Evangelical Lutheran Trinity Church
Originally called the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Trinity Congregation (or the Sv. Ev. Lutherska Trefaldighets-Församlingen), Trinity Lutheran was organized on February 28, 1883 as a member of the Augustana Synod, located at 3309 N. Seminary Ave.
In the early 1880s, Lake View, situated in the outlying section of North Chicago, was a village by itself. Within its sparsely settled district, a few Swedish families had made their homes. Many were members of Immanuel Lutheran, located near the Loop. Immanuel began a Sunday School in the Lake View area in 1880, which soon expanded to include worship services.
For the first three years of its existence Trinity had no permanent pastor. Services were conducted on Sunday afternoons by the Chicago pastors who alternated in serving the newly established church. Three lots were purchased at the corner of Seminary and Barry (then known as Noble) Avenues, at a cost of $1500 and a frame church was built for an additional $1000. The building was dedicated November 11, 1883.
After several attempts at calling a pastor, Rev. S.A. Sandahl of Princeton, Ill., accepted the call and arrived on May 1, 1886. The congregation continued to grow and soon was in need of a larger building. Due to shortage of funds, it was decided to erect only the basement at first. On September 11, 1887 the corner stone was laid, and on the First Sunday in Advent of that year, the first services were held in the basement section of the new building.
The old, frame church was remodeled into the parsonage and used until 1914, after which it was used as the sexton's living quarters.
The debt incurred was considerable and caused some discontent. A few members withdrew and formed Messiah Lutheran, two blocks north of Trinity, in 1896.
Work began on the rest of the building in September 1896 and on April 25, 1897 services were held in the new building for the first time. Dedication took place on June 20, 1897.
English-language services were used only during the Bible Class and Sunday Vesper Services, until 1926 when the Bible Class became a regular English service. Swedish services also continued through the 1960s.
It merged with Messiah (Augustana, 1896) at School and N. Seminary to form Resurrection on October, 1, 1970. Resurrection used to use Messiah's building, while Trinity's was leased to various organizations before being sold.
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Pastors |
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Sven August Sandahl |
May 1, 1886-March 1, 1901 |
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Gottfred Nelson (student) |
March 1, 1901-Oct. 1, 1901 |
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Carl A. Almen |
Nov. 3, 1901-Feb. 1903 |
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Gottfred Nelson |
Oct. 4, 1903-1939 |
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Bertil Lundh (assistant) |
1928-June 15, 1930 |
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Julius Lincoln |
1939-1948 |
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Alvar Gustafson (assistant) |
1945-1947 |
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Vernon E. Ryding |
Jan. 1, 1949-April 27, 1969 |
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Herbert W. Chilstrom (intern) |
1956-1957 |
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Ronald K. Johnson (vice pastor) |
May 1, 1969-1970 |
Son of the congregation
Elmer J. Erlandson
Original records
Original records for Trinity should be located at Resurrection Lutheran Church, 3309 N. Seminary Ave., Chicago, IL 60657. Minutes from 1883-1931 and membership records from 1883-1931 have been microfilmed on Augustana reel #A19 and are available from the ELCA Archives and from the Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center in Rock Island, Ill. Additional materials, such as congregational histories and incomplete runs of Prids-Dufvan (1897-1941) and Trinity Messenger (1941-1970), are available at the ELCA Archives.
Sources
"A Half Century of Progress: Trinity Lutheran Church of the Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod, Barry and Seminary Avenues, Chicago, Illinois," 1933.
Trinity Messenger, various issues, 1956-1970.