Translated from Evangelisk Luthersk KirketidendeVol. IV, No. 44, 2 November 1877, pages 697-699.
Church Consecrations
In February 1858, Pastor Laur Larsen was encouraged to make a missionary journey to Rush River, Pierce County, Wisconsin, through the 30-mile-wide, large forest to Menomonee and from there five miles further east to the small Norwegian settlement at Little Elk Creek. As small as this settlement was, however, it contained ample substance for religious division. There were those who, with zeal and love, strove to form a church on the basis of the faith of their fathers; there were others who were more indifferent about this matter; finally, there was in the small flock of countrymen, all of whom came from the same Mother Church, an Ellingian, a Methodist, and a “Franckean.”However, a Lutheran congregation was formed, which was visited twice a year by Pastor Larsen, and which during the continued arrival of immigrants gradually became something. The mission extended to the east to Cranberry Creek on the other side of the Chippewa River, which was visited in the fall of 1858, and northeast to Big Elk Creek, which was visited in January 1859. On this occasion, a few persons from Eau Claire, which is 10 miles farther away had arrived too; but still the number of Norwegians in this town was so insignificant that it was not considered necessary for the priest to go there.
In the autumn of 1859, Pastor Larsen moved to St. Louis to become a professor, and his congregations were temporarily served by Pastor Muus from Goodhue Co., Minnesota, while the former priest gladly spent the greater part of his Summer Holidays with his old congregations; Pastor Muus, who had an extraordinarily large mission district, however, managed not more than once to reach as far as the east of the Menomonee forests. Under these circumstances, sectarians succeeded in penetrating this area. Finally in 1862, Pastor Hagestad was introduced as a Priest at Rush River, the Congregation at Big Elk Creek and the nearby Elk Mound had adopted Pastor Norem of the Augustana Synod as its Priest; part of it, however, soon returned and was served by Pastor Hagestad.
However, the influx of immigrants continued, and the missionary activity was expanded, and soon a separate priestly vocation was established in these districts, and in 1866 Pastor Knut Thorstensen was given his pastorate.
The call to him came from four congregations: Froen, consisting of the settlements at Little Elk Creek and Cranberry Creek, Barum, consisting of the settlements at Big Elk Creek and Elk Mound, Holden or Eighteen Mile Creek further north and Lyster in the south in Buffalo County. The pastor lived in Froen and in the eight years he remained in this vocation founded the congregations of Thompson Valley in Buffalo County, Bennett Valley in Buffalo and Trempealeau Counties, Menomonee town (where Professor Larsen had once already preached), Bloomer Prairie, Sand Creek and Solum, the last three lying north of Froen and Menomonee. Since 1873, Lyster, Bennett Valley, and Thompson Valley have constituted a separate parish, served by Past F.A. Møller,who according to the last Parochial Report has another congregation for Holden, Bloomer Prairie, Sand Creek and Solum, as well as four other congregations now served by Pastor Haakonsen, who came over here from Norway in 1874. In autumn of the same year, Pastor Thorstensen received a call to Yellow Medicine, Minnesota, and got Pastor Krog as his successor; however, the congregation in the town of Menomonee was so strong that it was reasonable for the new priest to take up residence in Menomonee, and Froen's vicarage was then left empty for a year.
In the second year, however, Pastor Krog moved out into the old vicarage; but as early as 1876, due to illness, he moved to Baldwin, a new congregation of four congregations that had developed from the northern part of Rush River Congregation. However, all the congregations mentioned had been oppressed by sectarians, and in the town of Eau Claire, where the Norwegian population was rapidly increasing, until recently there was no congregation of our Society. When one of these congregations was finally founded and last year obtained Pastor I. Dietrichson, he also took over the service of the vocation left by Pastor Krog's relocation, and this autumn he was joined by Pastor Stoltz as assistant pastor in his extensive circle of work. In connection with the activities of these two priests, three churches were consecrated in connection with the general Priests' Conference in Eau Claire from the 10th to the 17th of October. The following Thursday, October 18th, Froen’s church was consecrated in the morning, and in the evening Menomonee church.
Although almost 20 years old, Froen's Congregation has so far had to help hold services in private houses and in a schoolhouse. In Past Thorstensen's time, a number of materials had been bought for the church, but by the deception of a lumber merchant, they were lost. The congregation, which was neither numerous nor powerful, lost heart, and during the repeated change of priests in recent years, the matter went to waste. Now, however, the congregation has finally succeeded in getting a beautiful little church of 26x40 feet, finished to the extent that it could be consecrated; it is essentially only the tower which is not finished. At the consecration, the provost’s speech was given by Professor Larsen over Revelation 21:3, whose words, though actually written about the triumphant church, also have their application to the church militant. The dwelling of God is among men, and he dwells with them and is their God, and they are his people, when they have his word among them; and this had also been the case in this congregation, though hitherto it had had no church building; but this, with the help of God, would be for the church a powerful means of promoting the activity of the Word of God, and therefore the church should rejoice and thank God for this day. (…)
At this church dedication, the opening prayer is lifted by Pastor Krog, and the closing prayer by Pastor Forde.The usual passages were read by Pastors Stoltz, Geelmuyden,Thorstensen, Bjørgo and Wilhelmsen.Several of our Synod's other priests were also present.
In the evening they gathered again for the inauguration of the church in Menomonee. During the day, even more priests arrived from Eau Claire to take part in this action. The opening and closing prayers were read by Pastors Wilhelmsen and Førde. The Mass for the Altar was conducted by the President of the Synod. The provost’s speech was given by Pastor Krog on Genesis 32:10, who showed from this text how this congregation also had reason to make the words of the patriarch Jacob theirs and in humble acknowledgment of their unworthiness thank God for his mercy and faithfulness. The excerpts from Scripture were then read by Pastors Stoltz, Muus, J.B. Frich, O.A Hagen and Professor of Theology N Mohn. Finally, the Inauguration Speech was given on 1 Corinthians 1:4-8 by Professor Larsen, who developed how God, too, had made his church rich in everything, in all doctrine and all knowledge, and how the church could acquire the promise of being fortified therein until the end. In conclusion, he addressed some words in German to the members of the German Lutheran congregation present, who were also invited to take part in this celebration. The Norwegian congregation, which was founded by Pastor Thorstensen on the 23rd of January 1868, had with a contribution of 484 dollars participated in the construction of the German congregation’s church, which was consecrated on the 19th of September 1871. But already in May 1874 the Norwegian congregation had bought its own church plot, and in March 1875 the German congregation bought the Norwegians' share of the German church, so that the Norwegians, however, would be allowed to use the church for another four years. But already in January 1877 the Norwegian congregation decided to build its own church, and now it is finished, 32x50 feet, beautifully decorated, but without a tower, for a sum of 3400 dollars, of which only about 800 dollars are due if only the church divisions had not been so mighty in these regions, it would be relatively easy to get both churches and other arrangements needed for the advancement of the kingdom of God. But now, in the districts where the Priests Haakonsen, Dietrichson and Stoltz work, there are no less than four Conference priests. The Lord look in grace on his poor church and send them teachers after his heart! May He preserve those who now in these new church buildings proclaim his word, and let the word there always sound pure and unadulterated!
