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Shiner Brethren Church Emigrants from Bohemia and Moravia, of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, came to the Vlastenec area, about four miles south of Shiner, in the mid-1880s. Most came from rural areas and were of the Brethren faith, and wanted to establish a new church in a rural setting. The settlers first held services at the Michna School and, in 1891, organized their church, joining the Evangelical Unity of the Bohemian-Moravian Brethren in North America in 1894. After continuing to hold services at the school for several years, the congregation bought one acre here in 1905 on which to build a church. The wooden structure was consecrated August 13, 1905, with the Revs. Henry Juren of Fayetteville, Adolph Chlumsky and Paul Dyck of Brenham, and William Dziewas of Shiner conducting services. The next month, the church hosted the third convention of the Unity of Brethren, which established the Mutual Aid Society, a Christian service organization. In the 1940s, sixteen young men from the congregation served in World War II, and the congregation made a flag of blue stars on a white background, with one star for each man. One church member, Gus Elsik, was killed in service in Italy, and the church changed his star to gold. Church services and records, as well as Sunday school and confirmation classes, were in the Czech language until the middle of the 20th century. The congregation became independent in 1967. It never had a resident pastor, but relied on ministers coming once or twice a month to lead services. The congregation's numbers declined in the latter part of the 20th century as the area's population decreased. (2002) |
