Knob Prairie UCC
Knob Prairie United Church of Christ was established in 1806, celebrating 214 years in the Enon, Ohio, community this year. The church existed before Clark County was established and just three years after Ohio gained statehood. Named after the location of the congregation’s first Christian church building – the knob of a hill overlooking Mad River Gorge & Nature Preserve, east of the church’s current location – Knob Prairie UCC has a long and storied history.
‘Loving Service to All People’
Today, its mission statement encourages congregants to foster spiritual growth and realize Christian fellowship and unity within the church, while rendering “loving service to all people” and striving for righteousness, justice and peace.
While the church has a relatively small congregation, it is a faithful group, committed to helping make a difference in the lives of their older adult neighbors. The relationship between Knob Prairie UCC and United Church Homes extends back over two decades, when church congregants began visiting residents at Trinity Community at Beavercreek. It has a newer relationship with Trinity Community at Fairborn (formerly Patriot Ridge Community). In 2016, the church began hosting monthly birthday parties for residents at Trinity at Fairborn.
The Fairborn location has served church members and their families throughout the years. Knob Prairie UCC has provided intergenerational opportunities at UCH’s Trinity communities through Sunday school classes. One year, the Sunday school class gave homemade blankets to each resident at Trinity at Beavercreek who wasn’t expecting a Christmas gift.
The church’s pastor, Rev. Lou Vetri, is the spouse of Trinity Community at Beavercreek Director of Spiritual Care and Clinical Pastoral Education, Rev. Linda Grant.
Giving of Time and Talents
Rev. Bob Smitley, Chaplain, Trinity Community at Fairborn
Rev. Bob Smitley, chaplain at Trinity at Fairborn, said he is pleased to honor such an engaged community partner as Knob Prairie UCC. “They remind me of the widow’s giving – they may not have much financially, but they give of themselves willingly and joyously each month to promote abundant life for the residents,” he said.
Click here to read about Shiloh Church, United Church of Christ, another Diakonie Award recipient from Trinity Communities of Greater Dayton‘s Trinity Community at Beavercreek.
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