First United Methodist Church to celebrate 175th birthday

By STEPH TAHTINEN

Mt. Pleasant News

On Sunday, Sept. 25, First United Methodist Church in Mt. Pleasant will be celebrating its 175th birthday by looking to its pioneer origins.

?We take this occasion to be inspired by our founding purpose, which was to bring the Gospel to the frontier,? said Herb Shafer, senior pastor.

?We invite any and all to the morning services, the potluck and the procession to the Old City (Pioneer) Cemetery where we will have a memorial service,? said Shafer.

Sunday school will be held at 9:15 a.m., with one worship service held at 10:30 a.m. At noon there will be a potluck with music, including the IWC choir as it is homecoming weekend for the college. At 1 p.m. there will be a procession to the Pioneer Cemetery where a special ceremony will be held at 1:15 to honor John Rubel, the first preacher who came to southeast Iowa in 1836.

?In many ways he?s a long-forgotten person because he did not live in this area long,? said Shafer. His descendents still live in the area, though the spelling of Rubel has been changed to Ruble over the years.

In September 1835, Rubel was appointed to the Burlington Circuit, a four-week circuit covering Des Moines, Lee, Van Buren and Henry counties. He preached the first sermon in Mt. Pleasant, and he married shortly after establishing the first preaching point in Mt. Pleasant. A few weeks later, Rubel died in Burlington. He was originally buried in Burlington, though his young widow still lived in Mt. Pleasant.

One hundred years later, he was re-buried in Mt. Pleasant?s Pioneer Cemetery, where his grave and a granite memorial can still be found today.

?We?re indebted to him for his great commitment and personal sacrifice,? said Shafer. ?He knew full well he might not last long.?

Shafer said that his religious passion can be seen in a letter Rubel wrote to his parents in Tennessee, explaining why he insisted on investing his life here: ?Sink or swim, I must launch into the ocean of God?s love.?

Shafer noted that although the landscape has changed in the last 175 years and Iowa is no longer the wild frontier it once was, in some ways life has remained the same.

?Today we?re in every bit as much of a spiritual frontier,? said Shafer. ?Our purpose is to reach people through Christ just like it was then.?

In attempting to spread the Gospel, Shafer noted the church?s community service.

?Our goal is to more and more reach out beyond ourselves in terms of our programs,? said Shafer.

Last year, the congregation performed 10,000 hours of service. The church is ministry partners with Iowa Wesleyan College and the Fellowship Cup, and this year it is working on programs such as adopt an IWC student and establishing a community gardening program in conjunction with the Fellowship Cup.