History of Zion Church
The Beginning
Zion United Church of Christ was born as Zion Reformed Church in 1892. The Cincinnati area of the Reformed Church had invited a missionary, the Rev. Joseph Schatz, to do outreach work with the German immigrants in Norwood, and the result was Zion Church. The Reformed denomination came to the United States from Germany, and most Germans of the Reformed faith first settled in Pennsylvania. As they moved to other parts of this new country, their denomination moved with them. When Zion Reformed Church began, it was a group of 38 German speaking and worshipping Christians, who met in a room at City Hall.
Sherman Avenue
By 1906, the new church was self-supporting, and had been worshipping
for thirteen years in a two story frame church building at Sherman and
Walter Avenues in Norwood. The congregation was growing, with Cincinnati
and the United States around them. 
Sherwood Lane
In 1926, under the leadership of their seventh pastor, and having weathered the stormy times that all German communities did during the First World War, Zion moved to its present location on Sherwood Lane. At that time, the building consisted of the Springer mansion--currently the Founder's Hall, kitchen, and the upstairs classrooms surrounding the Children's Chapel.
The Great Depression
During the Great Depression of the 1930s, Zion Reformed Church rose to the challenge of hard times. Church members baked in the kitchen together, and sold their goods to help support each other. The church community served as a clearing house for odd jobs for the many unemployed. In 1935, this formidable group of folks managed to build a beautiful sanctuary onto the mansion where they had been worshipping for nine years. The sanctuary was erected during these hard times with the help of one particularly resourceful member who arranged to purchase building stones from a wrecking company that was dismantling mansions in Walnut Hills. With the help of these "mustard seed" (Mark 4:30-32) stones, and the generosity of members who were only themselves squeaking by, a new sanctuary embraced this people in worship.
By the time Zion began worshipping in the new
sanctuary, we also had a new denomination. In
1934, the Reformed Church united with the Evangelical
Church, another German denomination hailing
from the St. Louis area.
The 1950s, 60s and 70s
By the 1950s, Zion Evangelical and Reformed
Church had grown significantly. Having cared
for one another during the Great Depression,
the members now turned outward to care for the
larger community of Cincinnati to help grow
new churches and mission programs. The boom
of church growth that hit most mainline Protestant
denominations caused Zion to add an educational
wing, and even to expand their sanctuary. 
The early and middle part of 20th Century in the United States was marked by a sense of unification, seen in such things as the birth of the United Nations. Many churches also felt a desire for unity, and a need to follow the mandates of their faith, as in Jesus' prayer "that they may all be one." (John 17:21) For the Evangelical and Reformed Church, this meant conversations with the Congregational Christian Churches about union, and in 1957 the United Church of Christ was born. In 1961 this new denomination elected its first President, the Rev. Benjamin Herbster, who had been Zion's pastor for thirty years.
Into the 60s and 70s, Zion United Church of
Christ provided a place for young people in
the Norwood at the "Millstone," a
youth center for fellowship and recreation in
the church basement. In the following decade,
the youth were active with bus trips to various
spots across the country, often performing at
Seminaries and Nursing Homes. The church continued
its outreach work by sponsoring Home Away From
Home (or HAFH House), for children who were
temporarily ineligible for adoption.
The 80s and Beyond
By the 80s, Zion experienced the same decline as other mainline Protestant churches, but continued to do mission both locally and globally, enjoying fellowship with one another, and receiving helpful leadership from the pastors. In 1991, Zion hired Rev. Howard Storm as a student pastor, and then called him as the full-time pastor when he was ordained in 1992. Rev. Storm served as pastor at Zion United Church of Christ until April 2005.
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