1854 - 2007
The congregation of First Lutheran Church was established before Minnesota became a state. In 1854 church services were held in an old school room. Rev. Eric Norelius became as the first "resident" pastor in 1860.
In 1861, when the lot near Woodward and John was purchased for $525, it was considered to be on the north edge of town. In 1883 the congregation voted to start a new church. The old building was removed to build the "Big Church". The basement of the church was available for services by November 1883. The baptismal font and altar rail from the Big Church are currently in use in our sanctuary. Pastor Jonas Auslund (1871-1877) was the first to present a yearly Pastoral report to the congregation.
Pastor Anders Peter Monten became the leading force behind the establishment of Bethesda Hospital, as the Conference accepted the title and continuation of the work only after Monten had gathered the money and paid for the 10 acres of land near Lake Como. Extension work from our church was begun under Pastor Monten's guidance. Churches were rented on Dayton's Bluff, in West St. Paul and homes were used in the Rice Street and Arlington Hill areas.
Pastor P. J. Sward, our only pastor ordained in Sweden, came to our congregation at the age of 41.
In 1889, 43 First Lutheran Church members were released to organize Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran Church which was then located at Sims and Weide. In 1891, the Emmanuel congregation was organized at Mathilda and Hatch. It became known as North Emanuel Church. Until the 1890's, sermons were preached in Swedish and only occasionally was English used in other activities. In 1947 The congregation voted to omit the Julotta service (5 a.m.) for a midnight service.
Pastor L. A. Johnston, who was 39 when he came to First Lutheran, became the first Synodical President born in the United States. English was still only used occasionally in the early 1900's but the Young People Society grew from 140 in 1900 to 223 by 1907. Rev. Johnston was loved by the young people and he was recorded as a wonderful teacher with a beautiful speaking and singing voice. Church activities were bustling when Pastor Peter Peterson came to First Church in 1904. Activities were many and the attendance was large.
Gloria Dei, the third daughter congregation was established in 1908 in the St. Anthony Hill district.
The year 1916 was a year of decision regarding property for First Church. The parsonage was sold for $12,500 and the Big Church for $35,000, even before plans for the new church had been formulated. Dayton's Bluff was considered and the site on 8th and Maria was purchased for $4,200. Our church was completed by 1917 for a cost of about $40,000. The move across Swede Hollow separated the church from many of the members. Therefore, the congregation bought a former Baptist church on Burr Street which remained a center for Sunday School for 40 years.
Missions work, which had been quite extensive, was increased during the term of Pastor George Anderson. The Women's Missionary Society and several youth groups had maintained interest in missions and when the West 7th Mission Society closed, the interest turned to China.
Our parsonage at 808 Mound St. was first occupied by Pastor A. W. Knock (1924) and served the congregational pastors through the ministry of Pastor Ralph Lindquist (1957-1984).
In 1926 our Bay Lake Camp was organized. "Through the years this unusual project has been one of our finest achievements" as quoted from the Centennial book written by Dr. Gerhard Alexis.
Musically rich years at First Church were memorable under the direction of Peter Johnson and Gerhard Alexis and later Robert Pearson. Peter Johnson and Gerhard Alexis were on the hymnal committee and had composed original tunes for several hymns.
During the years of Pastor John P. Milton, the work at Mound Park Chapel began. Pastor Milton was a scholar; he resigned to take a position at Luther Theological Seminary in St. Paul in 1941. Miss Irene Anderson, Sister Irene, joined the staff for inner mission work under the auspices of the Loyal Helpers. She also became church secretary, in the 1940's Mildred Swenson assumed these duties. The Luther League purchased a mimeograph in 1935 and additional equipment established the start of our church office.
Pastor Paul Lindberg, successor to Pastor Milton, preached his first sermon on Dec 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor Day. Then came radical changes in America. First Lutheran Church had 225 stars on its Service Flag, of which two were gold.
Pastor Carl Sandgren accepted a call to become Director of Church Architecture and Building Finance for the Augustana Synod (1952) after serving First Church for 6 years.
Pastor William Hyllengren (1952-1956) was pastor during our 100th Anniversary.
Norelius Hall was built in 1964 during the ministry of Pastor Ralph Lindquist. In 1968 the windows in the sanctuary were replaced. The Walker organ was purchased and installed in 1987 while John Petraborg was organist. During the years that Pastor Jim Sbertoli (1985-1997) was our minister, the elevator was added making our church barrier free, the church narthex was remodeled, the front steps repaired and remodeled and the parking area enlarged. The wall banners, appropriate for each church season, were also added.
Pastor Dick Carlson joined us as Associate Pastor in 1989 before becoming pastor at Galilee Lutheran Church in 1996.
Pastor Stephen Sylvester was our pastor for 4 years before accepting a call to Texas in 2003.
Our church is still interested in reaching out to our community. Our mission is ongoing. We have many faithful members and great volunteers who assist in many ways to further the message of Christ.
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