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photo by Ed Shannon
Holding the banner used for the parade float in the Northwood and Lake Mills, Iowa, parades are the two members of Silver Lake Lutheran Church who made the scale replica of the original building. On the left is Bill Loberg who created the steeple. At right is Lauritz Dahlby, who built the model of the historic building.
Iowa church to observe sesquicentennial
Published Saturday, July 12, 2008
SILVER LAKE, Iowa — Next weekend will be a special time for the members and people with close connections with Silver Lake Lutheran Church, rural Northwood, Iowa. That’s when the congregation of the oldest church in Worth County, Iowa, will be observing their 150th year.
This observance is based on the date of July 20, 1858, when a group of Norwegian Evangelical Lutherans held an outdoor worship service on the Lars Loberg farm, situated on the south shore of Silver Lake and several miles west of the present church. The Rev. A.C. Preus conducted this service and baptized 12 children.
During this era the nearest place for Lutherans to worship in a church was at St. Ansgar, Iowa, in Mitchell County.
A few years later the Rev. C.L. Clausen organized a congregation for the pioneer settlers in Hartland, Silver Lake and Bristol Townships in Worth County, and for families over the state line in Freeborn County. Services were held on an irregular basis in school houses, homes and in the shade of trees during the summer months.
The first church for Silver Lake was built in 1871, a steeple added in 1882, and the bell installed in 1896.
Silver Lake Lutheran Church sesquicentennial
On Saturday, July 19, there will be an informal gathering during the afternoon with a chance to reminisce and also hear some local talents such as Kandi Schupe and Daniel Baldwin. “Stone Soup” will perform at 3 p.m. There will be an opportunity to tour the church building and reacquaint with past and present friends. Refreshments will be served.
Sunday’s celebration will start with an outdoor church service at 10 a.m. This will be a joint service with the One in Christ Parish. There will be a dinner at noon catered by Signature’s of Northwood, Iowa. A program will start at 2 p.m. with memories shared by past pastors and other guests.
This church building was originally located right next to what soon became a cemetery. An early photo confirms this fact. In 1910 the church was moved, using real horsepower, to the west and its present site across what’s now the parking lot. Where the old church once stood is still outlined by a narrow concrete border. Within this area are buried several of the former pastors.
In 1966 an educational unit with facilities for Sunday School classrooms and a pastor’s office was added to the church. The summer of 1974 brought another new aspect for the original church building with the construction of an enclosed front entry and vestibule.
A bequest from the estate of Mabel Gudvangen for about $300,000 in 1994 made it possible for the church to remodel the kitchen and fellowship hall in the lower level, add a new rear entry, and to install an elevator which now makes the entire building handicap accessible.
Photo by Ed Shannon
This is the float for the sesquicentennial of Silver Lake Lutheran Church which appeared in the July 4 parade in Northwood, Iowa, and the July 12 parade in Lake Mills, Iowa. From the left in the first row are Grace Dahlby, a 150th anniversary committee member, Betty Peterson, committee member, and the Rev. Randy Baldwin. In the second row are Lauritz Dahlby, Bill Loberg, Colleen Rogness, committee member, Ernie Thompson, a senior church member, and Alfred Singletstad, church custodian for 33 years.
For the first half of its existence the predominate language used by the members and for worship services was Norwegian. In the late 1930s the use of this language started to diminish and eventually was being used just once a month for worship services. By the mid-1940s, English had replaced the use of Norwegian for church functions.
This rural congregation which will be observing its sesquicentennial next weekend presently has about 230 members. And since March 2003 this church has been a part of the One in Christ Parish. Silver Lake, Sion Lutheran of rural Lake Mills, Iowa, Bethany Lutheran of Joice, Iowa, Winnebago Lutheran of rural Lake Mills, and Immanuel Lutheran of Scarville, Iowa, now share two pastors. They are the Revs. Randy Baldwin and Bill Peters. Sandy Lindflott serves the five churches as the parish-wide secretary.
The following comments were written for the 125th anniversary in 1983. Yet, today, these words still reflect the spirit which has been a part of life for the people of the congregation during the past 150 years:
“Silver Lake is not a mighty cathedral or a famous shrine, it is a modest little church that sits quietly in the country reminding us that God still lives, faith is alive and people believe.
This photo of Silver Lake Lutheran Church, rural Northwood, Iowa, was taken for its 125th anniversary in 1983. Since that time the trees in the foreground have really grown up. The church is located in Worth County about two miles south of the state line on Silver Lake Road. One of the landmark features of this building is the way the steeple’s top rises above the tree line.
“It was the true faith of early settlers that built this church. Farmers and laborers who saw God daily in their work and then together built a place to gather and worship the Lord who was such a great part of their lives.
“These walls have endured joys and sorrows, stood through years of war and strife, depression years and years of plenty, lean years and years of doubt, despair and grief — yet, it still stands today with a message of hope, comfort and love.”
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