Frieden's Union Church (Mt. Crawford, VA)

At one time Frieden's Church was part of the Rockingham Charge along with St. Michael's of Bridgewater, VA and St. Stephen's of Harrisonburg, VA. Formed by early Lutheran and German Reformed Settlers in Mt. Crawford, Frieden;'s Church was known as one of the four old historic churches in Rockingham County. The others were Peaked Mountain, Rader's and St. Michael's. General John E. Roller referred to Frieden's as "the Mother Church of Rockingham". Founded in 1762 (although some historians place the date at 1749) the deed of land for the church land was purchased in 1782. The first iteration of the church was a log combination church and school house, followed by a church of dressed logs. In 1819 a brick church replaced the log church. In 1784 radical improvements were made to the building. (Frescoed ceiling and new pulpit) In 1958 the church was again remodeled and modernized. In the 1970's the church underwent some structural rearranging. In 1972, the church signed an agreement terminating the 8 point charge relationship between Brown Memorial, St. Michaels and Frieden's churches. During this time the church also adopted a new constitution and By-Laws (1978) to include a wider base for membership and made outreach a priority under Rev. Thomas J. Welsch. In the 1980's the church made a big push for a new education building and was successful. In the 1990's the church paid off the $300,000 educational building and hosted a "Burning of the Mortgage Note Celebration". At this time the church had a membership of about 200. Pastors; Rev. Bernhard Willy 1796-1798 Rev. Daniel Hoffman 1798-1850? Rev. John Brown ( note in Saur Bible) 1850-1858 Rev. Daniel Feete 1858-1879 Rev. John C. Hansell 1879-1881 Rev. L. M. Hansell 1882-1887 Rev. Barton R. Carnahan 1888-1892 Rev. Albert R. Thompson 1885-1892 Rev. W. A. Korn 1895-1900 Rev. A. D. Wolfinger 1900-1908 Rev. Theo Wright 1908-1913 Rev. C. D. Lerch 1914-1922 Rev. Samuel W. Beck 1923-1930 Rev. W. H. Causey 1931-1940 Rev. Horace R. Leguear 1941-1959 Rev. L. O. Carbaugh 1960-1964 Rev. Robert D. Meyers 1964-1972 Rev. Ross Speicher 1972-1975 Rev. Glen Koop 1975-1978 Rev. Thomas J. Welsh 1979-1982 Rev. Gail M. Hendrix 1982 Rev. Craig Snow 1982 Rev. Edward Rawls 1992-1997 Rev. J. Don Skinner Jr.