11-17-1889 the church was organized
Became a founding member church of WAIM
Windham Area Interfaith Ministries
Enjoys
worship with a heated sanctuary during
the New England winters
How Ebenezer's
Came To Be
No doubt the
thought of a 100th anniversary never
entered the minds of the “no less than
fifty-four” Swedish people who on
November 17, 1889 gathered for the
purpose of organizing a congregation of
the Lutheran faith. They came from
Willimantic and vicinity and under the
leadership of Rev. Goran E. Forsberg an
organization know as “Den Swenska
Evangeliska Luthersla Ebenezerkyrkan av
Willimantic, Connecticut” (The Swedish
Evangelical Lutheran Church of
Willimantic, CT) came to be and the
following officials were chosen: Aron
Nelson, Chairman’ Aron Nelson, Jon
Peterson, and Chas. J. Nelson, Deacons’
Aron Anderson, Anders Bengston, ARon
Nelson, Theodore Johnson, John Hanson
and John Nelson, Trustees; John Hanson,
Treasurer; and Axel Lonquist, Secretary.
Initially the
church was served by students, the first
one being Student David Magnuson. In
December 1892 the Salem Lutheran Church
of Norwich, Connecticut voted at a
special meeting to unite with Ebenezer
into on pastorate and Rev. J.G.
Danielson was called and arrived in
1893.
In the mean time the congregation was
accepted into the Evangelical Lutheran
Augustana Synod in 1890 and a special
meeting in June 1892, it was decided “to
gather funds” for the erection of a
church building. In September of that
year a lot, 60 X 150 feet, was purchased
at the corner of Oak and Summit Streets.
The same month plans for the building
were accepted and a building committee
elected.
In April 1893
it was decided to begin building
operations at once and the contract was
granted to Mr. Thomas H. Cole for the
sum of $2,935. Later, however, another
$85 was added in order that the stairway
might be inside the building. The
basement was completed in 1893 and the
first service was held there on October
15. The following year the building was
completed and it was dedicated by Rev.
G. Nilsenius, President of the New York
Conference, assisted by neighboring
Lutheran Pastors. Ellen Thornberg, one
of the oldest living members of Ebenezer
(now a patient at a convalescent home in
New Jersey) was the first baby to be
baptized in the new church…Later on,
Ellen was the organist at Ebenezer for
over twenty-five year! Since Pastor
Danielson was serving both churches, and
made his home in Norwich, students
continued to have charge of the services
at Ebenezer. By 1895 it was felt that
Willimantic should have its own pastor.
Rev. Danielson resigned and Rev. Martin
Blumberg was called from the Augustana
Theological Seminary in Rock Island,
Illinois. He arrived in 1896 and
remained until 1898. In all probability
financial restraints and other factors
made the joint pastorate again advisable
and the decision to do so was made in
1899. Rev. J.A. Broden arrived in 1900
and remained for seven years, making his
home in Willimantic (on Lewiston Ave.
and Oak St.). In January 1904 Rev.
Broden reported that the “new trolley
line to Willimantic made it possible to
hold services every Sunday in both
churches.” This dual pastorate continued
almost without interruption until
Ebenezer built its own parsonage. The
Church voted to cease sharing a minister
with the church of Norwich and Rev. Carl
Brostrom became a full-time pastor at
Ebenezer.
And so it
went, with Faith and optimism Ebenezer
began and continued until it now
celebrated its 100th anniversary.
When
Disaster Struck
While
we have some records regarding the
disastrous fire which struck the church
spire on Sunday evening, August 27,
1916, some actual quotes from the
Willimantic Chronicle on the Monday
following were especially interesting to
the historical committee and we felt
warranted recording it for you.
“An electrical storm accompanied by
heavy rain swept over the towns of
Eastern Connecticut yesterday afternoon
and gave Willimantic and the adjoining
towns one of the worst storms or the
season. Great damage was done and as far
as is known this morning no less than
three buildings were burned to the
ground and one church partially
destroyed by fire….The storm started at
the New York state lien at about 5
0’clock and reached her about 6:30.
Inside the fifteen minutes the storm was
at its height and it lasted on hour and
a half. During the time the lightening
was very vivid and the rain fell in
torrents and the streets at the foot of
the hill section of the city were
covered with sand and debris to the
depth of about a foot
During the storm the spire of the
Swedish Lutheran Church was set on fire
but the hard work of the fire department
assisted by the heavy rains, the
adjoining buildings were saved. The
church was gutted….At exactly seven
o’clock an alarm of fire was rung in,
but it came fro two boxes and there was
confusion at the various hose houses.
(One such hose house on the North side
of Summit Street at the top of the hill
still exists even though it has been
converted to various uses since it no
longer functioned for the fire
department)….The church was struck at
6:45 p.m., the bolt striking the top of
the spire and in a shore time it was
ablaze.
The
Hilltops arrived first, hauling their
apparatus by hand. Fire lines were
played on the fire, one from the rear,
one from the upper steps of the
adjoining building, one from the north
side of the building, and two on the
spire. The fire at first was in the
steeple and reached the blind attic over
the auditorium. This caused the firemen
considerable trouble and it wasn’t until
the ladders were brought in from the
hook and ladder truck and placed into
position that the firemen could get
water into the low attic. When this was
done the fire was under control.
At one time
it was thought that what was left of the
spire might topple over onto the
building close by. Before the fire
department arrived the home of Andrew
Johnson right across Oak Street was in
great danger….A strong wind had blown
large embers on the roof and lawn.
Neighbors secured a ladder and with a
garden hose kept the roof wet down and
with the assistance of the rain the
building was saved.
At the time the bolt struck church
preparations for the evening service
were being made. The Janitor, Ernest
Johnson, had the church lighted and with
him were Rev. F.A. Petterson of Norwich
and John Carlson of Baltic. Rev. Mr.
Petterson received a slight shock when
the bolt of lightening struck….
The church is badly damaged by fire and
water. (It is interesting to note that
our pews were originally light oak, but
the water darkened them to the extent
that they had to be stained-hence our
dark pews). The steeple still stands but
will have to be taken down. The attic is
gutted and in places the roof was burned
through. The auditorium and Sunday
School room in the basement is in bad
shape as a result of the great amount of
water used. The church was built in
1893. The damage is estimated to be
about $3,500 and is partially covered by
insurance. The loss will be felt
considerable by the Swedish Lutheran
congregation which is small. By hard
work the church had the building and
furnishings nearly paid for. A new piano
recently installed in the church was
destroyed by water.”
Ebenezer Picks Up and Goes On
A committee
elected for the rebuilding of the church
edifice consisted of Algot B. Clauson,
Alfred Johnson and Fred Skoglund.
Unfortunately, Mr. Clauson was
accidentally killed in an automobile
accident in December, in the midst of
the work. Mr. Ernest C. Johnson was
elected to take his place. Much of the
work was done gratis so the expense was
cut down considerably. The work was
completed in time to hold the Christmas
Martin services in the rebuilt church.
We are well aware of the old adage “no
great loss without some small gain.”
This could well be the case regarding
the church fire. It was at the time of
rebuilding our cathedral windows was
installed. Would we ever have had it
otherwise?...Food for thought.
The
Saga of the Church Bells
While
most of us assume that congregations at
EBENEZER have always been called to
worship by the ringing of the church
bell, such is actually not the case. For
years there was no bell and for a long
time many felt there was really
something missing—a belfry, but no bell.
It was
the generosity of John Kozelka that
“started the bell roll.” First, he had
access to a bell froma locomotive. It
was installed, but the resulting sound
seemed to tell the parishioners to hurry
or they would miss the train—not
worship. John tried again. The second
effort was a bell from a buoy—but again,
he didn’t want the worshippers to be
alerted to an impeding storm rather than
a church service!
The third try was successful! Mr.
Kozelka found “just the ticket” on Cape
Cod and alerted the church members to
its availability—only transportation was
needed and it was ours! This was
the early ‘60’s. A willing threesome
came forward. Oxel “Olie” Olson said he
was willing to take his new pick-up
truck, Walter “Oscar” Clauson offered to
help and Agnes Olson probably said to
herself, “Why not…maybe the men will
need some encouragement.”
It was
an uneventful trip to Cape Cod. John,
who had his restaurant business there at
the time, met them and the loaded the
bell. All went well and little attention
was paid the three as they started home
with their treasure. However, it was in
Fall River that people did take a second
look! It seems the road through Fall
River had its ups and own and each time
they came to a gully the bell would go
“dong!” There was no way for it to emit
a “ding,” just the guttural “dong” again
and again, much to the amusement of the
three truck occupants!
They arrived in Willimantic all in one
piece. The Johnson “boys” rigged up some
bock and falls; they took the louvers
out of the belfry, tied the bell
securely so it wouldn’t scrap the church
building and maneuvered the bell onto
the prepared platform. It has nicely
“dinged” and “donged” at EBENEZER ever
since. A debt of gratitude is due John
Kozelka for his persistence and
generosity, to the three adventurers who
made the successful trip to Cape and to
all those whose ingenuity made its
successful berth possible!
Ebenezer Picks Up and Goes On
Steps Along
The Way
1889 November 17th the church was
organized
1890 Ebenezer was received into the
Evangelical Augustana Synod
1892 Land was purchased at the corner of
Oak and Summit Streets for a church
building
1893 Rev. J.G. Danielson was called as
the first pastor of the congregation
The Young People’s Society
(later known as Luther League) was
organized
Sunday School was organized
1894 The church building was completed
and dedicated
1896 Rev. Martin Blumberg was called as
the first pastor to serve Ebenezer alone
1899 Ebenezer returned to sharing a
pastor with Salem Lutheran Church with
the calling of Rev. Nils Gibson
1900 Returned to a joint pastorate with
Rev. J.A. Broden serving both churches
(possible because of a
trolley line between the two
cities)
1910 Property at 75 Summit Street was
purchased 1916 August 27th, church
building was struck by
lightening
1920 Women was granted equal voting
rights in the congregation
1938 Rev. John Burman was installed as
pastor. (Members of Ebenezer remained
safe during the severe
hurricane on September 21st
1939 Ebenezer celebrated its 50th
anniversary
1954 It was voted to build a parsonage
on the property at 75 Summit Street
1956 Parsonage was completed and
dedicated
1957 Pastor Carl Brostrom, who served
both churches and lived in Norwich, was
called to be our full-time
pastor and we ceased sharing a
minister with Salem Lutheran Church in
Norwich
1963 The congregation adopted the
constitution of the Lutheran Church in
America
1964 On September 20th it was voted to
join with St. John Lutheran Church in
Brooklyn and call a pastor
who would serve both
congregations
1965 Pastor David Halmers was called
1971 Again voted to cease sharing a
pastor and Pastor Lawrence Wogman was
called
1976 Initial vote to recommend to the
congregation at its annual meeting that
a church addition be built and
that an architect be hired to
draw up the plans
1977 Church wing was completed and
dedicated
1979 Pastor Bruce A. Steinway was called
1982 Decision made and funds provided
for the elimination of one stairway
access to the sanctuary,
providing additional space at
the rear of the sanctuary and an
additional Sunday School room (or
nursery) on lower level
Pastor Michael R. Lohmann was
called
1984 Our Hammond organ, installed in
1946, “unexpectedly expired” on Easter
Sunday. A successful fund
drive followed, a contract with
Associated Organ Builders was entered
into, and a new organ was
installed before the end of the
year
1985 Voted at a special congregational
meeting in April to install siding on
the parsonage
1989 Pastor Cheryl L. Lawsen is called
2004 Pastor Scott Bartlett is called
