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Salina (KS) Church Begins 125th Anniversary Celebration
SALINA, KS (December 30, 2002) - Glenn R. Palmberg, president of the Evangelical
Covenant Church (ECC), will preach during the morning worship services on
February 9 as First Covenant Church in Salina begins its celebration of 125
years of ministry.
The congregation will host its official celebration weekend from April 3-6
with a number of guest speakers. An April 3 congregational celebration will
include Midwest Conference Supt. Kenneth Carlson. Jim Hawkinson, retired
executive director
of the Department of Communication, will speak at a banquet on April 5. And
on April 6, Donn Engebretson, executive vice president of the ECC, will
preach during morning worship services. Don Meyer, executive minister of
the Department of Communication, will speak on January 19.
First Covenant Church was organized April 10, 1878, as the Swedish
Evangelical Mission Lutheran Church. The congregation's first permanent
building was erected the same year. Church records credit John A. Nelson as
founder of the church. The church didn't have a full-time pastor until
1894, although a layperson named August Nelson often served in that
capacity, according to church records. Carl Peterson became the
first pastor in 1894. In 1905, the church joined the denomination as the
Swedish Evangelical Mission Church.
First Covenant Church, under pastor Dan Pietrzyk, averages more than 730 in
worship attendance. It is one of three ECC congregations celebrating 125th
anniversaries in 2003, according to Covenant Yearbook statistics.
The others are Emmanuel Mission Church in Kane, Pennsylvania, and the
Evangelical Covenant Church of Paxton, Illinois.
For more information about First Covenant and its anniversary events, call
785-823-8110. The church web page may be found at
www.firstcovenantsalina.org.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
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