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he Helvetia story begins when Swiss and German immigrants began settling in Oregon's Tualatin Valley in the late 1870s. They came from Europe by way of Wisconsin, Illinois and other eastern states, or directly by ship via Panama and San Francisco. Once in Oregon they cleared the heavily wooded land and built homes and farms. Produce and dairy products (including Swiss cheese, of course) were hauled by wagon over the West Hills to markets in Portland. Some of the trails such as Canyon Road, Cornell Road and Logie Trail are still in use today. One bears the name of the area's early ethnic makeup: Germantown Road.
An early photo of the Helvetia congregation taken not long after the church was built. Notice the two young sapling trees on either side of the entrance. The one on the right still stands today. Compare its size with the photo on the home page.
As communities grew, schools and post offices were established and the districts given names: Cedar Mill, Bethany, Union, West Union, Phillips/Rock Creek and Helvetia. Helvetia is the name the Romans gave the region now known as Switzerland. It was a natural choice for the predominately Swiss residents of the district. Phillips, just east of Helvetia, got its name from Phillip Pezoldt, an early resident from Germany. This area is also known as Rock Creek, the name of the local school.

The first family of record in Helvetia was Joseph and Therese Bischoff who came from Baden, Germany in 1872. The name Bischoff means Bishop in German and is now spelled and pronounced that way. Second to arrive were the Christian Zurchers who came a year later. They had left their economically depressed and overcrowded homelands seeking land, opportunity and religious freedom.

These and the others who would follow were members of the Reformed Church, a denomination with roots dating back to the reformation and the teachings of Ulrich Zwingli and John Calvin.

The Reformed Church, long known as the German Reformed Church, has had a long presence in the United States. It organized its first synod in 1747 and adopted a constitution in 1793. There was an active "classis", or presbytery, in Portland when the Tualatin Valley settlers arrived.

One of the first orders of business for the new immigrants was to organize themselves into a church body and get recognition from the Portland classis. The Emmanuel Reformed Church was officially organized on November 6, 1881. They took the name Emmanuel, meaning God with us, because "... our hope is directed towards the Lord and the Lord promised in His word that He will be with His people to the end of the world".

For several years before that time services were conducted by Rev. Henry Stauss in homes in the area. They were one congregation, but because they were spread over a wide area and travel was difficult, they met in three groups: at Union, Phillips and Helvetia.
The original ten charter members were: Frederick Bischel, Verena Bischel, Samuel Hauserman, Peter Jossi, Jon Losli, Adolph Siegrist, Verena Siegrist, John Ritter, William Wohlschlegel, Christian Zurcher. By 1882 sixteen other members were listed on the rolls: Ulrich Fuegy, G. Falb, John Gahler, Lousi Josse, Anna Josse, Elizabeth Josse, Ulrich Kampf, John Kunrath, Pul Kieni, Maria Kieni, Elizabith Schmidt, Apolonia Stauss, Caroline Stauss, Jon Stauss, John Yost, Anna Yost.

In March, 1882, Elder John Kunrath offered to donate ten acres of land as a building site for a church and parsonage near Phillips. Because of the distance it was decided in 1898 to erect two houses of worship, one at Phillips on the land donated by John Kunrath, and another at Helvetia on land bought from Christian Lauber. Both churches would be served by the same pastor alternating Sunday morning and afternoon. The group at Union never grew large enough to justify a church building of their own. The building committee consisted of A. Guerber, Wm. Josse, M. Wafler and Abr. Jungen.

The Phillips church was built in 1898 and the Helvetia church a year later in 1899. The two churches with a single pastor continued until 1938 when the Phillips church was destroyed by fire. Arson was suspected since other churches in the area were also burned at that time.

The Phillips Church was built at a cost of $429.40 plus 98 days of donated labor. The bell was given by Eliza Schleuter in memory of her daughter Anna who was killed in an accident near the church, with the request that it be rung each year on the date of the accident. After the church was destroyed the bell was donated to Pacific University in Forest Grove.
After the fire the property and parsonage were sold with only the cemetery remaining. With the advent of automobiles and better roads, travel was easier, so rather than rebuild at Phillips the two congregations united into one at Helvetia.
 
In 1934 the German Reformed Church in the U.S. united with the Evangelical Church, another German Church which was at least partly Lutheran in doctrine, to form the Evangelical and Reformed Church. The merged church used the Heidelberg and Lutheran Catechisms. The church at Helvetia was then renamed Emmanuel Evangelical and Reformed Church of Helvetia. From the beginning German was the first language of the people and church services. As time passed English began to be used, especially among the younger generation. During World War I German began loosing favor and then with WWII and the rise of Hitler the use of German was causing serious disagreement. A policy of one service a month in English and three in German was adopted which gradually changed to the opposite, three in English and one in German. Eventually German was no longer used in the services except on special occasions.
On November 6, 1976 the Helvetia Church was marked with a plaque by the Tualatin Valley Heritage, Inc. historical sites marking program. Over 200 people attended the ceremony, some coming from as far away as Alaska.
With the whole congregation now meeting at Helvetia, in 1947 the building was enlarged with additional Sunday School rooms and a basement. The interior of the church was also renovated. In 1949 a modern parsonage was built on the site formerly occupied by the Helvetia school.

In 1957 the Evangelical and Reformed Church merged with the Congregational Christian Church to form the United Church of Christ. Individual churches of each denomination were permitted to vote whether or not to join the merger. After much prayer and deliberation, the Helvetia church decided that the merger meant too great a compromise in doctrine and voted not to join. They subsequently reorganized themselves into an independent church and chose the name Helvetia Community Church.

In the 1960s the church grew in numbers and size. The building was further remodeled and a new two-story section added for classrooms and a fellowship hall. Helvetia continued to prosper for another two decades. In the 1990s attendance began to decline and there was concern that the era of rural historic churches might have come to an end.

Happily, the Lord is blessing Helvetia with renewed growth and energy. Led by Pastor Bryan Austring's vision and a revived spirit in our people, we can share the hope of that first congregation when they chose the name Emmanuel, that "He will be with His people to the end of the world".