Page:History of Goodhue County, Minnesota.djvu/421

 HISTORY OF GOODHUE COUNTY 1). C. Hill, of Red Wing, was the architect and contractor for 1 he work. In the early summer of the next year the church was finished and consecrated. Its dimensions are: Length, 118 feet; width, 50 feet; side walls, 22 feet high. A parsonage was also erected late in the season of 1869. The whole cost of the new church and parsonage as completed amounted to $31,065.22. The gentlemen to whom belongs the credit of having collected and disbursed the greatest part of this sum is Hon. J. AY. Peterson, who in 1870 became treasurer of the congregation. With the beginning of the year 1868 the pastorate of Red Wing and Vasa was divided. I then resigned the former and retained the latter ; but I did not remove to Vasa before January, 1870. Among the early assistant pastors were : Rev. P. A. Cedarstrom, from 1867 to 1870; Rev. J. Magny, from 1870 to 1871; Rev. A. Anderson, from 1872 to 1873. From 1873, on account of my many duties as president of the synod, I withdrew from the active duties of my pastoral office in the congregation, and the Rev. P. J. Sward, formerly missionary among the seamen at Constantipole, Turkey, and more recently at Baltimore, was elected vice-pastor. Up to 1860 the congregation belonged to the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Northern Illinois. Since that time it 1ms belonged to the Scandinavian Evangelical Lutheran Augusta na Synod of North America." Since 1878 following ministers have had charge of the Swe- dish Evangelical Lutheran church, of Vasa : Rev. T. J. Swarcl, 1878-1886; Rev. E. Norelius. 1886-1888; Rev. J. Fremling, 1889- 1901; Rev. E. Norelius, 1901-1906: Rev. Bernhard Modin, from March, 1906, to present time. Rev. Dr. Norelius has served this congregation in all about 25 years. Living for many years on his own farm, a stone's throw from the church, Dr. Norelius has on several occasions been a happy refuge to whom the con- gregation has gone whenever a vacancy in the ministry has occurred. This, to a great extent, accounts fqr the five terms of office which he has served this congregation since its organ- ization in 1855. A member of the Swedish Lutheran Church of America (The Augustana Synod), Vasa congregation supports, partly, several educational and charitable institutions, home and foreign missions, etc., to the amount of about $1,000 a year. The average annual expense for the last three years has been about $5,700. During these years the congregation has installed a new two-manual pipe organ at a price of $2,300. and several valuable improvements have been made on the church property. The Vasa church con- sists at present of 1,050 members, of whom 750 are communicants. There are about '260 families belonging to the church. The present value of the church property is $27,800.