Key Peninsula Lutheran Church

This folder contains a congregational historical record, two bulletins from the service of dedication, a magazine article about the church’s beginnings, a pamphlet from the church, an informational flyer about the church, various letters, a bulletin from 1978, and a brief history of the church.

Rev. Edward Wagner, a semi-retired pastor, starting this congregation on June 1, 1977. It was a project of Peninsula Lutheran Church in Gig Harbor and the Division of Mission and Service in America of the ALC. First services were held September 18, 1977 in the Key Center Community Center. Land was purchased in March, 1978. With help from Peninsula Church and others, a building project was launched. A Lutheran architect drew up plans without charge. Ground was broken October 25, 1981. Members of the parish, most of them retirees, and neighbors joined in to erect the church. Lumber was produced in the back yard portable saw mill of a member. Logs came from the four-acre church site and from donations by others. A contractor was hired to supervise construction. The $350,000 church plant cost them $75,000 when completed in 1984. The only debt was $18,000 for loans advanced by members. Members and friends gave an estimated $175,000 in labor. Another $100,000 in materials was donated. Several ALC congregations contributed an electric organ, a piano, and furnishings The congregation has been self-supporting since its early years.