About Our Congregation

Location

Our Savior Lutheran Church is located at the corner of Second and Pine Streets, one block west of Dixie Highway (Illinois Routes 1/17).

Brief History

Our Savior Lutheran Church was formed in 1891. The congregation was once a member of The Evangelical Lutheran Church (also known as the "Norwegian Synod", now part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America after a series of mergers). Unlike many Lutheran congregations in Kankakee County, Illinois, Our Savior Lutheran Church is a Lutheran congregation of Danish heritage.

Here is a picture of our former church building on the corner of Gladiolus and Indiana Streets on the south side of Momence in 1897. The building is now home to Cranky Mike's Popcorn.

Our Savior congregation left the "Norwegian Synod" and joined The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod in September of 1930. The original church building was severely damaged in a fire on December 17, 1934 and was later sold to the Momence Christian Reformed Church. The congregation worshiped in a storefront on West Washington Street until purchasing a home and lot on the corner of Second and Pine Streets. Many building materials from the home were recycled to build the new church building.

The current church building was built in the fall and winter of 1942 and 1943...in the midst of World War Two.

In the spring of 1942 the congregation sent a letter to the War Productions Board. This was the board charged with the responsibility to make exceptions to the laws that said that all available building materials were to be used for the war effort. The director of the General Office of Products Management was General William S. Knudsen, former president of the Chevrolet Division of General Motors, as well as a member of a Missouri Synod congregation in Detroit, MI. The congregation appealed for a permit to purchase electrical wiring, lumber, and 300 pounds of nails. A letter dated July 23, 1942 granted the necessary waivers. Construction soon began.

The cornerstone was laid October 25, 1942. The building was dedicated April 4, 1943 with three services at 10 A.M., 3 P.M., and 7:45 P.M. Pastor Louis O. Walper preached the 10 A.M. service with Pastor Carl Haller of St. Paul's, Kankakee delivering an address. Former Pastor D.C. Hennig preached the 3:00 P.M. service. The choir of Trinity Lutheran, Crete, IL sang at the afternoon service. Pastor A.H. Semmann, Mission Counselor of the Northern Illinois District, preached at the Evening Service. The choir of Trinity Lutheran, Crete, IL sang again at the evening service.

Here is a picture of our current building from 1943. The top photo is the original altar taken from the old building on the south side of Momence. It was replaced in the mid-1950s. The side photographs are the interior and exterior of Our Savior Lutheran Church. The large two story home in the exterior photograph was purchased by the congregation in 1980. It is now a rental home, bringing in extra income for the parish. The bottom photograph is Pastor Louis Walper at the cornerstone laying on October 25, 1942.

Pews replaced chairs in the mid-1950s. A new altar and the communion rail was also added. Stained glass windows were added through the 1950s into the early 1960s. New carpeting was laid and a modest renovation of the narthex was completed in time for the congregation's Centennial Celebration in 1991. Pastor Marvin Flanscha, Pastor Christian Adam, and Pastor John Glamann were featured speakers in two special Divine Services.

The building was air-conditioned in 2000. An enlarged narthex with handicapped lift, as well as enlarged bathrooms in the church basement, was built in 2002.

The adjacent parsonage was built in 1955. It served as the pastor's residence until the early 1990s when it was converted to meeting space, the pastor's study, and office space. The parsonage was reconverted from office and meeting space to a parsonage in 2007. A third bedroom, second bathroom, an extended living room, and two closets were added in 2011. During the new addition project, the parsonage received all new plumbing. A renovation of the parsonage great room took place in 2012.

The congregation celebrated her 125th anniversary in August of 2016 with a special afternoon Divine Service featuring Rev. Herbert C. Mueller, First Vice-President of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod as preacher.

The original parsonage bathroom was renovated in the fall of 2020. The church building received new carpeting in the summer and fall of 2021.

Pastors who have served Our Savior Congregation

Rev. Anders C. Olsen 1891-1895

Rev. John N. Andersen 1895-1896

Rev. Hans P. Berthelsen 1897-1905

Rev. Lars P. Hansen 1905-1910

Rev. Claus H. Fechtenburg 1910-1918

Rev. Helmar J. Hansen 1918-1923

Rev. Simon K. Knudson 1924-1926

Rev. Russell E. Anderson 1926-1930

Rev. Daniel C. Hennig 1930-1931 (First Missouri Synod Pastor)

Rev. Frederick A. Graef 1931-1933

Rev. Christian Adam 1934-1938

Rev. Louis O. Walper 1939-1950

Rev. Walter C. Johannes 1951-1953

Rev. Walter C. Kemnitz 1954-1960

Rev. Louis F. Morgal 1960-1965

Rev. Marvin Flanscha 1966-1969

Rev. Dr. W. Gary Pence 1970-1973

Rev. Dr. John V. Glamann 1974-1985

Rev. David L. Simonson 1985-1993

Rev. Dr. Scott A. Bruzek 1993-1997

Rev. Keith E. GeRue 1998-2006

Rev. David M. Juhl 2007-2022