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Oldest Active Covenant Church to Mark 135 Years
GALESBURG, IL (May 20, 2003) - The Covenant Church of Galesburg, the oldest
continually active congregation in the Evangelical Covenant Church, will
commemorate 135 years of ministry with a weekend full of activities August
9-10, according to the church's archivist Laura Maurizi, chair of the
anniversary committee.
The congregation will host a 6 p.m. banquet on August 9 at Lake Storey
Pavilion. Longtime Covenant minister Richard Swanson, a former pastor at
the church, will be the guest speaker. On August 10 the church will worship
at 10 a.m. with Glenn R. Palmberg, president of the Evangelical Covenant
Church, as the guest preacher. The worship service will be followed by a
luncheon at 11:30 a.m. in Fellowship Hall and a confirmation service and
reunion at 1 p.m. in the sanctuary.
Former archivist Stu Hawkinson wrote about the church's beginnings. "On
August 1, 1868, a devout group of young people gathered to pray and talk
about organizing their own church," he writes. "The next day, Sunday, they
met again in the home of Truls and Cherstie Swenson . . . 31 people signed
a commitment to charter membership . . . "
Within months the State of Illinois approved the church charter and the
number of members increased to 66. The new church was named the Second
Lutheran Church of Galesburg, Illinois, and the church's first pastor was
Charles A. Anderson, a former chaplain in the Civil War. By December 1869,
the church had built and dedicated a building that seated 350 for worship.
"The church was heated by two large Cannon stoves," reported Hawkinson.
"During winter meetings the janitor interrupted by shaking
the grates and stoking up the fires."
The Covenant Church of Galesburg grew in numbers under pastor Eric G.
Hjerpe, who took over in 1881. He later became the second president of the
Covenant after the denomination was organized in 1885. Another catalyst for
growth was the church's Bethany Chapel, which was built in 1907 and
bolstered the congregation's Sunday school ministry. That ministry, along
with a revival led by evangelist Billy Sunday, helped
bring an additional 45 people to the church. By 1916, the church had 264
members.
Many others were important in the evolution of the church. J. Alfred
Johnson became pastor of the church in 1931 and helped the congregation
transition from worship in Swedish to English. The church bought a bus to
pick up those who wished to attend church and Johnson began publishing
church bulletins in 1940, financing the venture by selling advertisements
to local merchants.
Hawkinson reported that two church chairman, C.J. Lagergren and J.W.
Carlson, each served in lay leadership for a quarter of a century. A former
pastor, Erick Gustafson, later served the Covenant as director of Covenant
Young Peoples. And missionary Rose Erlandson served in Venezuela for 42
years after being sent from the church in 1930.
In the 1950s, Glen Lindell served as the pastor of the church and helped
the congregation pursue a new building. The facility was dedicated on
December 17, 1961, under pastor Harold Ahlberg, who served the church from
1961-1973. Swanson served from 1973-82 and James Ecklund was pastor for 12
years in the 1980s and early 1990s. Tom Ek is the current pastor of the
church, which averages 180 in worship attendance with a membership of more
than 300.
For more information about the church, call 309-344-1711 or email
covenant@gallatinriver.net. For more about the anniversary celebration
in August, call Maurizi at 309-343-8981 or email her at maurizi@grics.net.
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