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Virginia (MN) Church Marks 100th Anniversary
VIRGINIA, MN (October 2, 2003) - First Covenant Church celebrated its centennial
September 27-28 with an open house, banquet and a special Sunday morning
worship service.
James Fretheim, superintendent of the Northwest Conference, was the guest
preacher on Sunday morning. A 30-member centennial choir included several
former members. The church's current music director, Jay Carlsgaard,
arranged special choir numbers for the occasion. A guest organist, former
member Vernal Lind, accompanied the choir. The church hosted a luncheon
following the worship service.
About 125 attended Saturday's banquet at the Park Inn Hotel in Virginia,
according to pastor Roger Johnson. A group of young adults who sang
together as teens performed special music. Mary Miller, vice president of
administration for the Evangelical Covenant Church, spoke at the banquet.
On September 7, Founder's Sunday, former pastor Gerald Stenberg preached
during the morning worship service. The church earlier had enjoyed a
centennial picnic on July 13.
Founded September 7, 1903, as The Scandinavian Evangelical Church of
Virginia, First Covenant's first meeting was held in the home of Mr. and
Mrs. Andrew Oie. Two pastors, Josef Mattson and J.J. Daniels, were at the
first meeting. Mattson was the first pastor, Oie was the first church chair
and there were eight charter members in the congregation.
After meeting in homes for a year, the congregation received permission to
use the building of a local United Methodist church. First Covenant's first
building was constructed in 1907 using funds donated to the church. An
evangelistic campaign in 1917 led to a growth spurt and the congregation
decided to build a new facility on the site
where the old building stood. It was dedicated December 8, 1940. A building
expansion project was completed in the late 1960s.
First Covenant Church is located about 60 miles north of Duluth in a town
of 9,000 inhabitants. The church currently has an average worship
attendance of about 70. A former son of the church, Arnold Tamte, was a
longtime Covenant pastor before he died. Kristin Carlsgaard, a daughter of
the church, served an extended period as a Covenant missionary in Mexico.
For more information about the church, call 218-741-7117 or visit the
church website at www.virginiafirstcov.org.
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