The Immanuel Church was first organized during 1894 by Rev. J. G. Kuhl, Pastor of the First Evangelical Reformed Church in Covington, Ky. (First Evangelical Reformed Church was known as Grace Reformed Church, later Grace UCC, and closed in 1995).
On March 11, 1894, Immanuel was formed with thirty members, the majority of whom were members of the First Evangelical Reformed Church. The charter member families included the Armentrout, Beil, Eggloff, Heilemann, Maegly, Reinhart, Rauh, Rushke, Schirmer, Schultheis, Thiers, and Twachtman families. There were fifteen Reinhart and six Beil charter members. At their first meeting in March, Mr. Schultheis and Mr. Heilemann organized a Sunday School. Two weeks later they held their first classes.
Within a few months the members found and purchased a suitable building site at the northeast corner of Boone and Harris streets in Bromley. The cornerstone was laid “with impressive ceremonies” on July 15th 1894. The completed church was “dedicated to the service of the Triune God” on September 30th 1894. In 1922, the adjoining parcel of land was purchased and our existing church stands on that lot today.
In 1945, fund raising began for a new church. The congregation built the basement portion of the new church in 1952. Immanuel’s existing sanctuary was completed in 1959 and the last service in the original building was Dec 13th of that year. The educational wing was built onto the (1959) building in 1984, funded by a generous donation from Mrs. Bernice Kinnaird.
In 2016 the sanctuary was totally remodeled with a generous gift from Bill and La Jean Creutzinger. The choir section was removed from the sanctuary, and the platform steps were rounded and widened. The original wooden altar table from the old church on the corner was located and refinished, and reinstalled for service in the church. New pews, carpet, side lighting, and railings were also installed. The parlor was transformed into the “Holy Grounds Café” later in the year.
Rev. Miller 1916-1942
Immanuel shared a pastor with Grace Reformed Church until 1957. Our first full time Pastor was Rev. Raymond C. Kuhlenschmidt. The German Reformed and Congregational Church denominations merged with the United Church of Christ, and we became Immanuel UCC. Immanuel has been served by fifteen ministers in our 125 year history.
2019 marked the 125th Anniversary of IUCC and a year long celebration included special music, dinners, history presentations and more.
Here's to 125 more years of IUCC Ministries!
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