Trinity Luthern Church celebrates 75th anniversary

By Ken Johnston
Editor

Trinity Lutheran Church is celebrating its 75th anniversary this Saturday and Sunday in Bergland.
While the official date of its organization is October 2, 1933, church officials decided to hold a celebration when the weather is fairer.
Church Council President Carolyn Kreger said that the event will mark a storied history celebrating the ups and downs of the church. On Saturday there will be a Mix and Mingle at the church which is located 16 miles north of Sleeman on Highway 621. That will take place from 1-5 p.m. and will include a registration booth, history booklets on display and available, old photos, coffee, cookbooks available, t-shirts available, refreshments, fellowship, etc.
At 6 p.m. there will be a catered dinner for people who reserved tickets by last Wednesday. It will be held at the Bergland Hall on Hwy. 600.
Sunday, after a hearty breakfast there will be a Holy Communion Service held at 11 a.m. with a light lunch to follow.
It’s History
Trinity Lutheran Church was officially organized on Oct. 2, 1933 with the Augusta Conference after negotiating which began in 1932.
The Deacons for the new church were Peter Tofte, Edwin Nelson, Aksel Larsen and Trustees were Harry Tofte, Fred Lundeen, Knute Vinje. Harry Tofte was elected Secretary and Rev. Frank Swanson was Pastor.
The church had about 30 members which remained fairly constant according to a history book compiled by Elsa Hanson and Carolyn Kreger. It was 27 in 1949 and the pastor’s salary that year was $86.65 per year from the congregation. No record was available as to what was provided by the synod. Ten years later the total budget for 1959 was $346.00.
While the church was officially founded in 1933, much of the ground work for it was established by visiting travelling ministries in the early part of the century. Pastor Halar Jensson of McInnes Creek walked 20 miles in 1906 to bring the word of the Lord and in 1924 the Ladies Aid bought land and had an old log school house moved to it to be used as the first church.
In 1934 a parsonage was built north of the church and in 1938 a parish hall was added to the parsonage.
After 37 years of serving as a church, the old school house was deteriorating beyond repair. Pastor Vernon Sundmark came up with the idea for a new church building. Much of the work and materials/costs were donated by members and non-members alike. In 1961 the building committee and board members were Mr. and Mrs. Jack McRae, Mr. and Mrs. Art Peterson, Mr. and Mrs. Harry Tofte, Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Stenberg, Fred Warren, Ed Lange, Carl Lange and Mr. and Mrs. Gudolf Peterson. Construction began Sept. 9, 1961 and dedication ceremonies for the new church were held on Dec. 24, 1961.
Also dedicated at the same service were two silver offering plates donated by Art and Gerda Peterson in memory of Gerda’s parents. The cross, pulpit and communion railing were made by George Nordin and donated by the Moen family in memory of their mother.
The first baptism in the new church was Donna Irene Moen, daughter of Lloyd and Patsy Moen. It was held on dedication day.
The first wedding in the church was Shirley Nordin and Marne Thompson.
The first funeral was for August Osterberg, one of the early century supporters of the church.
In 1965 Rev. James Peterson was called and was installed at an evening service to serve Trinity Bergland and St. Paul’s in Rainy River.
The late 1960s marked the first signs of decline for the church. Families moved away to look for work. Eventually Rainy River joined Bergland to form one church. Pastor James left in 1968 and the church was then served by Rev. Harold Peterson of Williams, Mn. After he passed away Rev. Ron Grout of Fort Frances conducted services twice a month at Bergland. During these uncertain times of decline Grout left as well. He later returned and today still serves in a supporting role even though he is retired.
Then things took a turn upwards. Rev. Erling Lindstrom was installed as Pastor for Zion Lutheran in Fort Frances and Trinity Lutheran in Bergland. Once again weekly services returned to Bergland on Sunday afternoons.
Rev. John Fullmer was commissioned as Pastor Developer in Rainy River and Pastor in Bergland in November of 1979. After his departure in 1981 services were lead by Rev. Alf Sander, Rev. Erling Lindstrom, Dan Danielson, Augie Ruud and others including members of the church.
Those members of the church doing Lay Readings, would soon become the salvation of the church’s future. But not before Rev. Gerald Kaskela served the church from 1982-84 and Pastor Lynn Allan 1984-86 and Rev. Kristjan Robertson 1986-87 served the congregation and area. However, in Oct. 1987 the church realized that it could no longer afford a full time pastor.
Bishop Luetkehoelter took the earlier strength’s of Lay Readers and encouraged the congregation to develop them more.
Referred to by the Bishop as “The feisty saints of Bergland” Lay leadership emerged and grew. Over the past two decades Lay readers including today’s Church Council President Carolyn Kreger keep services going and church activities flourishing in the area.
Whenever an ordained pastor was available they conducted the services. Even retired United Church Rev. Earle Armistead helped out on occasion.
Others that assumed strong leadership or support roles since the late 1990s included Rev. Bob Ek, Rev. Virgil Anderson, Rev. Ron Grout, Rev. John Fullmer.
According to the history book on the church, 2002 saw even more community members leaving the area making maintaining the congregation a tough job. “God has worked with His people here, teaching us to ‘bloom where we are planted’ and to discover and use the talents God has given to each of us.”
Carolyn Kreger said that while the congregation felt the struggle, “We often felt like the little engine who struggled up the hill. With God’s help and the direction of the Holy Spirit we adopted the attitude that ‘we think we can’ and before we knew it our challenges would be behind us and we would say, ‘We knew we could!’”
In 2004 a new addition was built onto the east of the church and in 2005 the original building was completely renovated.
Today the church continues work in Bergland and the area. They provide services at Rainy River Hospital when it is their turn and give generously to community organizations and support families that need it. They host family gatherings, community events, retreats, Sunday school and Kids’ craft days. They hold communion, host funerals, support the local food bank, participate in World Day of Prayer and Cambrian Conference. They have an active prayer chain and knit prayer shawls for those who might need them.
All are welcome to attend the open house Saturday and the service on Sunday.