Zion German Congregational Church was organized at the home of Conrad Helzer on 13 April 1914 by The Rev. John H. Hopp and a group of members from Ebenezer Congregational Church.
The Church Officers elected at this first meeting were:
John H. Krieger, Chairman
George Hinkel, Trustee
John Hohnstein, Trustee
William Lind, Trustee
Conrad Repp, Deacon
Peter Schnell, Deacon
George Weitz, Deacon
Henry Schwarz, Secretary
John Weber, Treasurer
Christina Schnell, Organist
In the beginning, the congregation held worship services at the Mennonite Church at 6th & Fremont. Land for a permanent facility was purchased at the corner of 9th & Fremont, and the cornerstone was laid on 19 July 1914. The building was dedicated on 8 November 1914. A parsonage was constructed in the same year. In 1929, a pipe organ was installed. The congregation hosted the meetings of the General Conference of the German Congregational Churches in 1927 and 1953.
On 2 December 1960, the congregation became affiliated with the United Church of Christ. Zion Congregational Church merged with the German Brethren Church on 29 June 1967 and was renamed Zion Brethren United Church of Christ. The Brethren church building was sold and the Zion church building was used. In August of 1972, the congregation changed its name to Rivercrest Community Church. The congregation relocated to a new building at 3201 NE 148th Street which was dedicated 11 February 1973. The old Zion Church building was sold.
Location:
831 NE Fremont St.
Portland, Oregon
Zion Congregational and its successor congregations have been served by the following pastors:
Otto Tiede (1936-1938)
George J. Schmidt (1938-1940)
Paul Kalmbach (1940-1947)
Theodore Strobel (1947-1952)
Emanuel M. Geier (1952-1954)
Kenneth Biel (1954-1962)
Raymond M. Schatz (1962-?)
Robert C. Klein (1967-1978)
James F. Estes (1978-1987)
Peter D. Warner (1987-2001)
Ed Stell, Chaplain (1987-2001)
Ron Laughlin (2001-?)
- 50th Anniversary Book, Zion Congregational Church, Portland, Oregon.
- Eisenach, George John. A History of the German Congregational Churches in the United States (Yankton, SD: Pioneer Press, 1938): 267.
- Fortieth Anniversary 1914-1954 [booklet], Zion Congregational Church, Portland, Oregon.
- Rivercrest Community Church, 75th Anniversary [booklet], Portland, Oregon.
- Zion German Congregational Church (Steve Schreiber)
- The Volga Germans in Portland (Steve Schreiber)
- Baptism, Confirmation, Marriage, Burial, and Family Records for Zion Congregational Church have been extracted for 1914-1967.
- Baptism, Confirmation, Marriage, and Burial Records for Rivercrest Community Church have been extracted for mid-1967 through mid-1978.
