Covenant News

Nebraska Church Marks 125th Anniversary

MEAD, NE (May 24, 2001) - Mead Evangelical Covenant Church recently celebrated its 125th anniversary as about 230 attended a bell tower dedication following the morning worship service.

A 125th anniversary banquet was held the night before and Delmar Anderson, a retired pastor who had grown up at the church, was the guest speaker. Lyle Person is the pastor at the church, which has nearly doubled its average attendance during the past 10 years to about 180 parishioners.

The bell tower came from the First Baptist Church of Mead, which disbanded in 1947-48. The Covenant church moved into the former Baptist church. A new bell tower was reconstructed, but the bell itself, which was made in 1885, remains intact.

According to the Wahoo Newspapers, the church officially began as the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Mission Church on May 3, 1876. In 1890, the congregation became part of the Evangelical Mission Covenant of America, changing its name to Saron Evangelical Mission Church. It was named Mission Covenant Church in 1931. The current name was established in 1969 after the congregation restructured its constitution.

A donation of 6.4 acres of land by church members Walter and Margaret Swanson helped the church begin construction of its current building in 1991.

For more information about the church, call Kyle Kelly at 402-624-6125.

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