Here's the story as told by Robert Doecke:
Remnants of an early house wall.
Sam and Jim went and knocked at the door of one of the cottages in Stockport. The lady who answered was Mrs Martha Matz. She and her husband Herman were only a young married couple at that time but both had been brought up in and belonged to the Bethel community. Martha was able to tell Sam and Jim a little about the trouble at Bethel and how the whole community of German people were fighting amongst themselves. As they stood discussing this, a sense of urgency gripped Sam, and as Martha Matz was to tell years later, Sam and Jim just left running, heading up the dusty road towards Bethel, anxious to get there before it was too late to make enquiries about holding gospel meetings in the village.
As they approached Bethel, they spotted a man working in his paddock. It was Hermann Geue, only a young man and not long married, busy raking straw. He saw Sam and Jim approaching, and noticing that they were not the swag types often seen on the road, went to meet them. At this time, Hermann’s heart was filled with heaviness because of the bitter disappointment in the Lutheran church as a result of the unjust actions of the minister. No doubt God heard his prayers when he so often feebly prayed that he would be given some real light and joy and honesty to serve HIm. The men introduced themselves, and Sam explained that they were looking for a place to hold gospel meetings. Hermann asked who they represented and Sam replied that they represented Jesus Christ, and were preaching the gospel of the love of Jesus and searching for needy souls. This immediately touched Hermann’s heart as all that he had ever seen and heard was from those who took the name of God in vain as his servants and did it for natural gain and greed.
Hermann suggested Sam approach the new minister and ask if they could preach in the church, because he felt if they were preaching for the love of Jesus, they should be given a hearing. As well he suggested if they could not preach in the church they ask the man in charge of the band hall, a Mr Rudolph Schmidt, if he could help. The band hall was the main venue for their social gatherings as their music and band (with Hermann it’s leader at that time) was the central attraction at most functions. Hermann finally said, “if they will not allow you into the band hall, then you come and have meetings in our home.”
So Sam and Jim approached the Bethel Lutheran pastor. He flatly refused their request to preach in the church, as he felt he was perfectly capable of supplying the spiritual needs of his flock, and it was of course unprecedented that an Irishman should come and be allowed to preach to a supposedly tightly knit German community! The chairman of the band hall, Mr Schmidt, also refused them permission, so by nightfall they had returned to the home of Hermann and Lydia Geue, who opened their doors to these two foreign preachers who were to bring the message of the Kingdom of Heaven to them and many others in the community.
The earnestness of the message touched their hearts. Many came to listen from invitations, so many that they couldn’t all fit into the living room and had to sit in an adjoining room. Some struggled to understand not only English, but Sam’s strong Irish brogue. From time to time, the women would swap places and Martha Matz (who with her husband and family were coming from Stockport) would go out and tell them “we are not saved, not one of us. We will all need to repent and start anew!”
Word got around the district quickly about the meetings, as all who were listening were diligent in speaking to others. Members of the Vogt family came to listen, some riding 32kms on horseback. Martha Matz two brothers, Otto and Frederich Schmidt accepted the invitation to come, as well as a young teenage cousin of theirs Frieda Schmidt (it was her father who had refused Sam and Jim the use of the band hall). After a few weeks, quite a commotion erupted amongst the Bethel community, some were for the workers, others against, such that the pastor decided he would act. Without so much as giving a hearing to the workers, he announced a special service to expose the two imposters. He opened the service with upbraiding the two foreigners as being hypocrites of the worst kind, wolves in sheep’s clothing and their only purpose was to come and tear the Bethel community apart. Hermann Geue had heard enough. He knew that what the pastor was saying was false - he had seen the spirit of God’s two servants, heard their words of life that had touched his heart and begun to meet his need. He jumped up and walked out, followed by 23 others! As they went out the door of the Bethel Lutheran church, they heard the pastor call “come back, come back you poor lost sheep!”. But they were never to return to that place.
This very incident brought matters to a head for the Bethel folk. Sam had just announced that they would be reluctantly leaving the area for a few weeks to attend conventions, and appears he wasn’t really ready to give an opportunity before convention. But the actions of the pastor had precipitated a situation where 24 people had broken with their church in a most dramatic way. These people had put themselves “outside the camp” of their own faith and community and Sam felt he couldn’t deny them the chance of expressing where their true allegiance lay now. They all gathered in Fred Schmidt’s home that night and Sam gave them an opportunity to express their support for the gospel that he and Jim had preached. Those same 24 all raised their hands. They were:
Hermann and Martha Matz
Hermann and Lydia Geue
Papa and Mama Vogt
Theo and Paula Vogt (Martha Matz’ sister)
Alf, Ben, Gary, Rudy and Martha Vogt (Papa and Mama’s unmarried children)
Otto and Fred Schmidt and cousin Frieda
Hermann and Clara Doecke and eldest child Helena
May Jones
Mrs Edie Linke
Mabel Winter
Miss Walfield
The Bethel Lutheran Church
From 1848-1854 a group of German Moravian Brethren migrated to South Australia from Germany. A pastor was sent out and found a large tract of land 9 kms from Kapunda, suitable for a community to work and live on. The centre of the community was of course, the little church. The Moravian people had a strong culture, part of which was fine German and European music. They regularly held performances and concerts in the Band Hall, and took great pride in their musical talent.
In the early days of the commune everything worked harmoniously together as everyone was trying to make a go of it. All went well for the first 20 years, but then the younger generation started to get dissatisfied with the pastor, as they felt he was too old and wanted someone younger. They applied to the mother church in Germany, without his knowledge. When he found out he objected and refused to leave his church house. However when the new pastor arrived, the old one was forced out, took them to court, lost and so a big rift developed in the once united community.
The rift got wider, more problems developed. Eventually they were left without a pastor, and so in desperation applied to the Lutherans (of which they were not a part), for a pastor. The community grew, others went to live there, and by the turn of the century the spirit of sharing was going and the younger generation was becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the pastors. The services were all in German which by then was going over a lot of people's heads, as they spoke English now. There was nothing to touch their hearts. One such young couple, amongst others, were Hermann and Lydia Geue. They felt they were in darkness, their hopes of a united community growing dimmer, and longing for light and fellowship.
Early in 1910 Sam Jones and Jim Murray were holding missions in the different districts which proved fruitless. They had spent many nights sleeping in haystacks on the way (during this time Sam composed hymn 241, The truth of God so precious) They stepped off the train at Stockport, a little railway village about 20 kms west of Kapunda. They had heard that there was unrest in the local church at Bethel and set off with hope that there might be a lost sheep somewhere in the district.
Sam and Jim went and knocked at the door of one of the cottages in Stockport. The lady who answered was Mrs Martha Matz. She and her husband Herman were only a young married couple at that time but both had been brought up in and belonged to the Bethel community. Martha was able to tell Sam and Jim a little about the trouble at Bethel and how the whole community of German people were fighting amongst themselves. As they stood discussing this, a sense of urgency gripped Sam, and as Martha Matz was to tell years later, Sam and Jim just left running, heading up the dusty road towards Bethel, anxious to get there before it was too late to make enquiries about holding gospel meetings in the village.
As they approached Bethel, they spotted a man working in his paddock. It was Hermann Geue, only a young man and not long married, busy raking straw. He saw Sam and Jim approaching, and noticing that they were not the swag types often seen on the road, went to meet them. At this time, Hermann’s heart was filled with heaviness because of the bitter disappointment in the Lutheran church as a result of the unjust actions of the minister. No doubt God heard his prayers when he so often feebly prayed that he would be given some real light and joy and honesty to serve HIm. The men introduced themselves, and Sam explained that they were looking for a place to hold gospel meetings. Hermann asked who they represented and Sam replied that they represented Jesus Christ, and were preaching the gospel of the love of Jesus and searching for needy souls. This immediately touched Hermann’s heart as all that he had ever seen and heard was from those who took the name of God in vain as his servants and did it for natural gain and greed.
Hermann suggested Sam approach the new minister and ask if they could preach in the church, because he felt if they were preaching for the love of Jesus, they should be given a hearing. As well he suggested if they could not preach in the church they ask the man in charge of the band hall, a Mr Rudolph Schmidt, if he could help. The band hall was the main venue for their social gatherings as their music and band (with Hermann it’s leader at that time) was the central attraction at most functions. Hermann finally said, “if they will not allow you into the band hall, then you come and have meetings in our home.”
So Sam and Jim approached the Bethel Lutheran pastor. He flatly refused their request to preach in the church, as he felt he was perfectly capable of supplying the spiritual needs of his flock, and it was of course unprecedented that an Irishman should come and be allowed to preach to a supposedly tightly knit German community! The chairman of the band hall, Mr Schmidt, also refused them permission, so by nightfall they had returned to the home of Hermann and Lydia Geue, who opened their doors to these two foreign preachers who were to bring the message of the Kingdom of Heaven to them and many others in the community.
The earnestness of the message touched their hearts. Many came to listen from invitations, so many that they couldn’t all fit into the living room and had to sit in an adjoining room. Some struggled to understand not only English, but Sam’s strong Irish brogue. From time to time, the women would swap places and Martha Matz (who with her husband and family were coming from Stockport) would go out and tell them “we are not saved, not one of us. We will all need to repent and start anew!”
Word got around the district quickly about the meetings, as all who were listening were diligent in speaking to others. Members of the Vogt family came to listen, some riding 32kms on horseback. Martha Matz two brothers, Otto and Frederich Schmidt accepted the invitation to come, as well as a young teenage cousin of theirs Frieda Schmidt (it was her father who had refused Sam and Jim the use of the band hall). After a few weeks, quite a commotion erupted amongst the Bethel community, some were for the workers, others against, such that the pastor decided he would act. Without so much as giving a hearing to the workers, he announced a special service to expose the two imposters. He opened the service with upbraiding the two foreigners as being hypocrites of the worst kind, wolves in sheep’s clothing and their only purpose was to come and tear the Bethel community apart. Hermann Geue had heard enough. He knew that what the pastor was saying was false - he had seen the spirit of God’s two servants, heard their words of life that had touched his heart and begun to meet his need. He jumped up and walked out, followed by 23 others! As they went out the door of the Bethel Lutheran church, they heard the pastor call “come back, come back you poor lost sheep!”. But they were never to return to that place.
This very incident brought matters to a head for the Bethel folk. Sam had just announced that they would be reluctantly leaving the area for a few weeks to attend conventions, and appears he wasn’t really ready to give an opportunity before convention. But the actions of the pastor had precipitated a situation where 24 people had broken with their church in a most dramatic way. These people had put themselves “outside the camp” of their own faith and community and Sam felt he couldn’t deny them the chance of expressing where their true allegiance lay now. They all gathered in Fred Schmidt’s home that night and Sam gave them an opportunity to express their support for the gospel that he and Jim had preached. Those same 24 all raised their hands. They were:
Hermann and Martha Matz
Hermann and Lydia Geue
Papa and Mama Vogt
Theo and Paula Vogt (Martha Matz’ sister)
Alf, Ben, Gary, Rudy and Martha Vogt (Papa and Mama’s unmarried children)
Otto and Fred Schmidt and cousin Frieda
Hermann and Clara Doecke and eldest child Helena
May Jones
Mrs Edie Linke
Mabel Winter
Miss Walfield
As I mentioned, after Hermann Geue renounced the church, and subsequently lost his place as the organist, Sam wrote the words of hymn 408, and Hermann wrote the music.
The band hall at Bethel
The little cemetery entrance
