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This was a small group of Scandinavian Lutheran people who began regular worship and meetings in the 1880’s. The group was ordinarily served by pastors who travelled from the Seattle-Tacoma area on a regular but infrequent basis.

On February 24, 1890, a group of 33 Norwegian immigrants and pioneers organized Immanuel Lutheran. The first church, located at Minor and Olive, was dedicated November 20, 1892. When Dr. and Mrs. H.A. Stub came in August of 1903, they began one of the longest pastorates in the history of the Pacific Northwest- 54 years. During those years, Immanuel became one of the largest congregations in the west. Attendance increased, and in 1907 a new church was built on Pontius and Thomas. It was dedicated June 30, 1912 with Dr. H.G. Stub, father of the pastor and president of the NLCA, as the dictator. It was dedicated before the largest assembly of Lutherans ever gathered in Puget Sound up until that time.

A pipe organ was installed in 1915 to which Andrew Carnegie contributed $1000. A gymnasium was added later, as well as a parsonage and Sunday school facilities. The church was again remolded and expanded in 1932.

Membership decreased and changed at Immanuel. Under Nyer Urness and others the program has changed to aid inner-city people. The church has converted its facilities to include a shelter program which houses people and provides meals for up to 50 persons each day. A food bank has been established and a center set up for an emergency feeding program.

St Paul’s Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church was organized June 1891 when Pastor Jens Jensen Mylund came to take charges of the field. From 1891-1897 the congregation held their services at 2308 South G Street, Tacoma. The congregation moved to 1529 South Tacoma Ave in 1898. In 1902 they built a church on L St., and in January 1905 the congregation was incorporated. In 1905 the parsonage was finished. The congregation sold their building December of 1961, and merged with Grace Lutheran in January of 1962.

• From the history in the parish registry

Gethsemane Lutheran was formed through a merger of two congregations, Grace Lutheran and St. Paul Lutheran.

Grace Lutheran had its beginnings in 1923 as an interdenominational Sunday school. In 1924, when the church became Lutheran, they erected their facility at 73rd and Park.

St. Paul Lutheran was established in 1891 by Rev. J.J. Mylund, who conducted services in a rented building which served as both church and parsonage. In 1904 a facility was built at 13th and L Streets.

With the merger of the congregations in 1962 under Reverend Carl Laursen, the combined group met in the facilities of Grace Lutheran. A new facility was dedicated on February 16, 1964, and several years later and educational wing was completed. In 1998, the congregation merged with Bethel & Mt Zion of Tacoma, Washington, becoming United Lutheran Church.

The Mount Zion congregation was organized in 1915 by the Lutheran Free Church. It was an outgrowth of Olivet in Tacoma. It first met in a chapel located on 56th and I, and in 1918 the congregation purchased property and erected a building at 54th and Thompson. In 1925, a vacated Methodist church was purchased at 59th and Thompson for $2000.

After a period of study and planning for future needs in 1957, a building site was purchased near the old church. The building was begun in 1961 and completed on October 7, 1962. The name was changed to Mount Zion Lutheran church in 1960 to avoid conflict with another Zion Lutheran in Tacoma. In 1998 Mt Zion merged with Gethsemane and Bethel of Tacoma becoming United Lutheran Church.

Tenino Community Lutheran Church started as a preaching point in 1993, and on May 18, 1997 they voted to become a congregation in the ELCA, but they were never able to keep the congregation going, and disbanded in 1999.

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church had its beginning in the year 1923 as an inter-denominal Sunday School. The people of its congregation met in three different homes during those early days and their first pastor was Reverend Arthur Shaffer. In 1924 Reverend Claude Pellet took over and under his leadership this group became a Lutheran Church. Reverend Pellet saw Grace Lutheran established at its present site at 73rd and Park and a building erected before turning the reins over to Reverend H.N. Svinth in June of 1930, who served for 31 years.

The 1930’s were depression years and this small congregation put up a terrifically hard struggle to keep the doors of Grace Church open. Their work was rewarded, however, as the following years brought more prosperous times and a larger congregation. In 1955 a parsonage was built on the grounds behind the church.

When the Northern Pacific Railway Company built their Northwest terminus repair shops in south Tacoma in 1892, there were a lot of Scandinavians among these who worked there. A group of families decided that a Norwegian church was needed, and established it in 1902 under the direction of pastors in the area. The church was organized with assistance from the Home Missions. Ground was purchased and a basement built where services were held for a number of years beginning in 1908. In 1917, the English language was introduced for services, supplanting Norwegian. The church debt was paid and the mortgage burned in May of 1927. Groundbreaking for the present church was held and the new sanctuary was dedicated on the 50th anniversary of the congregation, November 18, 1956.

October 4, 1971 there was a fire at Hope Lutheran Church caused by arson. A statue of Jesus brought over from the original building was destroyed along with many records, and other artifacts. The building was remodeled to repair the damage caused by the fire.

The congregation dissolved in 2014. Their last service was March 9, 2014.

Luther Memorial was organized as Zion’s English Evangelical Lutheran Church by Reverend E.G. Lund on June 7, 1891. In 1892 the present site was purchased for $3,500 and a building was erected at a cost of $1,000 and dedicated in August of 1893.The congregation was admitted to the Evangelical Synod of the Northwest in August of 1893, and on September 1, 1901, the congregation withdrew its membership from the Synod of the Northwest to help form the Pacific Synod.

A new church was erected in 1909. On August 16, 1932, the congregation was merged with Our Savior’s Lutheran Church and the name of Luther Memorial was adopted. Since the newly merged congregations belonged to different synods, it was decided that the new congregation would remain independent. Not all of the members went into the merger, so Our Savior’s Lutheran Church also existed as a congregation in Tacoma. In 1937, Luther Memorial joined the Northwest District of the American Lutheran Church. The church voted to dissolve on November 14, 2004.

Saint James Lutheran Church’s history traces back to 1921, when Pastor Frederick Weisenborn founded a Lutheran Church and Sunday school in the White Center area of Seattle. At first, there was no actual church building, and services were held in local halls and the houses of members, such as Esther Hilborn’s, where the Church’s first Eucharist was held. The church struggled to eke out an existence during its nascent years, but was prospering by 1928, when the congregation was renewed under Pastor P.E. Blaiser. Full-time pastor Kolbein Simundsson arrived in 1928 and served until retiring in 1958.

In 1947, a new church building was finished and received a dedication service. At its peak, Saint James Lutheran Church grew to support 600 attendees in its church and 400 children in its Sunday school. The numbers dwindled with time, however, and eventually the Church serviced a moderately sized group, whose average age increased over the years. The Church increased outreach programs to the community, such as teaching English to immigrants and creating programs to find jobs for them. Projects such as Alcoholics Anonymous, the Girl Scouts and Nutrition Programs were also supported in this time. The church building was consistently renovated over time.

Saint James closed after Easter in 2005, because church attendance had dropped dramatically. The Easter service contained 50 attendees; on average it served 25, most of which were retirees.