HISTORICAL SKETCH
The beginning of our congregation dates back to November 28, 1902, when the Wartburg Evangelical Lutheran Church was organized by twenty-seven members of the faculty and student body of the theological seminary of the United Lutheran Church. In 1917 the seminary became Luther Theological Seminary in connection with the merger which formed the Norwegian Lutheran Church in America, and in 1937 the name of the congregation was changed to St. Anthony Park Lutheran Church. For many years the life of the congregation was closely linked to the seminary.
At the time when the congregation was established the St. Anthony Park area was sparsely populated. As the community grew in population local residents joined the congregation,which experienced a relatively slow growth, numbering 125 members by 1930. Students from the St. Paul campus of the University, for whom the congregation at an early date felt a special responsibility, worshiped with the congregation.
Worship services were held in the seminary chapel, which was located in what is today known as Bockman Hall. This continued to be the case until 1949. For over thirty-five years, professors of the seminary preached and provided other pastoral services in addition to their regular seminary responsibilities.
During that era the following professors served as pastors of the congregation: M.O.Bockman, 1902-15; J.N. Kildahl, 1915-20; C.M. Weswig, 1920-37 (M.J. Stolee during the school year 1929-30 when Weswig was on leave); and M.O. Wee, 1937-38. Services were customarily conducted in the Norwegian language until 1931 when the change to English was made, although from the beginning of the congregation's existence English was occasionally used.
The transition from being primarily a seminary congregation to a community congregation was facilitated by the calling of a full-time pastor and by the construction of a church building. On February 13, 1938, Joseph M. Langemo was installed as the congregation's first full-time pastor, making possible more effective outreach and service to the surrounding community.
During the previous year the purchase of the Strickler property on Luther Place provided the congregation with a building, located directly north of the present parsonage, which could be utilized as a parish house. For a dozen years it served both as a parsonage and as a place of meeting for classes and organizations. It was finally razed in 1971, ownership in the meantime having passed to the seminary and back again to the congregation.
After Pastor Langemo resigned in 1943 to serve as chaplain in the U.S. Air Force. Gerald Giving, assisted by others, served as interim pastor during 1943-44. Alvin G. Lewis was installed as pastor in 1944, serving the congregation for seventeen years. A building fund was established in 1931, but because of the Depression and war-time conditions it was not possible to take steps to erect a church building until after the end of World War II.
The new edifice, including the attached one-story parish house, was ready for occupancy in 1949. The first service of worship was held in the new building on March 20 of that year. After more than forty-six years in the seminary chapel the congregation finally had its own home!
In the matter of a few years a second building program had to be carried out to provide educational space for the growing congregation whose membership in 1954 had reached 1000. The parish house was enlarged, including the addition or a second floor and the construction of a new kitchen. The expanded facility was dedicated in the spring of 1956. The rapid growth of the congregation in the post-World War II period has levelled off in recent years. At the beginning of the present year (1977) the baptized membership was 1308.
Pastor Lewis resigned in 1961 to become administrator and chaplain of Lyngblomsten Retirement Center. He was succeeded the same year by Robert L. Anderson, who served until 1970 when he accepted a call to a parish in Moorhead, Minnesota.
The present (1977) pastor of the congregation, Rolf Hanson, assumed his responsibilities in 1971. The following served successfully as full time assistant pastors during the period 1959 to 1972: Luther Simonson, Alvin H. Rogen, John W. Coffey, and Richard L. Foster. In 1976 Pastor Rogen again joined the staff as assistant pastor.
During the seventy-five years of its history the congregation has been blessed richly through faithful preaching of the Word and the administration of the sacraments, and its members are grateful for those who have served in their midst as pastors.
Through the years a variety of organizations have assisted the congregation in carrying out its mission. Sunday School classes were organized at a very early date, and the Christian education of the children of the congregation has remained a high priority.
Apart from the Sunday School the first of the auxiliary organizations was the Ladies Aid, the to the presen t ALCW, which goes back to 1906 and has been continuously active in the promotion and support of many causes. Another organization early established was the Young People's begun in 1910, the forerunner of the Luther League and its successors. Choirs have long played an important part in leading and enhancing worship. Limitations of space permit mention of only these as representative of many other organizations later formed.
Many foreign missionaries and their families have spent furloughs and leaves in St. Anthony Park and have held membership in the congregation. This fact has contributed to the development in the congregation of strong interest in and concern for the world mission of the church.
In 1973 the adoption of a revised constitution effected some significant changes in the external organization of the congregation. The board of trustees/ board of deacons form of organization, which had been used since the congregation was organized, was replaced by a cabinet/ commissions system. The new arrangement has had the positive result of involving a larger number of members than formerly in the activities and mission of the congregation.
During 1975-76 the third building program in the congregation's history was completed. This included the addition of a large narthex area, the Fireside Room, and additional Sunday School and office space. With the replacement of pews by cathedral chairs greater flexibility in the use and arrangement of the sanctuary is now possible.
Our congregation called to be a community of worshiping, witnessing, and serving people, is grateful to God for the blessings of the past and, relying on His grace, looks to the future with hope and confidence.
November 6th, 1977.