Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Ljunghed Church, Albert City, Iowa, 1913.
Founded in 1873, the congregation changed its name to Our Savior's Lutheran Church in 1946. The church building pictured above was constructed in 1905 as the congregation's second edifice. It was torn down in 1955 to make way for the congregation’s third building, which was completed in 1956. The congregation now has 518 members.
St. John Lutheran Church, Farmersburg, Iowa, ca. 1957.
Originally an Iowa Synod congregation, organized in 1900, it now has 343 members.
Cambridge Lutheran Church, Cambridge, Ill., ca. 1905.
This congregation was a member of the Augustana Synod and was established in 1875. The 1855 building pictured above was purchased from a Congregational congregation in 1875. In 1898 the building was raised to include a basement. The picture above probably dates from 1905 after the building underwent extensive remodeling. Other remodeling efforts include a 1956 effort that changed the entrance area. The current membership is 563.
Zion Lutheran Church, Loogootee, Ill., 15 miles southeast of Vandalia, ca.
1903.
Organized in 1852, the congregation was originally a member of the General
Synod. The congregation's original building was constructed in 1861 and
located 2.5 miles west of the future site of Loogootee. Construction on
the building pictured above in Loogootee was begun in 1902; it was
dedicated in May 1903. Current membership is 140.
Fron Lutheran Church, four miles west and
two north of Roslyn, S.D., ca. 1975.
Established in 1886, the
congregation joined the United Norwegian Lutheran Church when that body
was formed in 1890. The congregation's original building, built in 1890,
was destroyed by fire in 1942. The replacement building, pictured above,
was built on the same site from 1943-1945. Fron now has 159 members.
Today less than a quarter of rural counties in the U.S. depend upon farming as their primary source of income. Farming-dependent counties are home to only nine percent of the rural population. Non-metropolitan areas have grown in recent years through immigration, presenting another challenge for the rural congregation.
First Swedish Lutheran Church, Galesburg, Ill., ca. 1870.
Home to an Augustana Synod congregation organized in 1851, the first church building, pictured above after later enlargement, was constructed in 1851. New facilities were constructed for the congregation in 1868-69 and 1922-28. Currently the congregation has 846 members.
St. John Lutheran Church, Fort Wayne,
Ind., ca. 1965.
Located six miles northwest of
Fort Wayne, St. John's was founded in 1877 as a member of the Joint Synod
of Ohio and a daughter congregation of St. John's Lutheran Church in Fort
Wayne. The congregation's original building was constructed in 1882. The
replacement building, pictured above, was constructed in 1909. The
congregation currently has 678 members.