[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 17166]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             A TRIBUTE TO HILL AVENUE GRACE LUTHERAN CHURCH

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                          HON. ADAM B. SCHIFF

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 8, 2009

  Mr. SCHIFF. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Hill Avenue Grace 
Lutheran Church of Pasadena, California. The church is celebrating its 
ninetieth anniversary with a year-long series of celebrations 
commemorating the church's significant history in Pasadena.
  In 1914, Martha Thompson, Laura Tallakson, Christiana Ellingson, and 
Thea Thompson, members of a small Norwegian-speaking Lutheran 
congregation in Pasadena, founded the ``Dorcas Club.'' The group grew 
steadily over the next few years and dedicated itself to forming an 
officially recognized mission church and in 1919, the United Lutheran 
Synod Church was established. The new church, with its first pastor, 
N.B. Thorpe presiding, held services in a storefront building on Lake 
Avenue in Pasadena. In 1923 the congregation purchased a church 
building at Mountain Street and Summit Avenue in Pasadena. Under the 
leadership of Pastor W.J. Maakestad, the church's name was changed to 
Grace Lutheran Church, and in 1926, church services changed from 
Norwegian to English.
  By the late 1940s, after years of growth under Pastor Joseph Berg, 
the church needed more space, so the congregation built a new, larger 
church on Hill Avenue in Pasadena and changed the name to Hill Avenue 
Grace Lutheran Church. In 1966, the church was extensively remodeled, 
and the Sanctuary was rededicated under longtime Pastor Amon Johnson. 
Since then, Hill Avenue Grace Lutheran Church has continued to grow, 
adding a preschool and a new chapel, among other expansions.
  Today, under the leadership of Pastor Anthony Auer, Hill Avenue Grace 
Lutheran Church is not only a vibrant Lutheran congregation but a 
dedicated community servant. Among its many other programs, church 
members run a weekly Food Shelf, help staff the Cold Weather Shelter, 
provide food vouchers for underprivileged students at Pasadena City 
College, and sew quilts and knit prayer shawls as part of the Prayers 
and Squares program. Alongside other Pasadena-area Lutheran churches, 
Hill Avenue Grace Lutheran Church has participated in operating Jacob 
House, a day shelter for homeless teens and adults, and Rachel House, a 
day shelter for women with children. The church also runs the Grace 
Christian Academy, a K-8 school dedicated to academic, social, 
physical, and spiritual growth.
  I consider it a great privilege to represent Hill Avenue Grace 
Lutheran Church and I ask all Members to join me in congratulating the 
congregation upon their 90th anniversary.

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