On Wednesday evening, July 29, 1891, a group of Norwegians gathered at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Carl Magnusen, Evanston, Illinois, for the purpose of organizing a Norwegian Lutheran congregation. The meeting opened with the singing of a hymn, reading from the Bible, and prayer by Reverend J. N. Kildahl. Reverend N. J. Ellestad was chosen chairman of the meeting, and Reverend J. N. Kildahl was elected secretary. A constitution for the congregation was adopted, after which three trustees were elected: one to serve one year, another to serve two years, and the third to serve three years. Carl Magnusen was elected for the one-year term; Mads Knudsen for the two-year term; and Anton Andersen for the three-year term. Carl Magnusen was elected chairman of the board of trustees; Ole Larsen was elected treasurer; and Mads Knudsen, secretary.

This was the first meeting of the church in Evanston.

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It soon appeared that many difficulties were in the way of the new congregation. Times were hard, and since all the members of the church were working people, it was a heavy task to take care of the finances. To start with, the meetings were held in the home of Carl Magnusen, but after a brief period the congregation found itself able to rent Union Hall on Davis Street, where services were held every Sunday and Thursday evening.

During its first year of existence, the congregation was served by Reverend J. N. Kildahl; he was succeeded by Reverend Aarestad, and the congregation increased in size as time went on. Reverend Aarestad in turn was succeeded by Reverend Marvik. On February 14, 1894, Reverend Hetland was called to serve the congregation, and he remained as pastor for about seven years. The services were still held at Union Hall, and were quite well attended.

On September 1, 1898, after due investigation, it was decided to buy the Swedish Lutheran Church building and to move it over to the lot where it now stands. Four hundred dollars was paid for the building; the lot cost thirteen hundred 3dollars, and the cost of moving was two hundred dollars--a total of about nineteen hundred dollars, a considerable sum in view of the fact that the membership roll contained but forty names.

Under the pressure of the large debt the congregation has thus incurred, the work slackened somewhat, and the future looked dark for a while. Through hard work by some of the most interested members, and especially by the ladies aid society, services were continued...and in 1904, while Reverend Kolste was pastor, the congregation rejoiced in finding itself free of debt, the church having been fully paid for.

There was then a period of rest as far as financial matters were concerned. During this period the congregation was served in succession by two theological students, Messrs. A. Ness and S. Sigmond; the religious activities were kept alive, the services were well attended, and soon it appeared that the church building was too small. In addition, it was rather dilapidated, but the congregation did not at the time feel able to start any reconstruction work.

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On April 5, 1906, John A. Westberg, a theological student, was called to serve the congregation. In April, 1907, he graduated from the Chicago Theological Seminary. During Reverend Westberg's pastorate, the desire for a better church building became greater; a temporary finance committee was elected to collect funds for the rehabilitation of the church. The collection of funds proceeded slowly, however, and the condition of the building became steadily worse. Finally, on March 5, 1907, a building committee was appointed. It consisted of Reverend Westberg and Messrs. S. Haugland, M. Olsen, C. Henriksen, and O. Nepstad. These five men were aware that they were facing a difficult task, for the church treasury was empty.

Two roads appeared open: one, to abandon [the attempt to maintain] the Norwegian-Danish Lutheran Church in Evanston; the other, to load the congregation with a large debt. After careful study of the situation, the committee chose the latter course.

Courageously, and with strong faith in God's help, the task was begun. After 5the committee, led by Reverend Westberg, had collected seven hundred dollars, mostly from people not belonging to the congregation, the work of remodeling was started, and a loan of two thousand dollars was obtained.

The construction work proceeded slowly. It was discovered that the task was greater than the members of the committee had expected, and that the money obtained would not meet construction costs. Now that the work is nearly finished, there is needed an additional amount of about one thousand dollars that must be raised in the near future.

On March 4, 1909, the same day that President William H. Taft entered the White House as President of the United States, the first meeting was held in the basement of the reconditioned church. The meeting was attended by 185 people.

In its present condition, the church, finished on the outside, and with a large attractive basement where the services are to be held temporarily, has cost about four thousand dollars; the debt is around three thousand dollars.