| | Our Savior's Norwegian Lutheran Church officially
began on June 25, 191 7, when the congregations of the
Hillsboro Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church and
Immanuel Lutheran Church merged. The new church
was always better known simply as Our Savior's
Lutheran Church.
The new church's roots could be traced to the early
1870's, when Lutheran church work began among
people in the area. The Reverend Bernard L. Hagboe
answered the call to serve the early settlers and their
families in the Hillsboro area. In 1872, under Pastor
Hagboe's leadership, Aal Lutheran Church was organized
west of town.
It is believed that Pastor Hagboe also helped organize
the Hillsboro Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church.
However, no records or dates of the actual organizational
meeting have ever been found.
The Reverend Jens Lonne was called as the first
resident pastor of the congregation, beginning his
ministry in December of 1883 and serving for 14 years.
He also served Aal Lutheran and Aurdal Lutheran at
Portland, North Dakota.
During the first year of his ministry, 1884, the
congregation began building a church, which was later
sold to Zion Lutheran Church and subsequently to St.
John Lutheran Church. The building was 32 feet by 78
feet and 1 2 feet high with a 60 foot steeple. Total cost
was $3,000.
Part of the money for that building fund came from the
sale of a 40 acre tract of land west of Hillsboro. The land
had been deeded to Aal Lutheran Church by the Northern Pacific
Railroad and was sold by the congregation when they decided to
erect Aal Church farther west. Because of that decision, several
members of Aal's congregation left their church to join the Norwegian
Evangelical Lutheran Church, and the Hillsboro church received $175.83 from the land sale.
In 1897, the Reverend Christopher Ytrehus began serving the congregation.
He was followed by Reverend Anders Skunes from 1899 to 1906 and Reverend
L.M. Skunes, who served until 1917.
Immanuel Lutheran Church, founded in 1892, was formed to meet the spiritual
needs of pioneer families, also. The Reverend B. Harstad organized Gran Lutheran
Church west of Aal and near Mayville. He also began monthly trips on horseback
into the Hillsboro area in 1878 to conduct services in the homes of the people.
Later a large room over a Hillsboro livery barn was used as a place for services.
In 1882, a Pastor Hoff took over Pastor Harstad's duties. He was followed by Reverend J. Halvorson in 1884, Reverend H. Alien in 1887 and Reverend J. Thingelstad from 1890 to 1892.
Under Pastor Thingelstad's leadership, about 40 interested people met June 1 2, 1892 in Nels Acker's Hall to organize Immanuel Lutheran Church, commonly known as the Synod Church.
The Reverend J.R. Rorvik answered the new congregation's call to be its pastor, and weekly services were held in the American Methodist Church until a new church could be built. Growing from 1 5 families in 1892 to 40 in a short period of time, the congregation in 1893 built a structure that was said to have
the largest seating capacity of any church in the city. It stood where Our Savior's now stands and cost $4,900 for the building and lot. The debt was paid off in five years.
Following Rorvik as pastors were George Lane from 1902 to 1907, L.A. Haatvedt from 1907 to 1908, OlafTurmofrom 1908 to 1911 and S.K. Tollehaug from 1911 to 1917. Pastor Lane was the first to preach a sermon in English in the Synod Church in Hillsboro.
With two Norwegian Lutheran churches in Hillsboro, it was only a matter of time before there were negotiations to unite the two. Then in 1917 when the Norwegian Synod, the United Lutheran Synod and the Hauge Synod merged, mergers on the local level also seemed right.
Members of the two congregations met June 25, 1917 and voted to unite. A constitution and bylaws were
approved. Church buildings and parsonages were deeded to the new church. B.T.
Nedland, Ole Rudrud and Theodore Jahr were elected deacons. John Johnson, Mans Klette and Lawrence
Melsby were elected trustees. The secretary was Ivan Nedland,
and J.H. Hanson was the treasurer.
The pastors who had served the merging churches. Pastor L.M.
Skunes and S.S. K. Tollehaug, resigned. The parish's first call,
to Pastor Strand in Benson, Minnesota, was returned with Strand
explaining that he could not, with a clear conscience, leave his
Minnesota parish.
.jpg) The Reverend O.P. Stavaas of Thief River Falls, Minnesota, did
accept the call to Hillsboro and began ministering to the new
congregation in the fall of 1917. The church and parsonage of
Immanuel were put to use, and the Hillsboro Evangelical Church
and parsonage were sold to Zion Lutheran Free Church.
A little later it became apparent that a new parsonage was
needed for Pastor Stavaas and his family. After debating the merits
of remodeling and enlarging the present parsonage or selling that
parsonage and building a new one, a third option was chosen. B.T.
Nedland offered to trade his home for the parsonage plus $3,500.
His offer was accepted, and the Nedland home became the parsonage in 1918.
On May 6, 1 920, Pastor Stavaas resigned in order to serve as a missionary to Madagascar, and the congregation
called the Reverend N.G.W. Knutson of Larimore to replace him. He began his ministry in Hillsboro that same fall.
On Sunday morning, January 1 3, 1 924, tragedy struck. As Sunday school was in session, smoke was detected
rising from the large open register of the furnace. The church was on fire! The children were safely led from the
burning building; but the structure itself could not be saved.
Despite the dismay the congregation and their pastor felt at seeing their spiritual home go up in flames, they
did not give up. Neither did the community. Other churches offered the use of their facilities, as did Mr. Storholm,
proprietor of the local theater. Because the other congregations would be using their own churches on Sunday
mornings, the members of Our Savior's opted to use the theater for worship and Sunday school. Our Savior's Ladies
Aid met at the Methodist church.
Two weeks after the fire, on January 28, 1924, the trustees met at the courthouse and appointed a building
committee. Members were Iver Acker, Simon Anderson, Lawrence Melsby, Carl Winberg, Robert Evans, Theodore
Jahr, John Hong, Mrs. W.C. Henning, Mrs. J. Kiland and Mrs. Karen Lilleberg. They decided to start with a roomy
church basement, which could be used by the congregation until they could afford to rebuild the whole church.
Plans were drawn by a Mr. Colton of Hatton, and E.A. Viker, a Hillsboro contractor, was awarded the contract
for construction on June 3, 1924. The basement cost
approximately $12,000 and was finished by fall.
Pastor Knutson resigned because of his failing health, and the
Reverend A.T. Tjornhom of Alexandria, Minnesota, accepted the
call to Hillsboro March 6, 1926. He began his local ministry in
June, assuming the duties of a spiritual leader as well as leading
the congregation to rebuild their church.
.jpg) Through tireless efforts of the Ladies Aid, $5,000 was raised
to pay off the church basement debt by the spring of 1928.
Encouraged, the congregation elected a Ways and Means
Committee January 10, 1928, to proceed with plans for erection
of the main building. Members of the committee were Carl
Winberg, P.B. Peterson, Robert Evans, John Lilleberg, John Olson,
Earle Sarles, Herman Mergenthal and Theodore Jahr. Together with Pastor Tjornhom, the group canvassed
members and friends of the congregation and came
up with pledges totalling approximately $19,000.
With that success in mind, a special
congregational meeting was held April 26, 1928. Members voted unanimously to proceed with
building, giving the trustees the authority to borrow
up to $ 15,000 for the structure. Pastor Tjornhom was elected chairman of a new building committee composed of P.B. Peterson, C.E. Winberg, Ole Rudrud, W.C. Mergenthal,
Herman Mergenthal, Mrs. John Olson, Mrs. John Lilleberg and Mrs. Knute Grundeson.
Houkom and Braseth of Fargo were chosen as the architects. Nelson and Carlson of Grand Forks were the winning low
bidders at $28,399 for construction. Other contracts let were: painting - A.C. Hagen, $575; heating plant - Dakota Plumbing
and Heating of Grand Forks, $3,000; wiring - J and L Electric Company of Fargo, $240.
The Ladies Aid volunteered to assume the cost of the furnace and the heating plant.
Total cost of the building, without furnishings, was about $45,000.
.jpg) Dr. J.N. Brown, president of Concordia College in Moorhead, officiated at the cornerstone laying ceremony November
11, 1928. He was assisted by Pastor Tjornhom. Only eight months later, July 7, 1929, the new church was dedicated
with the sermon delivered by the Right Reverend David Stoeve, president of the North Dakota District of the N.L.C.A. The $ 16,000 indebtedness was a burden that concerned the congregation as the Great Depression of the 1930s descended
upon the country. There were times when it was difficult to meet interest payments, let alone reduce the principal. Again,
the devoted efforts of the Ladies Aid raised enough money to help substantially with the debt reduction.
On July 3, 1935, tragedy nearly struck again. A severe thunderstorm struck Hillsboro, and a bolt of lightning traveled
from a pole through a wire to the roof of the church. While flames did not break out, the roof smoldered all night and part
of the next day before it was noticed. Fortunately, the damage was not extensive, and insurance covered most of the losses
incurred.
.jpg) On April 23, 1941, Pastor Tjornhom resigned to serve a parish near Brandon, Minnesota. On August 5, 1941, the Reverend
C.F. Savereide was called. He was installed on December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor Day.
A fund drive launched during the summer of 1 944, liquidated the church indebtedness of about $9,000. Festival
services were held October 29, 1944, to celebrate that momentous accomplishment.
.jpg) Plans for a parish education building were suggested by Pastor Savereide during his 1950 Thanksgiving Day
sermon as he told of the crowded conditions in the Sunday School. In 1 951, at the annual meeting, the congregation
voted in favor of such a project, and by November, 1954, $40,000 in cash and $35,000 in pledges had been
raised. The church also bought, for $ 12,500, the John Grove residence east of the church to use for a temporary
church office and high school Bible classes. Interestingly, the Grove residence was the original Immanuel Church
parsonage.
In 1951 a parish education building committee was elected. Members were: T.O. Thompson, Orville Sandsmark,
Ralph Diehl, Chauncey Kaldor, John Letnes and Pastor Savereide, who was an advisory member.
Building plans designed by Fargo architect, S.M. Houkum, were accepted January 11, 1957 and the
ground-breaking was held Sunday, June 2, 1957. The cornerstone was laid November 3, 1957 and, when Sunday
School resumed the next fall on September 7, the building was ready for use. Dr. L.E. Tallakson, E.N.D. District
President, presided at the dedication service, which was held October 12, 1958. The building, without furnishings,
cost $147,500.
The next major project began in 1968, when those attending the annual meeting authorized the investigation
of organ prices. By June, the committee accepted Lance Johnson's bid of $ 15,870 for a complete new pipe organ
for the church. This organ was hand built and the organ was moved from the front of the church to the balcony
to allow room for the additional pipes and
future expansion.
.jpg) In 1968, Joe Sveen chaired a committee
which began looking into the need for a new
parsonage. By 1970, construction on a
one-story, three bedroom home, located on a
lot directly south of the church, was
underway, with completion scheduled for
March, 1971. Since that time, various
improvements and redecorating have been
accomplished, with the basement also being
finished as living space.
In 1975, a committee was formed to study the possibility of constructing a new church front entry. Plans to proceed
were approved at the annual meeting of January 13, 1976, and a building committee consisting of Charles Anderson,
Obed Tweten, Carroll Borke, Roger Anderson and Emma Lovas was appointed. It was decided to enclose the space between
the church and parish education building to provide a new entry and additional inside space. In 1977, the proposed addition
was approved, and construction began, resulting in the beautiful new courtyard, balcony, elevator and handicapped access
we now enjoy.
After 35 years of faithful service. Pastor Savereide retired in December of 1976, and the Reverend James Hanson of
Valley City accepted the call to Hillsboro, holding his first service, February 20, 1977.
Major renovation of the kitchen was begun in 1977, under the direction of the building committee and ALCW kitchen
committee. Cost of the project was nearly $34,000, rivaling the cost of the entire church structure in 1 928. The women
of the ALCW held many fund-raisers to pay for the renovation, once again undertaking a major financial project for the church.
In 1979, responding to a nation-wide change of law, a change in the church's constitution authorized 18 year-olds to vote.
While three seminary students, Jennings Mergenthal, Arthur Hoium, and James Erickson had interned at Hillsboro under
Pastor Savereide in the 1960s, no interns had been present for some years. In 1977, under Pastor Hanson, the intern
program resumed, with young men and women coming to Our Savior's on an annual basis. These were: Mike Grabenstein,
Terry Cosier, Douglas Matheson, Debra Collier, Lowell Hennings, Jeffrey Nelson, Mark Gould, Mark Rath, and Timothy
Muehlbrad. These interns remain close to our congregation to this day.
1981 saw our name changed from Our Savior's Norwegian Lutheran Church to Our Savior's Lutheran Church. This
reflects a more diverse population as well as modernization.
By 1986 the need for an additional pastor was apparent, and the congregation voted to call an associate pastor. The
Reverend Mel Rau of Tower City accepted the call to Hillsboro, and served well until 1989 when he resigned to accept
a call to Litchfield, Minnesota.
In 1987, Our Savior's approved merger into the newly formed Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Pastor Carol Hatlen of McVille accepted a call as associate pastor in December, 1 989. In 1 990, Pastor Hatlen resigned,
and an interim commitee to look into the future of Our Savior's was formed. A study of the congregation was made,
and in 1991, the Reverend David Aaker arrived in Hillsboro as interim pastor.
As part of this study for the future, our congregation is involved in self-examination, redirection, and rededication, realizing
that our most important investment is not the building and facilities, but the people of the congregation.
.jpg) And so we look back with pride and heritage at Our Savior's 75 years of rich history and heritage at Our Savior's Lutheran
Church in Hillsboro, thanking God for our many blessings and accomplishments, but always remembering to whom the
glory belongs.
Our theme for this 75th Anniversary celebration is "Lift High the Cross". Our prayer is that we go into the future building
on the strong foundations of the past and proclaiming the love of Christ in our lives and through our church ministry.
To Be Continued...
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