St. Matthew Evangelical Lutheran Church

The Svenska Ev. Lutheran Matteus congregation was organized in 1914 in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood of Chicago, as a member of the Augustana Synod, serving the Swedish colony around 79th and Halsted Streets. Lots were purchased at Aberdeen and 80th Streets and a bungalow-style church was constructed for temporary worship. A permanent building was constructed in 1922 and the bungalow converted into the parsonage.

In 1928 the name was changed to St. Matthew Evangelical Lutheran Church.

Membership peaked in 1959 with 538 confirmed members, after receive members from disbanded Grace Lutheran and from Mt. Zion, which had moved to Oak Park. Neighborhood changes in the 1960s and 1970s led to a sharp decline in membership.

On Oct. 15, 1996, St. Matthew consolidated with Messiah (1908, Augustana) of West Englewood to form Imani Lutheran Church. In 2001 Imani merged with Bethel Lutheran (1891, Augustana) to form Bethel Imani Lutheran Church, 6201 S. Sangamon.

Original records
Original record books should be located at Bethel Imani Lutheran Church, 6201 S. Sangamon Ave., Chicago, IL 60621. Early record books have been microfilmed, as Augustana #A17 and are available at the ELCA Archives and at the Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center at Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill. The microfilm includes records from 1914 to 1930. The ELCA Archives also has congregation histories, church publications and other materials relating to St. Matthew.

Sources
Twenty-fifth Anniversary, St. Matthew Evangelical Church, Chicago, Illinois, 1914-1939.

St. Matthew Evangelical Lutheran Church, 50th Anniversary bulletin, 1964.