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The History of Renville County
Minnesota
Volume 2
Chapter XL
RENVILLE COUNTY CHURCHES. | ||
Pages 1256-1290 | ||
First Services Held in County - The Church the First Consideration of the Pioneers - Leading Denominations - Story of the Organization, Growth, Pastors and Work of Leading Churches Told by Clergymen and Laymen |
The church has ever been a chief consideration with the people of Renville county. Almost without exception the early settlers were of a religious turn of mind. Devout fathers of the Catholic faith brought religious consolation to the French and half-breeds living here while the county still lay in Indian territory. The name of Sacred Heart is the survival of the name given to a mission in this county by some devoted and now forgotton priest. The Protestant missionaries at Lac qui Parle and other places early preached the Gospel to Indians who roamed Renville county. When the sturdy Germans of the Evangelical faith settled in the bottoms from Beaver Creek to the Sacred Heart, and those of the Methodist faith settled about Mud Lake in Cairo township, their first thought was to hold services. After the massacre, when the pioneers began to come back, one of the first desires was to maintain religious observances. Services were held at first in homes, later in school houses, and finally small log churches were erected. Outside of the missions conducted for the French, Indians and half-breeds, the oldest denominations in the county are the Evangelical Association and the Methodist Episcopal. The strongest and most numerous is the Lutheran church in its various divisions. The Catholic people [have] some splendid churches and schools. The Moravian, the Reformed, the Congregational, the Baptist and the Episcopal churches flourish here, and there are also several churches of other denominations, some of them being independent. It was the desire of the compilers of this chapter to include in this work, in such a manner as to preserve it for all time, the history of every church in Renville county, past and present. To this end over a thousand letters have been sent out. For the most part pastors and members of congregations have responded nobly. A few, however, have either failed or refused to send us the desired information. In such cases, where it has been impossible to obtain the information from other sources, the omission is due to the pastors or people of the congregations themselves and not to the compilers. In some instances as many has five different letters have been sent to one pastor without result. There may be errors in some of the records here appended. This also is due to the lack of correct information by the pastors and people themselves. Every possible means has been used to give a correct and complete history of the county churches. Those who have assisted in this effort by contributing some of the splendid articles here appended deserve the thanks of their communities. According to the census of 1870 there were then no church buildings in Renville county. There were, however, thirteen church organizations: five Methodist Episcopal, four Lutheran, two Catholic, one Baptist and one Presbyterian. At that time there were also many neighborhood meetings being held without formal organization of a church body. |
NORWEGIAN EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN | ||||
Hauges Church in Renville County | 1257-1258 | Zions Congregation of Bandon | 1263-1264 | |
Rev. Thomas Hanson (photo) | 1258-1259 | Fairfax Congregation | 1264 | |
Fort Ridgely Congregation | 1259-1260 | Franklin Congregation | 1264-1265 | |
Dale Congregation | 1260 | Hof Congregation Sacred Heart | 1265 | |
Concordia Congregation of Franklin | 1260-1261 | Vestre Sogn Congregation | 1265 | |
Morton Congregation | 1261 | Wang's Congregation | 1265 | |
Pastors of the Fort Ridgely, Dale, Concordia and Morton Congregations | 1261 | Our Savior's and Opdal Congregations of Sacred Heart | 1265-1267 | |
Palmyra Congregation | 1261-1262 | Rev. Nils Giere | 1267 | |
Rev. Parelius H. Rognlie (photo) | 1262 | Our Saviour's Congregation of Renville | 1267-1268 | |
Camp Congregation | 1262-1263 | |||
GERMAN EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN | ||||
Zion's Church of Olivia | 1268 | Zion's Church of Buffalo Lake | 1269 | |
St. Matthew's Church of Danube | 1268 | St. John's Church of Fairfax | 1269-1270 | |
Bethania Church of Emmet | 1268 | St. John's Church of Osceola | 1270 | |
St. Matthaeus Church of Flora | 1268 | Zion's Church of Morton | 1270-1271 | |
St. Paul's Church of Hector | 1268-1269 | St. Imanuel's Church of Wellington | 1271-1272 | |
Trinity Church of Brookfield | 1269 | St. John's Church of Renville | 1272-1273 | |
ROMAN CATHOLIC | ||||
Preface | 1277-1278 | Church of St. Mary's, Bird Island | 1282-1283 | |
The Church of St. Aloysius, Olivia | 1278-1280 | Sacred Heart Parish | 1283 | |
The Aloysianum | 1280-1281 | Church of the Holy Redeemer, Renville | 1283 | |
St. Aloysius Park | 1281-1282 | Church of St. Andrew, Fairfax | 1283-1284 | |
Rev. Henry D. Pomije | 1282 | |||
METHODIST EPISCOPAL | ||||
The Methodist Episcopal Church of Fairfax | 1284-1287 | The Methodist Episcopal Church at Brookfield | 1288-1289 | |
The First Methodist Episcopal Church of Olivia | 1287-1288 | The Methodist Episcopal Church of Renville | 1289 | |
Rev. Nahum Tainter | 1288 | The Methodist Episcopal Church of Hector | 1289-1290 | |
The Methodist Episcopal Church of Buffalo Lake | 1288 | |||
FINNISH LUTHERAN | SWEDISH CHRISTIAN MISSION | |||
The Finnish Apostolic Lutheran Church | 1273 | The Winfield Church of the Swedish Evangelical Mission Covenant of America | 1273 | |
EVANGELICAL ASSOCIATION | MORAVIAN | |||
The Evangelical Association of Flora Township | 1276-1277 | Elim Moravian Church | 1274-1275 | |
Rev. Christian Louis Seder | 1277 | The Hector Moravian Congregation | 1275 | |
Rev. August Nierens | 1277 | The Bird Island Union Church | 1275 | |
DISCIPLES OF CHRIST | PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL | |||
The First Christian Church | 1275 | The Protestant Epsicopal Church | 1275 | |
SWEDISH EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN | THE REFORMED CHURCH | |||
The Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Svedlanda Church of Palmyra | 1273-1274 | The Emden Christian Reformed Church of Renville | 1275-1276 | |
The Fridsborg's Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Church | 1274 | |||
The Swedish Lutheran Church of Olivia | 1274 | |||
The Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Congregation of Hector | 1274 |
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