 1870s with the pulpit on the west end. At that time, a partition divided the seating section with men occupying one side and women occupying the other. In 1909, the church was rebuilt with additions to the pulpit and the south side.

In 1951, the Immanuel and Bethel churches decided to combine due to low attendance numbers which resulted from fewer farms and smaller families. Both congregations agreed it was impractical to have two churches so close together if they could combine without any controversy.

However, instead of constructing a brand-new addition to the Bethel church to compensate for the large numbers of people, the congregations literally lifted the Immanuel church off its foundations and made it the front part of Bethel. There were a few bumpy rides along the way, as 1951 brought with it a wet spring and summer, making for slick conditions on the gravel roads at the time.

The move involved tractors and even an army tank retriever. Aside from the sloppy roads, volunteers had to spread bridge posts and cables along the roadway to make a wider path for the rolling building. After the moved structure arrived, it took some doing to combine the two churches together. The congregation started “The Lord’s Acre Project” where they rented land and helped put in crops with the proceeds going to pay off costs of the new construction. 

After construction finished on the building, the church became known as Blooming Grove Methodist Church from 1951-1968 before being renamed the United Methodist Church.

In 2019, Blooming Grove United Methodist Church underwent construction again. This time, it was an all-new addition to the front of the church, including a lift to allow handicapped individuals to attend services, a new bathroom, and a ground-level gathering space. On its southern side, the addition also features stained glass windows from the original Immanuel building.

Today, all three parts of the combined structure serve critical purposes. The original part of the church on the north side serves as a Sunday School area with an attic for storage; the middle part moved from Immanuel serves as the sanctuary. The new addition gives access to other parts of the church for all who wish to attend the services.

The United Methodist Church community of Janesville, Waterville, and Blooming Grove reminisced extensively on the congregation’s history as the newest addition was blessed this past Sunday. The celebration of the addition began with the remembrance and blessing of the original building site at Immanuel at 10:00 a.m. The service of dedication for the addition took place at 11:00 a.m.

Pastor Kathy King led the congregation in the doxology before the presentation and reconsecration of the building. Fred Vanderwerf, Southern Prairie District Superintendent, aided in the presentation. Members of the church then talked about the history of Blooming Grove with former pastors sharing their stories about their time at the church.

“What a blessing it is to be here today,” King said before the doxology. “It’s a beautiful day outside, a beautiful service, and a beautiful time for our church.”

Minnesota Methodist Bishop David Bard and Vanderwerf then gave sermons and shared Bible verse Isaiah 43:19, which states, “See, I am doing a new thing!    Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”

King, Vanderwerf, and Bard then led the congregation in the prayer of consecration to bless the new addition and the whole building.

After the service, the congregation gathered for an outdoor sloppy joe lunch and enjoyed the gorgeous day. 

The Blooming Grove United Methodist Church may be out in the country, but it’s a hidden gem filled with a ton of history to discover. Thousands of people have attended services throughout the years, whether at the original site of Immanuel or in its current location. It is an exciting time for the congregation there, and it will be exciting to see what other memories they will make.