Bethlehem Evangelical Lutheran Church of Englewood

Bethlehem Evangelical Lutheran Church, a member in the Augustana Synod, was organized on June 5, 1875 by Swedish Lutherans living near the Rock Island Railroad shops in the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago. Two lots were purchased on LaSalle Street near 56th Street and a church building (pictured above) was constructed by 1877. After some debate, the original name, "The Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Bethlehem Church," was chosen.

For a time, beginning in 1880, Bethlehem shared a pastor with Bethany Lutheran of South Chicago.

Recognizing the need for a better location, lots were purchased at 58th and South Wells, and the church building was moved on wooden rollers to the new location in 1886. In 1890 the church building was enlarged and remodeled. By the 1910s this building was too small. The last service was held June 8, 1913, after which the old building was torn down. By Maundy Thursday 1914 the new building (pictured below) was completed.

In 1924 the name was changed to the Bethlehem Evangelical Lutheran Church of Englewood. By the 1930s the transition from Swedish to English was complete.

As the Swedish Lutheran population moved South and West in the 1930s and 1940s, opportunities for growth at 58th St. and Wells seemed limited. Lots were selected at 9401 South Oakley Ave., in the Beverly Hills section of Chicago. An unused filling station was reconstructed into a chapel and work began in the neighborhood before the congregation moved. The new building (pictured below) was dedicated in 1950 with a parish education wing added in 1962.



Pastors

Original records
Original record books should be found at Bethlehem Evangelical Lutheran Church, 9401 S. Oakley Ave., Chicago, IL 60620-6278. Older books have been microfilmed and are available from the ELCA Archives and from the Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center at Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill. Church minutes from 1875-1918 are on film Augustana #A7(1), while minutes from 1919-1929, membership records from 1875-1932 and ministerial acts from 1881-1931 are on film Augustana #A7(2-3). The ELCA Archives also has congregational histories and other materials relating to Bethlehem.

Sources
Bethlehem Lutheran Church, After Sixty Years, 1875-1935.

Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Gloria: Ecclesiastical and Liturgical Arts, 1965.