Bethlehem - The Journey

The road taken by the first people of Bethlehem church was not an easy one. The first people settled here in 1861. Ness Church was the first of three to organize and originally included Amdahl and Trondhjem. The next year due to the Indian warfare the population scattered and the organization lost its existence for a time.

On October 28, 1868 Bethlehem church was organized and known at that time as The Swede Grove Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church. Meetings were held in the Hover Mickelson and Thomas Johnson, Sr. homes. This is where services were conducted until October 25, 1869 when a church site was decided upon. The location was to be one and one-half miles east of Atwater in Acton Township. It was also decided at this time to have a parochial school for two or three months each year.

On May 4, 1870 a tract of land was received from the First Division of the St. Paul & Pacific Railroad company. We still have the original deed in our possession. Soon after the land was titled it was voted upon to use two acres of this given property for a cemetery which was to be fenced immediately. Each man of the congregation was to furnish four fence posts and twenty rails. The posts were to be of a certain height and the rails were to be nine feet long and neatly trimmed. They also had to furnish the nails that would be required for their section of fence. Mr. Lars Christianson was appointed as the overseer for this project. Each man was to give Mr. Christianson twenty-five cents to assist him on finishing his own house on the condition that his home would be used as a place of worship until a church could be built. Eighteen pews were made to be used in the home along with two special ones for communion. When the church was finished, Mr. Christianson was to reimburse the subscribers. This log cabin originally stood on a knoll approximately 200 feet from where its replacement was built in 1886. The cabin was 18 x 24 feet. It had a loft upstairs for sleeping and was mainly constructed of hand-hewn oak logs. In June of 1983 during the celebration of 115 years as a church, the descendants of Lars Christianson presented Bethlehem with a cross made from the oak logs of the first log church. The Reverend T. H. Dahl was the first pastor. On October 17, 1870 the name of the newly formed congregation was changed to Trondhjem Congregation of Meeker County, Minnesota, because many of these early settlers had originally come from Trodhjem in Norway. At a meeting on February 6, 1871 it was decided to construct a church building as soon as possible. A subscription list was taken for the purpose of building and was to be paid by October of that year. A list was also taken to assist Ness congregation to build a parsonage. At this time Ness, Trondhjem and Amdahl were one parish. On May 22, 1871 it was voted to take bids to construct the church.

On July 17, 1871 the congregation incorporated as The Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Congregation Trondhjem of Meeker and Kandiyohi Counties, Minnesota. The church was built in 1871. On October 7, 1872 Mr. O. I. D. Leervagg was hired by the congregation to be the parochial teacher. His wage was twenty-three dollars a month without room and board. He was to teach for as long as there was money for. He was also to paint the church for two dollars a day. At this time the constitution prescribed by the Norwegian Danish Conference was adopted. This caused a split in the congregation and twenty-five families left and united with the Synod. The membership that remained in the Trondhjem church numbered fifty-two. On July 1, 1873 it was voted to organize a Sunday school. This was to be held every Sunday afternoon at two o'clock. The pastor and song leader were to be present at each service and at the Sunday school meetings. The pastor's salary was set at $400 per year, one-third to be paid by Ness, Amdahl and Trondhjem congregations.

In 1873 the Ladies Aid of the Trondhjem Lutheran Church of Atwater began its work. Mrs. T. H. Dahl, the pastor's wife, was the first leader. Some of these women traveled as far as ten miles by horse and buggy to attend these gatherings, the closer women would walk. The babies were often left at home with the grandmothers. At these meetings they sewed, made quilts and other projects. Oftentimes in order to get materials for sewing, the ladies would walk to the nearest town with a few dozen eggs to sell and buy calico to bring to the next meeting for sewing. The meetings were held once a month, when possible, in the homes of the members. These meetings were all day affairs, normally. The ladies left home early in the morning and didn't return home until nightfall. The men also would spend the day for social time with fellow members. It was considered an injustice to be absent. Basket socials were held and oyster suppers were served. Occasionally auction sales took place and articles that had been made were sold. This was often held at the Atwater town hall which would be rented for these occasions. The last ladies aid sale was held in May of 1914 at the home of Mr. and Mrs. H. O. Slinden at which time a specially made quilt was sold. Every member who wished to have their name on the quilt paid ten cents. There are 450 names on this quilt. It was sold at auction for $4.50. This quilt has survived and is on display at this time. A list of all the names is included by this display. The ladies aid continued on through the split in the congregation and the money made from various social activities was put to good use. It was used for local works, home and foreign missions, especially in China and Madagascar. Some was sent to the Indian missions, and different schools of Christian education. The ladies aid was reorganized in 1911 and a committee was elected to write a constitution. Although we no longer have a sewing circle as such, the women of Bethlehem continue to make beautiful quilts and donate them to various places of need and give one to each graduating church member.

In 1875 the Synod church bought the old Swedish Lutheran church in Atwater. The current church is located on this site. Land was donated by Knute Bergstangen for a cemetery at the NW quarter Section 12, in Gennesse Township. This is located one-half mile east of Atwater. At this time it is also Bethlehem Lutheran cemetery. In 1878 about one-half of the members withdrew their membership to join the Manannah congregation as they lived closer to that church. On May 23, 1881 it was decided to build a new church with a tower. The old church was sold and moved. The Synod church paired with the Lutheran church in Manannah and Vinje in Willmar. In 1885 the Synod church withdrew from the Vinje and Manannah parishes and joined the Immanuel church of Grove City to form a new parish. In 1890 a new parish was formed including Vinje, Vikor, Atwater and Immanuel congregations. In 1902 this parish was again divided. Atwater Synod and Grove City Immanuel formed a new parish.

On May 30, 1881 it was decided by members of Trodhjem to erect a tower on the church. On February 17, 1885 a vote was taken to move the church into the town of Atwater, the cost of the moving was to be paid by those living in town. The location was one block west of where the church is located now. The land vacated by the church is part of the Bethlehem cemetery. In 1889 an addition was added to the church, a chancel and a school room. Pews were also purchased at that time and the interior was painted. In 1890 the church was destroyed by fire. A new building was completed in 1892 to replace that which was lost.

In 1914 Atwater had two Norwegian Lutheran Churches and Ladies Aids, the Trondhjem Norwegian Lutheran Church and the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church. They began to talk about uniting. A joint ladies aid meeting was held in the latter part of June. It was then decided to have a joint Fourth of July celebration which proved to be a great success. Plans were put into the making to merge the two congregations and this was accepted on May 31, 1915. The Trondhjem church was sold for five-hundred dollars. It was moved to east highway 12 and still resides there today as a single family dwelling. The Synod church was moved one block west of the present church and converted into a parsonage and a garage-stable was built. Both pastors resigned and a new pastor was called. The newly organized church was called The Bethlehem Norwegian Evangelical Congregation of Atwater. The Atwater and Amdahl congregations formed a new parish at this time. A new sanctuary was put into the planning stage. On October 15, 1916 the cornerstone of the new church was laid. The church building was completed in 1917. The ladies aid purchased three stained glass windows, The Good Shepherd, The Ascension, and Behold I Stand at the Door and Knock. At this time a very active Luther League was organized. The purpose of the Luther League was “to awaken and nourish the spiritual life among the young that they might develop a harmonious Christian character through up building of the Kingdom of God at home and abroad." The first major accomplishment of the Luther League was the purchase of a pipe organ at a cost of two-thousand dollars. The organ was first played on February 12, 1919 at the memorial services for Private Fennel Samstad who gave his life for his country in World War I. The pipe organ was dedicated on February 23, 1919. In 1919 electricity was installed in the church and in the parsonage. In January of 1924 the envelope contribution system was introduced. In 1927 it was decided that English services were to be held on Sunday mornings and Norwegian services on Sunday afternoons. A few years later it was decided to take the Norwegian language out of the services entirely. On January 30, 1930 it was resolved that a marker was to be placed with the name of The Bethlehem Lutheran Church with the word Norwegian to be stricken out. In January of 1931 a permanent cemetery association was formed to take care of both cemeteries independent from the church. On January 10, 1937 a new constitution and by-laws were made up and copies given to all voting members. This was adopted in 1938.

Bethlehem church has had a rich history in missionary work. From our parish there have been six missionaries and three pastors. The first was in 1919, Ruth Gilbretson went to China as missionary teacher. Clara Peterson went to China in 1921 as a missionary nurse and Arna Quello followed in 1923. Three young men also were missionaries, they were Kenneth Norlie, he was in Madagascar, Maurice Sand, South America and Lloyd Sand who was in Africa. The men who were ordained as pastors were Elvin Estrem, Martin Lien and John Trelstad Jr. In 1925 a group of ladies formed The Sewing Circle. They met in each other’s homes. They paid dues every month and made articles to sell. Through the letters from the young women who were missionaries they realized the great needs of the missions they were serving. The women decided they could take a more active role in missions. The name was changed to the Mission Circle and money made and donated was sent along with articles of clothing and quilts to these missions, both at home and abroad.

In 1952 the nominating committee was used for the first time at the annual meeting. In 1954 the school purchased the lot where the parsonage was located. The house was moved a block to the west. Another lot was bought two blocks from the church. Immediately a new parsonage was built and completed in 1955. This is the parsonage that is still in use today for the church pastor. This was the beginning of an extensive building program. There was much planning done and the actual groundbreaking and building began in 1956. An education unit and Trelstad Fellowship Hall, as well as a new kitchen was built. New lighting, a hot water oil furnace and new plumbing facilities were installed. The main front entrance was enclosed and remodeled. In 1959 the pipe organ was rebuilt and rededicated at the 90th anniversary. During this time the congregation voted to withdraw its affiliation with the Amdahl Congregation. In 1960 a big merger took place and Bethlehem became part of the American Lutheran Church. A new church sign was put up and the cemetery sign was also put up. In 1962 Bethlehem began having two Sunday services, one at 8:45 and one at11:00 o'clock with Sunday school at 10:00. Annual congregational picnics were held at the Green Lake Bible Camp every June. In 1964 the three year Catechism program for confirmation began. Prior to this there was a two year program in effect.

June of 1975 began another change for Bethlehem. A joint pastor was shared with the Immanuel Lutheran Church in Atwater. In May of 1980 a vote was taken by both churches to merge as one church. The vote failed in both churches. Bethlehem and Immanuel remained a two point parish until 1982 when Bethlehem called a new pastor. During this time the sanctuary was remodeled and redecorated. It was also during this time period that the new addition of more Sunday school rooms, a pastors study, secretary’s office, bathroom, enlarged sanctuary and two altar guild rooms were added above the education wing. Dedication of the new addition was held on June 26, 1983. During this dedication the log cabin cross was presented. Josie Hovey donated her new linen bed sheets and a mural was painted on them. The mural consists of all the churches and the latest addition to the church that at times have served the Bethlehem congregation. Murals were painted by artist and local art teacher Terry Lewison who was a member of Bethlehem. They are presently on display in the social hall.

On January 11, 1998 a vote was taken at the annual meeting and it was decided to put in an elevator and new entries along with additional bathrooms. This is how the church looks today. On January 21, 2001 it was decided to buy the property adjacent to the church for twenty-four thousand dollars. The house on it was torn down and the parking lot was built.

These are some of the highlights of the best and worst of Bethlehem's historical times.

Oliver and I joined Bethlehem in 1964 and one of the first things I heard was that it was a musical church and it was true! I remember the young Sunday school students that formed a choir. They even had robes. Joann Hedberg was the director and for Christmas she taught them to sing a Norwegian Christmas Song, "Jeg Er Sa Glad”. The teenagers were directed by Roberta Trooien and acted out a couple of youth musicals entitled, “He Lived the Good Life” and “Bible Folf’ in full costume. We also had a full adult choir directed by Norma Buer that sang every Sunday. What a wonderful way to praise the Lord. Now we have a men’s choir with Jason Denton on drums and Karla Kinzler playing guitar. What a great way to sing praises to God our Father and His only Son, Jesus Christ!

--Elizabeth Cunningham


Women of Bethlehem

The Women of Bethlehem are continuing the work of the women in the church from the past 150 years. Then they met monthly to tackle the various projects and to have a time of fellowship. Many changes have taken place over the years. We no longer have monthly meetings. We now have a leadership team that seeks to carry on the traditions. The Service group serves a meal or lunch at funerals. The Outreach and Hospitality group visits the shut-ins and sends get well and birthday cards. Quilts are made in January and February which are given to Lutheran World Relief and local charities. Our main project for the past several years has been the Uffda Day bazaar held the first Saturday in November. With the funds raised we are able to help many projects in the church as well as contribute to various charities. We take part in the conference, synodical and churchwide organizations. We strive to honor and serve God as the women of the church did in past years.

--Ardy Thorp


Pastors Serving From 1868-1968


Trondbjem
T.H. Dahl 1868-1973
Ole Hanson Bostad 1873-1874
N.C, Brun 1875-1877
A.N. Kleven 1878-1892
N.J. Thomasberg 1892-1895
N. Heierman 1896-1897
O.T. Nelson 1898-1902
M.B. Sveen 1903-1907
O.M. Norlie 1907-1915
Synod
H.B. Stub 1873-1877
O.O. Estrem 1877-1885
H.E. Christvik 1885-1886
A. Rosenquist 1887-1890
O.O. Estrem 1890-1902
Larsgaard (assistant) 1899-1901
L.N. Njus 1902-1905
E. Valler 1906-1909
C.J. Quill 1910-1915


Bethlehem
Johannes Hoifjeld 1916-1920
John P. Trelstad 1920-1954
Harry A. Anderson 1954-1957
Jack Hustad 1957-1959
Arne lessen 1959-1962
LeLand M. Johnson 1962-1967
Julius Roehl 1968-1970
Carmen Peterson 1970-1976
Aaron Lofgren 1976-1977
Kenneth Johnson 1977-1982
Martha Nelson 1981
Merrill Morse 1982-1988
Charles Beronius (Interim) 1987
Rey Tange (Interim) 1988
Daniel & Jennifer Menter 1988-1991
Douglas Chamberlain 1991-1993
Timothy Wittwer 1993-1997
David Nelson (Interim) 1997-1998
Grant Fischer 1998-2014
Mark Kopka (Interim) 2015-2016
Robert Lehner (Interim) 2016-2017
Kelly France 2017-2020
Steven Olson (Interim) 2020-2021
Jennifer Thul (Interim) 2021-2022
David Nelson 2022-Present




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