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History of the Church of God (Seventh Day)
Iowa has the distinction of being home to oldest continuous congregation of our fellowship, but Michigan saw the first congregations that would later become Church of God (Seventh Day), two or three years before the Marion, Iowa, church was founded. By 1858 Elder Gilbert Cranmer, living near Kalamazoo, Michigan, had planted or was serving Church groups meeting in several places in the southwestern part of that state. These groups existed in places like Waverly, Alamo, Bangor, Hartford, Casco, Gobles, Bloomingdale, Hamilton, West Olive, and Otsego — located mostly in a triangle formed by the present cities of Holland on the north, Benton Harbor on the south, and Kalamazoo on the east. These Sabbatarian Adventist groups were organized into a conference of churches, then known as the Church of Christ, in 1860. In 1863 they began to publish The Hope of Israel, a paper that eventually became the Bible Advocate. From the 1860’s until around 1900, brethren in Michigan continued to play a major role in the development of the Church as it expanded toward the West (Iowa, Nebraska) and South (Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma). In 1884 the village of Irvington (now Lacota, near South Haven) hosted a meeting attended by representatives from these five states, during which the General Conference of the Church of God (Seventh Day) was first organized. Though never a strong advocate of church organization, Gilbert Cranmer continued to play a major role among the Michigan churches throughout the nineteenth century until his death in 1903. Nearly everyone who left a written record of this time mentions the fact of Cranmer’s effectiveness in the pulpit. He fathered several children and lost three wives by premature death. Eventually he married the widow of Erastus Branch, a close ministerial associate. This union increased the Cranmer family greatly and resulted in the establishment of a thriving church near White Cloud, north of Grand Rapids. Assisted by two doctors and three nurses, Dr. John C. Branch opened a medical clinic in White Cloud in 1900. The clinic was largely built and furnished by contributions from Church of God members and congregations. By September 25, 66 surgical procedures had been performed at the clinic. Gilbert Cranmer, 86, stepfather of Dr. Branch and his brothers, was a patient at the clinic when he died in December 1903. Two years after Gilbert Cranmer’s death, the Church he had helped begin became involved in a dispute over management of the publishing work in Stanberry, Missouri. As a result of this dispute, much of the work in western Michigan was disaffected from the Church of God and later affiliated with the Seventh-day Baptist Church. For more than 30 years, fewer than a half-dozen CoG7 congregations remained in Michigan. In 1925 the Bible Advocate listed just four churches in Michigan: Battle Creek, Deckerville, Freeland, and West Olive. Of these, Freeland and West Olive seemed to anchor the east and west sides of the state, respectively, and both groups are still alive and well.
Historical Sketch of ‘08 Michigan Churches Freeland Freeland is the oldest of the present churches in Michigan, having been organized just before the turn from the nineteenth to the twentieth centuries. Its roots began with the Benjamin Madill family, who emigrated there from Canada in 1881. Brother Madill learned the truth of the Sabbath and other kindred doctrines by a man who rented one of his homes in Canada, and by the preaching of V. P. Lyons of Suspension Bridge, New York. The Madill family heard of the Church of God through The Hope of Israel. One Madill daughter married James Merriam, Sr., and another married William Wilkinson. Both these couples became active in the Freeland church. (A third Madill daughter married Temple Leach. They were active members in Western Michigan.) In the 1890’s Dr. J. C. Branch and his brother Lemuel Branch held meetings in the old Munger school, near or in Freeland. The first legal charter of the Freeland church was taken at an 1899 state conference meeting in Freeland, and the church was properly established in 1900. Names on the charter are Seth Munger, Louis Munger, James Merriam Sr. and family, William Wilkinson and family, William Slater and family, and John Campbell. This charter, still in force today, is the authority by which the Michigan conference of the Church presently operates. After a difficult period when some moved away, the Freeland church was re-organized by Elder A. N. Dugger in 1916, using this pledge: We the following agree and covenant together that we will keep the commandments of God and have the testimonies of our Lord Jesus Christ. We further agree that we will do all we can by the help of God to advance the work of God here in our community, and that we will support the work with our tithes and offerings. Signing this pledge were Seth A. Munger, Mr., Mrs. James Merriam Sr. and Jr., Mr. and Mrs. Harry Walkley Jr., Myrtle Meriam, Edson Merriam, Margaret Schroeder, Mrs A. C. Notter, George Schroeder, Nina Munger, Fae Munger, Ralph Munger, Walter Wilkinson, Leonard Wilkinson, Theodor Wilkinson, Clarence Wilkinson, and Fern Shephers. From 1916 to 1948 the Freeland church held Sabbath meetings in the various members’ homes and in tents. Various ministers held meetings to encourage the members and to add others to the ranks: Elders C. E. Groshens, A. N. Dugger, K. H. Freeman, C. .J. Heywood, A. E. Schuster, Leo S. Merriam, and W. W. McMicken, who was very active in Freeland. By the 1940’s the need for a proper church home was apparent, and the first services were held in the new building on July 24, 1948. Elder Leo Merriam gave the Sermon. Mable Hassen was church secretary-treasurer. Families attending Freeland church in the 1940’s were the Merriams, Wilkinsons, Thompsons, Hassens, Roches, Spencers, Piersons, Ungers, Bascoms, along with Mabel Ash, George Schroeder, and the Turrell children. Serving as pastor since 1950 have been Walter Spencer, Clarence Wilkinson, Roy Keim, Elden Taylor, Floyd Turner, Paul Heavilin, Melvin Sweet, Mark Ling, and Paul Vander Horst. At this writing, local elders Donald Turrell and Keith Noble provide leadership.
West Olive The current church in West Olive traces its origin to 1902 and is thus about three years younger than the group in Freeland. It is evidently not a direct successor to the group that Gilbert Cranmer served there nearly 50 years earlier. It was L. J. Branch, a stepson of Cranmer, however, who baptized John and Nellie Goodin in 1901, and this couple became leaders of a West Olive Sabbath School that reported 48 “scholars” at its first meeting (1902). Early families in this group included the Goodins, Klines, Van Der Meidens, DeWinds, Taylors, and Dreeses, Elders George Wilson and Thomas Howe were recognized by the General Conference as ministers in West Olive. They baptized several there in 1922, after meetings held by Elder L. L. Presler. That same year the church began to build its first permanent church home at 160th and Polk, where it remained until 1989. Pastors, preachers, and lay leaders who served West Olive church over the years are R. E. Hosteter, C. W. Wilkinson, William Goodin, Henry Dickinson, Archie Stiede, Vernon Patchen, Nelson Caswell, Tieman DeWind, and Art Cummings. In the last few years, the West Olive church has moved near Zeeland and is known as the Vriesland church. A church still remains in West Olive after 106 years, and the distinctive CoG7 greeting among Spanish language members — “Paz a voz, hermanos y hermanas” — is heard in there every Sabbath. Ignacio Pedraza is the current pastor in West Olive.
Grand Rapids Gradually, other congregations were formed across the state to join fellowship with Freeland and West Olive. The Grand Rapids church, first led by Elder John DeWind in Jenison in the 1930’s, purchased a building in Tallmadge (without debt!) in 1962 when it was led by Tieman DeWind. Others who’ve served in Grand Rapids were Vernon Patchen, Dale Godfrey, Ken Durham, Paul Vander Horst, Manny Molinar III, and now, Jesse Davis. The Coulson, Hosteter, and Ross families have been among the Grand Rapids faithful through the years.
Saginaw The Church in Saginaw began in 1938, meeting in the home of Sister Martina Rocha. Brother Ojeda and Brother Duque came from Texas to hold services, especially during the summer months when work in the farm fields was plentiful. Services were then held on 6th Street until a small building at 27th and Lapeer streets was purchased. It had a huge yard used for sharecropping by the members. The need for an addition was soon recognized, as the FYC group sometimes outnumbered adults. Services were conducted by Elder Julian Camero and Elder Eusebio Bernal. As these elders retired, responsibility was turned over to lay leaders Jose Rodriguez and Ruben Garza. Visiting speakers also came from Freeland: Elder Floyd Turner, Clarence Wilkinson, and Brother Elden Taylor. While Daniel Davila was teaching at Spring Vale from 1973 to 1976, he also helped the work in Saginaw and trained lay leaders. Pastor Paul Vander Horst came in as a visiting pastor while at the Freeland church and even when he moved to Petersburg. In 1977 the current church building on Stephens Street was purchased. The women’s group worked hard with fundraisers (mostly tamale sales) and paid it off in 12 years. The celebration of a fully paid mortgage service was held in 1989. Brother Rojelio Salazar led the church until 2001. In 2002 lay pastor Steven Rodriguez accepted responsibility and continues weekly services at 523 Stephens Street in Saginaw. New members continue to be added to the fellowship. The women, called Daughters of Jerusalem, are very active both in church activities and as contributors of women’s retreats locally and district-wide. Their outreach program through the L.I.G.H.T. (Ladies In God Holding Together ) Society also shares Christ with the community.
Spring Vale Academy and Owosso Church In the 1940’s the church in Michigan played a major role in efforts to repair the rupture that divided the national church into two parts back in 1933. The unification committee was led by Elder A. E. Lidell of Ypsilanti, and the same well-loved elder also chaired the committee that succeeded in planting Spring Vale Academy near Owosso. The school has now operated at that location for 60 years! Owosso church came into existence as a result of the founding of the academy near that city in 1947 and ‘48. It has always met in the facilities provided by the academy. Pastoral leadership for the first 20 years was provided by the first two school principals, Stanley Kauer and Roy Keim, as well as by Elder Floyd Turner, who moved to that area and also served many years as Northeastern district overseer. In 1966 Elder Vernon Patchen returned to Michigan from Wisconsin to pastor the Owosso church, and remained there until his death about 30 years later, serving both in pastoral and academy roles. Since 1977 Elder Max Morrow has served the church as pastor. A history of the Owosso church would hardly be complete without mentioning the names of Elder Paul Heavilin and of student pastors like Richard Glancy, Heber Vega, Monico Muffley, and Tim Hinds.
Petersburg The church in Petersburg began in 1962 with 14 charter members, when those in Tecumseh purchased the Free Methodist church in Petersburg. Elder Nelson Caswell preached the dedicatory sermon on the first Sabbath of 1963, and the church had these members: Elder A. E. and Phyllis Lidell, Howard and Vaneda Friddle and girls, Elder William and Ava McCann and boys, Clarence and Genevieve Mooney and family, Walter and Liela Williams and Ted, and Francis Barber. As it nears 45 years of ministry, the Petersburg church has had only three pastors: Andrew E. Lidell, Willliam McCann, and John Schott, the current pastor. This small but loving group thanks God for their current members and for the warm memories of those who now rest from their labors, in Christ.
Banfield - Culver Road Brother Roy Kent was influential in starting the Banfield church in 1978, with assistance from Elder C. J. Heywood of Battle Creek. This congregation, now served by lay pastor Brian Noble, meets on Culver Road near Hickory Corners, just four miles down the road from the site if the 2008 North American Ministerial Council at Gull Lake, outside Kalamazoo. Brother Kent and his son John are direct descendants of Elder Gilbert Cranmer, who resided and worked in this same Battle Creek-Kalamazoo area.
Decatur The church in Decatur continues to meet. Leadership is provided by Brother Richard Wise, another direct descendant of Gilbert Cranmer, and others.
Muskegon and Detroit Two Michigan congregations that were active for most of the last half of the twentieth century have recently closed their doors or have merged with a nearby church. These are Muskegon in the northwest corner and Detroit in the southeast. Muskegon started in the 1940’s with the Redding, Moffate, Norton, and Lang families. It purchased a building in 1948, when Elder Clarence Wilkinson came from Freeland once a month. Vernon Patchen served as pastor from 1951 to 1957, and Nelson Caswell followed him for several years. Since then, Elders Melvin Sweet, Ron Sanders, Fred Walter, Calvin Burrell, Ben Coulson, Marvin Keim, Dale Godfrey, Roland Pedersen, Dan Coulson, and Paul Heavilin served either for a few weeks or for many years, with Ken Noble backing up as local elder and lay leader. The Detroit church began in the mid-1920’s. Elders Groshans, Osman, Heywood, McCann, and Otto were active in the years prior to 1960, with Robert Coulter, Marvin Keim, Melvin Sweet, Bob Markee, and Bill Rice serving since 1960. Leading families in the church have been the Walkleys, Starks, Cooks, Boors, Masters, Perez, Guerras, Willhelms, Merriams, and others too numerous to recall. Over the years, the Detroit congregation owned buildings in three or four locations, the last two being on John R and on Pinecrest in Ferndale. Ministers who have served Michigan as overseers, either in the old Great Lakes District or the present Northeast District, are Robert Coulter, Floyd Turner, Kenneth H. Freeman, Melvin Sweet, Victor Burford, Richard Wiedenheft, and Bruce Noble.
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