SALINA, KS (December 30, 2002) – Glenn R. Palmberg, president of the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC), will preach during the morning worship services on February 9 as First Covenant Church in Salina begins its celebration of 125 years of ministry.
The congregation will host its official celebration weekend from April 3-6 with a number of guest speakers. An April 3 congregational celebration will include Midwest Conference Supt. Kenneth Carlson. Jim Hawkinson, retired executive director of the Department of Communication, will speak at a banquet on April 5. And on April 6, Donn Engebretson, executive vice president of the ECC, will preach during morning worship services. Don Meyer, executive minister of the Department of Communication, will speak on January 19.
First Covenant Church was organized April 10, 1878, as the Swedish Evangelical Mission Lutheran Church. The congregation’s first permanent building was erected the same year. Church records credit John A. Nelson as founder of the church. The church didn’t have a full-time pastor until 1894, although a layperson named August Nelson often served in that capacity, according to church records. Carl Peterson became the first pastor in 1894. In 1905, the church joined the denomination as the Swedish Evangelical Mission Church.
First Covenant Church, under pastor Dan Pietrzyk, averages more than 730 in worship attendance. It is one of three ECC congregations celebrating 125th anniversaries in 2003, according to Covenant Yearbook statistics. The others are Emmanuel Mission Church in Kane, Pennsylvania, and the Evangelical Covenant Church of Paxton, Illinois.
For more information about First Covenant and its anniversary events, call 785-823-8110. The church web page may be found at www.firstcovenantsalina.org.
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