[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 103 (Thursday, July 22, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1480]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 TRIBUTE TO THE BETHANY LUTHERAN CHURCH

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                            HON. BART STUPAK

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 22, 2004

  Mr. STUPAK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of a church in 
my district that has recently passed a remarkable milestone. On July 
11, the members of the Bethany Lutheran Church in Isabella, Michigan 
celebrated their congregation's 100th anniversary. For a century, the 
Bethany Lutheran Church has been a place of worship, prayer, and 
fellowship for the people of this small farming community in Michigan's 
Upper Peninsula.
  On July 11, 1904, what was then the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran 
Church held its first meeting at the home of John Wester in Isabella. 
This first service was conducted by a seminarian, J.J. Youngren, who 
used Matthew 5:20-26 for his sermon. Reflecting the heritage of the 
community, Swedish was the primary language of the congregation for its 
first twenty years.
  On December 26, 1904, the church's first ordained pastor, Reverend 
K.M. Holmberg, held his first service, using John 1:1-14 as the basis 
for his sermon. The following spring, the church purchased a half acre 
of land from one of its members, Mr. Jacob Carlson, where the church 
building stands to this day. By 1906, the church's Secretary, Mr. 
Martin Nyquist, was planning for the church building, and construction 
began on May 31, 1908. The church architect and chief carpenter was 
Fred Magnuson.
  Just over four years later, on July 14, 1912, the congregation 
attended the first service in the church's new home. Though there have 
been a number of improvements to the building, the congregation of the 
Bethany Lutheran Church still meets each Sunday in that original 
structure.
  Mr. Speaker, much has changed in the Bethany Lutheran Church's first 
century. Always a small congregation, the church's membership has waxed 
and waned over the years from the original 39 members to the 17 of 
today. It has also received the guidance and leadership of a number of 
pastors from Reverend Holmberg to the current pastor, Reverend David 
Hueter. But throughout these changes, the members of the Bethany 
Lutheran Church have been true to their faith and to each other.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that the House join me in congratulating the 
Bethany Lutheran Church and its members on their first 100 years as a 
community of faith, and in wishing them well in their next 100.

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