Concordia Lutheran Church

Concordia Lutheran Church, 3855 N. Seeley, was organized on Jan. 29, 1898 as the Salem Evangelical Church, a member of the Augustana Synod. Sharing pastors with Ebenezer Lutheran Church, then known as the Summerdale Church, until 1902, Salem called its first full-time pastor in 1903.

In 1904 the congregation purchased lots on Byron and Seeley and constructed the basement section of their building.

That year the congregation chose to rename itself as the Svenska Evangeliska Lutherska Concordia Kyrkan, or Concordia.

In 1913 the upper structure of the church was completed. Renovations of the sanctuary were conducted in 1921, 1938 and 1964, with an education unit added in 1959.





Pastors
August Edgren
1898-1899

Emanuel Rydberg
1900-1902

Swen Pearson
1903-1910

Martin Hess
1910-1914

Axel Nelson
1914-1917

Linus Herman
1917-1921

Emil Anderson
1921-1935

Carl Lund-Quist
1936-1941

John Oberg
1941-1948

Alvar Gustafson
1948-1956

Emmettt Eklund (interim)
1956-1957

Marvin Chellberg
1957-1961

Earl Bengtson
1961-1980

Original records
Original record books should be found at Concordia Lutheran Church, 3855 N. Seeley Ave., Chicago, IL 60618. The early records have been microfilmed, as Augustana #A34, and are available at the ELCA Archives and at the Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center at Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill. The film includes church minutes from 1917 to 1930 and membership records from 1898 to 1933. The ELCA Archives also has congregation histories, church publications and other materials relating to Concordia.

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Sources
Concordia Lutheran Church, "80 Years of Service to the Community," 1978.