The Church Finns
The Church Finns
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From the book Finnish-Americans in War and Peace.
Copyright 2015 Rainer Långstedt.
Built in 1878, the Union Free Church Association of North Van Etten’s charter declared that anyone of Christian faith could use the building. On December 2, 1913, approximately 50 Finnish-Americans gathered for a church service. At a meeting following the service, a Lutheran congregation was formally created. The church was named St. Johns. Services were led by traveling Finnish-speaking pastors until 1924 when a full-time pastor was hired. By 1923, there were only four Suomi Synod Finnish language congregations in New York State. After Brooklyn and Harlem, the Van Etten congregation was the third largest in the state. It had 28 men, 23 women, and 55 children totaling 102 members .22 The North Van Etten Church was the only church in the area in which Finnish was spoken. This attracted Finnish-Americans from a wide area, including Spencer.23 The Van Etten church is in occasional use in 2022, and is in good repair. The graveyard surrounding the church is well cared for. Most of the names on the gravestones are Finnish.
A by-product of Lutheran and atheist Finns buying many of the farms in the area was the dwindling memberships of Baptist and Methodist church congregations in Spencer. The two congregations merged in 1924, forming the Federated Church and holding their services in the Baptist Church building. With the Methodist Church vacant, an agreement was reached between the Lutherans and its former inhabitants allowing the Lutherans to hold their services in the church. The minister from North Van Etten served both churches.24 Services were alternately held in Finnish and English in either church, allowing members of the congregation to select their preferred language for the service.25
The Spencer Finns formed their own congregation on July 25, 1934, becoming St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church.
Built in 1828, the Methodist-owned church in which the Finns held their services was already over 100 years old. In February of 1935, the church was, effectively, donated to the Lutherans, the Methodists charging them one dollar for the structure.26
The Lutheran church became a hub for Finnish cultural events, and its pastors became leaders in the Finnish community. During the Winter War, Pastor Frank Pelkonen traveled far and wide in support of Finland. Members of the church made presentations to arouse support for the Finnish cause, traveling at least as far as Corning, New York.
After a few decades of services held in both Finnish and English, by 1956, it was difficult to find Finnish/English-speaking bilingual pastors. Thereafter, services were held in English. After dividing into two congregations for around three decades, the Spencer and Van Etten Lutheran congregations merged in 1962 using the St. Paul’s Evangelical Church in Spencer. The former Lutheran church in Van Etten was later used for a while by Finns who belonged to an Apostolic Lutheran sect called the Laestadians.27
Author’s Post Script: St. Paul’s congregation was dissolved in December 2021.
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