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Written by previous Pastors |
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| | The history of the Troy Lutheran Church starts with Swedish pioneer settlers coming to Troy in 1883 and 1884. The first service was held in the home of Paul Smith in the fall of 1885 with Pastor Peter Carlson preaching. Since there was no building for services and no home for the pastor, the pastor was only asked to preach every fourth Sunday. By 1886, the pioneers had organized the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Westdala Church. On May 31, 1891, the congregation decided to build a church and held their first service on New Year’s Day, 1892. In 1895 through 1914, many enormous changes were made to the church. In 1899 a tract of land was secured on Burnt Ridge for a cemetery, which was named Westdala Lutheran Cemetery, but by 1950 the name was changed to Burnt Ridge Cemetery. In 1901, lots were donated to the church by O.A. Johnson which was used as ground where the church now stands. The building was officially moved over by 1902. That same year several renovations were made to the church’s interior and exterior including the addition of a church bell. In 1907 an addition to the church and a parsonage was built. At first the church belonged to the parish of First Lutheran Church in Moscow and was served by their pastors, but also, in 1907, a separation was effected and since then the Troy church called its own pastors.
Finally in 1914, a basement under the church-building was made. Throughout the 1900’s membership numbers were over 100 members with most of the time over half of the members were children.
Troy’s Norwegian Lutheran Church, Trinity Lutheran had a majority of their members joining the Westdala congregation and due to financial problems in 1949; the building was donated to Westdala and eventually torn down. Because the community could not support two congregations, the care of the church was put under Augusta Lutheran Church. In 1950, the church name was changed to Troy Evangelical Lutheran Church and in 1962; the churches were officially merged once again changing the name to Troy Lutheran Church. By then, the Troy Lutheran church was the only “Swedish” congregation in the area.
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Now and Then |
| Throughout history, several organizations have been a major part of the church’s changes. In 1897, The Women’s Society put new pews in the church, selling the old ones for twenty-five cents each. The Naomi and Pricilla Circle was formed in 1963, where the women supported the missionary of the church through Bible studies, cleaning, potlucks, coffee hours, and of course the infamous quilts. The Altar Guild was also another one the women’s committee’s which included changing the vestments and paraments, and preparing the altar for sacraments. A group called Concordia was organized in 1903, which involved several youth in the area. Their projects included painting the church, fixing up the parsonage, building floats for parades, and the purchasing of many objects used in the church and the church services. In 1939, a Vacation Bible School was conducted for over seventy children, which still continues to this day. Boys in the 7th and 8th grades served as acolytes in the late 1950’s, but by 1966, the first girl served as an acolyte and now all boys and girls in grade five through eight continuously serve. Lutheran Brotherhood was organized in the 1940’s for the men of the church and it functioned until 1960. They met monthly and sponsored Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts and in 1946 they constructed a bell tower for Camp Lutherhaven on Coeur d’Alene Lake.
With so many children attending the services a Sunday school was started in 1893 and has functioned continuously since. It has remained a vital part of the congregation as emphasized in one minister’s annual message, “The only commission given to the church is to teach...Remember we are teaching.
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| At our church we regularly participate in activities that involve everyone and our community. |
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