Zion United Church of Christ celebrating its 125th Anniversary

The beginnings of Zion United Church of Christ in Waukon in 1885 flowed from two other area congregations: Zalmona Presbyterian Church, located west of Waukon, and Ebenezer Church east of Waukon. The Ebenezer historical record notes: “This group of people, combined with the group west of Waukon was organized into a congregation on August 11, 1856 by Rev. Van Vliet, a Presbyterian minister of Dubuque, Iowa and was given the name: German Presbyterian Church."
A Rev. Renskers served the congregation until the year 1864 when he left without having a successor. At this time, some of the members east of Waukon decided to form another congregation and to seek a pastor from the German Reformed Church. They took these steps because most had been raised in the Reformed Church in Germany and wanted to remain faithful to their parents' tradition. Also, the distance to church, the conditions of the roads and frequent snowstorms prevented regular attendance. Finally, they wanted their children to have more religious training in a parochial school.
In December of 1864 Ebenezer Church was formed east of Waukon. Those not interested in this change moved to their present site west of town and assumed the name Zalmona Presbyterian Church. Continued difficulty in attending worship moved a number of families to petition Ebenezer Church to release them to organize a Reformed Church in Waukon.
February 20, 1885 the organization of the new church was complete with 48 charter members, a constitution, and the election of the first officers. The name Zion was unanimously adopted and Zion Reformed Church came into being. Six months later, in August of 1885, a new red brick church on the present site was dedicated. When that building became unsafe and too small a new brick church was built in 1904, which is the present church building.
In 1965 the two-story Educational Wing was added. The German language was used in the church. In 1915 the first students were confirmed in English. But, it wasn’t until 1941 that the Council voted to discontinue the use of the German language. In 1957 the Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian merged to form the United Church of Christ and Zion took the name of Zion Reformed United Church of Christ.
In 1969 a new constitution and by-laws were adopted. The word “Reformed” was dropped, so Zion United Church of Christ became the  official name. Today the membership is 395 parishioners. Two services are held each Sunday, a contemporary worship at 8:15 a.m. and traditional worship at 10:30 a.m. Sunday School is at 9:15 a.m.