1900
Pastor Fihn
Pastor Nordstrom
Pastor Anton Nelson
Pastor John Samuelson
Pastor Olson
Pastor Benson
Our story began in the late 19th century when Calgary was a young city, a city of horse and buggy, wooden sidewalks, and a population of about 4000 people with males outnumbering females 3 to 1. To some of the younger generation, 100 years must have been before Noah and the great flood; to our seniors it does not seem that long age.
A group of Swedish immigrants brought their Lutheran faith with them from their native land. A Swedish merchant named J. A. Nolan who was a member of the Presbyterian Church, had enough faith in Calgary's future to organize a Swedish Lutheran congregation. It was through his efforts that First Lutheran church was officially organized by Pastor Erik Rehner on May 9, 1900 with a confirmed membership of 10. In October of the same year, for $1000, they purchased from First Baptist Church a little wooden church on the corner of 6th Avenue and 2nd Street S.W. in downtown Calgary that became known as the First Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Church. The assessment for June 2, 1904 was $1,307.30 for the church and inventory.
PASTOR FIHN
Rev. L.J. Fihn, the first resident pastor, did not arrive until 1905; therefore the responsibility of leadership fell upon the few members and officers. With a new resident pastor on the scene, the congregation felt the need to build a residence for its new pastor. A building committee was formed including J.R. Bergen, Andrew Hedman, Nels Lanz, Andrew Peterson, and E. Youngberg. It was decided to build a 3-story parsonage adjacent to the church. These pioneers must have had faith in future as they already had a huge debt after buying the church and yet decided to build a parsonage. Money was scarce and Sunday offerings included a lot of 5 and 10 cent coins.
After Pastor Fihn left in 1909 to go another parish, the church had 3 different mission pastors over the next 3 years but the congregation grew to a membership of 67 adults and 39 children. Without a resident pastor the church began to suffer a loss of members and funds. Through these difficult years, lay leadership continued to sustain life of the congregation.
PASTOR NORDSTROM
1919 saw a breakthrough at FIRST LUTHERAN as Pastor Nordstrom
arrived to become the resident pastor.
World War I was over and the people sensed a new breath of life. The church was buzzing with renewed vigor as all aspects of the congregation were afire; church school, Ladies Aid, Luther League, Augustana Brotherhood (for men), Dorcas Society (for women) and the Women's Missionary Society. Pastor Nordstrom served the congregation well until 1924 when he received a call to serve the Kinistino Beatty parish in Saskatchewan.
FIRST LUTHERAN was founded by Swedish immigrants who spoke their native tongue. Swedish was spoken from the pulpit as well as in Sunday School. This restricted the outreach of the church as it served only the Swedish-speaking people in the community. Young people found fellowship, courtship and marriage with people who did not speak Swedish. The church had a mandate to preach the gospel to all people, therefore a difficult decision had to be made if the church was to continue to minister to all Christians.
PASTOR ANTON NELSON
After accepting a call from the Canada Conference in 1924, Pastor Anton A. Nelson drove his Model T Ford northwest from Minnesota to begin his journey to
his first parish in Calgary. Pastor Nelson was blessed with a strong oratorical voice, which served him well as he delivered his sermons from the pulpit. His melodious singing voice rang clear to the joy of the congregation.
Pastor Nelson had the foresight to see that it was time to make a change as more and more English speaking people were coming to church. A gradual change from Swedish to English took place. Pastor Nelson noted that many parishioners preferred the evening service as this gave them the opportunity to sleep in Sunday mornings.
Two major events took place in 1925. First hosted the Canada Conference in March, then celebrated its 25th anniversary by burning the $1,200 mortgage. The Canada Conference delegates paid a fee of $4 for lodging and meals for 4 days. Quite a contrast, as you now pay upwards of $100 for a hotel room a night plus $10 for a modest meal.
Optimism was in the air, but it was not to last. Pastor Nelson accepted the call to become the superintendent of missions for the Canada Conference in 1929, on the condition that he was able to stay in Calgary and work locally until a successor was found. He served his Lord well until he was called home to be with his Saviour in July, 1989.
PASTOR JOHN SAMUELSON
Pastor John Samuelson was born in Sweden in 1905 and was confirmed in Vasaland's church in 1919. He received his education in Sweden and was later conscripted into the military where he served for two years. He then emigrated
to the U.S.A. where he worked in a
factory making galoshes. Heeding a call
to the ministry, he entered Maywood Lutheran Seminary to further his
studies. To finance his education, he worked as a sparring partner for some local boxers. He also worked as a gardener and a grave digger.
In 1928, he served as an assistant to Pastor Anton Nelson and then came to Calgary as a student pastor. He traveled by train for three days, sitting up at night to prepare for his first sermon. In 1929 he accepted a call from FIRST LUTHERAN to become a resident pastor. The church flourished under his leadership and it was a joy for many of his Swedish parishioners to have a pastor from the homeland in their midst. Pastor Samuelson became homesick for his mother country and resigned in 1933 to return home to Sweden. He authored several books and much poetry before his death in 1988.
PASTOR OLSON
Pastor Olson succeeded Pastor Samuelson and served until 1936. During the dirty 30's, unemployment was very rampant and people were starving as a result. The church also felt the hunger pangs, being without a pastor and finding it difficult to carry on the ministry. A few dedicated laymen worked hard and diligently to hold the congregation together. The various groups in the church still held regular meetings. Money was scarce and offerings were inadequate so friends and members would share their meager resources to meet the church's commitments.
PASTOR BENSON
On March 17, 1940, Pastor John Benson began his ministry at FIRST LUTHERAN. FIRST felt the impact of the Second World War as some members answered the call to serve their country. Conditions did improve to the extent that the membership increased from 41 to 60. Pastor Benson left his flock to further his calling in another parish in the fall of 1945. It is interesting to note in this historical review that Pastor Benson named FIRST LUTHERAN as a
beneficiary in his will.
