History

Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church was founded in 1870 by a group of Norwegian immigrant farmers. The first church building, completed in 1874 and located about a mile from our present location, was struck by lightning and burned to the ground in 1914. Our neighbors and friends from the Methodist church, located at our present site, invited us to share their building. In time the congregations merged retaining our Lutheran identity. Pastoral leadership was provided by visiting clergy and were sometimes shared with other Lutheran congregations. Given our strong Haugean heritage, lay persons often provided leadership. A parsonage was built in 1947. Missionary support has been a part of our DNA since the beginning. In 1963 a Sunday School, office, and library addition was added with a remodeled kitchen the following year. Having affiliated with various Lutheran bodies, Calvary joined the Evangelical Church In America and departed from the ELCA and joined the Lutheran Congregations And Mission For Christ (LCMC) federation in 2010. We began broadcasting our services on Facebook in the spring of 2020. An accidental flooding of our fellowship room and kitchen required a year long restoration, which was expanded to many other areas of our facility. The renovation was dedicated in 2023. Over our 155 year history we have been blessed with many talented and generous people who have constituted our membership and served in leadership roles, paid and volunteer. For this, we give God thanks! Although we do not know what the future holds, we know Who holds the future. We look forward to where God may lead us in faithfulness.