Historic Beecher Bible and Rifle Church in Wabaunsee

Beecher Bible and Rifle Church emphasizes storied past

By Paula Glover

WABAUNSEE - The Beecher Bible and Rifle Church has a distinguished past, and church members hope that by preserving the past, the future of the church might also be ensured.
Beecher Bible and Rifle was one of the first Congregational churches to be integrated back in the 1950s, and Ada and Don Whitten remember clearly when they moved to Wabaunsee, Ethel Morgan, a well known African-American woman in the area, invited them to church. That was in 1971, and the couple has continued to play an active role in the church ever since.
Don Whitten has a keen interest in the history of the church, which has become non-denominational, served by Rev. Lynn Roth, a retired school teacher.
Roth said he has found no indication that the common understanding of the church’s name as indicating that rifles were shipped west in containers marked as Bibles is true. But the real story is as interesting.
The origins of the church go back to 1854 when the question arose if Kansas would be a free or slave state. Two years later, there were 60 people living in the Wabaunsee area, and it was there that a group of 60 or more men from New Haven, Conn. moved to help Kansas become a free state, sacrificing their comfortable lives for their ideals.
Before the group left, Henry Ward Beecher, then a well-known minister from Brooklyn, N.Y. pledged that his congregation would give money for 25 rifles, if the audience would give money for another 25. Along with the donation, came a gift of 25 Bibles from a parishioner.
Visitors to Wabaunsee can still see the efforts of the organized settlers, in the well-laid out streets. Soon, families joined the men, and of the 28 charter members of the church, nine were women. The church was dedicated in 1862.
Although the church struggled through difficult times beginning in 1927, with the last official entry in the record book, the memory was kept alive with the “Old Settlers Association” in 1932, and the church was renovated in 1948. By 1950, residents formed a new church group, and services resumed. The church was renovated with a modern heating system, new pews and a tile floor. In 1992 the George Thompson Christian Center was built, providing rest rooms and facilities for Sunday School, and other activities.
Today, between 14 and 28 people routinely come to services.
In January, Tina McIntyre and her daughter, Elizabeth, age 10, decided to return to the church where Tina was raised and where she was married 14 years ago.
“When I was a child, we came here, and we came to be part of the community,” McIntyre said on Sept 13. “This church has so much history.”
Ray Songs agreed, and said that “I grew up here and we live close. It is important for us to be here as part of the community.” He has no interest in any “virtual” community on the internet.
Building a sense of community – face to face – an important element in keeping the church alive, said Ada and Don Whitten.
“For families that stay here, it takes involvement in the church community,” Don Whitten said. To that end, the church sponsors a vacation Bible school, “which gets several children from the community” if it isn’t the same week as other churches in the area, Whitten noted. Every month, the church sponsors potluck dinners with no program, just offering a chance for neighbors to come and visit. And the women of the congregation get together with women from other area churches for a monthly program. There’s a Christmas party as well, and historic programs generally draw a full house.
“We want to keep it open for people who want to come here,” Whitten said.
Despite its small size, the congregation helps support a missionary in Japan.
To help with the weekly Sunday services, there is a guest preacher on the second Sunday of each month. On Sept. 13, it was Jason Brent, a graduate of nearby Manhattan Christian College and an associate pastor at a church in Topeka.
“I believe God has a purpose for everyone,” he said, “just because the church is small, doesn’t mean there’s no purpose. The strength is in being connected to a community. I feel when I come here the people are united by their faith.”
Mark Alderman, who teaches Bible at Manhattan Christian College, generally presides on the second Sunday.
“People are proud of the history of the church,” he said. “There is a message in the history of the church, how a handful of pioneers came to make sure Kansas is a free state. That is part of the heritage of the church. They are good people, concerned about their faith,” he added.
“It is a fairly small church and fairly older and people are concerned about the next generation. But it seems like God will always send someone along.” Alderman attributed the smaller size of the congregation, in part, to just that there aren’t a many people in the nearby community.
The aging congregation is a concern, however, said Roth.
He, himself, is age 81, having conducted services in the church for more than 30 years and taught in the Wamego school district from 1973 to 1994.
“Our biggest problem is we’re old,” he said frankly. “We need young people.”
He said in the last year, younger families have joined, but noted that “the historical nature of the church has kept us going.”

This is the article that ran in the Manhattan Mercury today.