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History of Our Our
Savior Lutheran Church was organized as a sister congregation of Zion
Lutheran Church of Crookston, Nebraska.
In October 1963, This
building is one of the oldest landmarks in Valentine. It was built out of native stone cut from
one of the stone quarries near Valentine.
The first service held in the building was on October 7, 1888. The cornerstone was laid July 24, 1894 and
it was dedicated as a The
first worship service was held on October 10, 1965, with Pastor Dorr of
Crookston conducting the service.
Margaret Ohlmann served as pianist.
Attendance at the first service was 64 worshipers. Sunday school attendance under the
organization of Mrs. Harlan Glanzer was 15 children. Teachers included Marilyn Carr, Inez
Cochran, Viola Lovejoy, and Ellen Glanzer. The
organizational meeting of the Valentine Lutheran Mission, Missouri Synod was
held at the W.I.C. building on Sunday, November 14, 1965. It was decided to lease the building for
$750.00 a year and services would be held every Sunday with Pastor Dorr
conducting the services. Officers
elected were Chairman: Lorenz (Shorty) Ohlmann; Vice-chairman: Walter
Ohlmann; Secretary: James Carr; Treasurer: Harlan Glanzer; Evangelism Chairs:
Mr. and Mrs. Dean Jochem; and Social Welfare Chairman: Mrs. William D. Sheets. Transferring
from Zion Crookston and charter members were:
Darrell and Bonnie Copeland and Fred; James and Marilyn Carr and
Carrie, Don and Inez Cochran, Peggy and Mike; Tim and Patty Colburn, Pam and Tammy; Walt and Maxine Lucht; Kathy and
Rodney Brown; Otis and Viola Lovejoy and Maurice; Lorenz and Faye Ohlmann; Walter
and Margaret Ohlmann; Darrel and Sally Sheets, Joyce, Lois, and Richard;
Harlan and Ellen Glanzer, Joan and Janet; Duane and Joan Singass;
Sandi Ormesher, Jacqueline, Susan, and Mark; J.D.
Ross; and Viola Deutsch, Velva Jean, Larry and Patricia. The
first confirmands of the new church were Patricia Deutsch, Mindy Meier, and
Kathy Lucht. The first two baptisms
were Fred and Cindy Copeland, children of Mr. and Mrs. Darrell Copeland. The
official membership count on November 15, 1967 was 48 baptized and 28
communicant members. In August, 1966
the Voters were offered options for a name for the new congregation. They were Our Savior, Faith, and Trinity. “Our Savior” was selected on August
28. The proposed budget for 1966 was
$1,610. Many
generous donations were received to make worship at the new church more
pleasing. The altar, pulpit, and
lectern were donated by an Paneling
was installed behind the altar. The
sanctuary was also painted at a cost of $271 and carpeting was
installed. None of this would have
been possible without the many donated hours of labor. On
April 27, 1966 a meeting was held by women interested in forming an
auxiliary. Pastor Dorr and nine women
were present. Purposes of the
organization were discussed and officers were elected. President: Patty Colburn; Vice-president:
Sandi Ormesher; Secretary/Treasurer: Joan Singass. The name
Priscilla Guild was chosen and a constitution was drawn up and approved. The group became a member of the Nebraska
North District LWML in May 1968 and officially recognized at the fall rally
in September. The
Constitution organizing Our Savior Lutheran Church was drawn up and presented
to the congregation on December 4, 1966 and was signed by the Voters on
February 16, 1969 after approval from District. In
October 1967 a proposal was presented to the Voters to purchase the building
from W.I.C. The proposal was to
purchase the building and contents for a total of $25,000 with rent received
for the prior two years applied, making the total due $23,000. In January 1968 the Voters authorized
Walter Ohlmann and Don Cochran to proceed with the purchase. The building was officially purchased on
November 1, 1969 with a loan from the Nebraska District. In
August 1969 Pastor Dorr was called by Synod to serve the deaf. Pastors Renee Corcoran of On
July 26, 1970 the building was dedicated with Pastor M.T. Duchow,
former Pastor of Zion, Crookston, as the guest speaker. Services were held at 8:00 p.m. with a
reception following. New front doors
were installed in memory of Walter Ohlmann.
Pastor Michael Simminger accepted the call
to In
1971 the Voters discussed the possibility of purchasing or leasing a
parsonage. Pastor
Donald Patterson was installed as pastor of the dual parish on March 19,
1972. He served until February 2, 1975
when he accepted a call to At
a joint Voters meeting it was determined that a parsonage for the dual parish
should be established in Valentine. A
loan was obtained from LCEF and the home located at A
special celebration was held on October 12, 1975 to recognize 10 years of
services at Our Savior with the annual Mission Festival. This involved both congregations. Guest speaker for the occasion was Pastor
Donald Reed of Our Savior, Pastor
Douglas Haynes accepted the call to the dual parish and was installed on
March 14, 1976. Paneling was installed
in the church basement and cabinets were donated and installed in the kitchen
in 1977. Extensive painting was also
done. In
1978 the base salary for the Pastor was set at $10,200. The steeple was painted in September
1978. Boyer Tree Service of The
Charismatic movement in 1979 directly affected Our Savior membership. Loss of membership on August 2, 1979 was a
total of 13. Pastor
Haynes accepted a call to After
two years of vacancy, Pastor Douglas Fusselman was
ordained and installed as Pastor of the joint congregation on July 25,
1982. Participating in the ordination
service were Dr. Eldor Meyer, Nebraska District
President, and Pastor Martin Hoyer, First Vice President. Also participating were Pastor Jerry Meyer,
circuit counselor, Vicar Thomas St. Jean, and Pastor Georg Williams. Dinner was served in Valentine after the
ordination service, with an evening service held in Crookston. Pastor
Fusselman’s arrival meant an increased emphasis on
Bible Study. A ladies’ group, called
the Pam
Fusselman, a very talented musician with a degree
in music education, used her talents to add to the special music of worship
services. Selections from the Easter
Cantata “Alive” were presented by joint choirs of Pastor
Fusselman began teacher a class on Sunday evenings
in September 1982. There were nine
families in attendance. Marriage
enrichment classes were added. Family
fun events were organized and included a snow ski trip to the Black Hills,
water skiing and boating at Merritt Dam, tubing the In
an attempt to better serve members of both congregations, a three-hour
worship schedule was adopted. This
included a catechism class and/or matins at 9:00, followed by the worship
service. This was followed by Sunday
School and Bible Class. Because of
distance involved and the inconvenience of the early morning times, both
congregations agreed to drop the dual parish agreement and become separate
parishes. Pastor Fusselman
was granted a release from On
Sunday, October 18, 1987, Iddo Heinike
from the Nebraska District presented a gift of $10,000 as incentive to
purchase a future building site. A
committee was formed to find a location.
Property consisting of 3.8 acres located in the northeast part of town
was later purchased at a cost of $12,000.
A gift of $5,000 was later received. A
group of seniors was formed in 1988.
This group met at lunchtime at the local In
July 1988, a special celebration was held in recognition for the 6 years
served by Pastor and Pam Fusselman. A surprise dinner was held at the Redecoration
of the Sanctuary took place during 1988 and 1989. The church walls were painted, pews were
varnished, a new dorsal curtain was hung, and an oak pulpit and altar were
built by Lloyd Lenz of Pastor
Fusselman’s family had outgrown the parsonage and
the home needed repair. A study was
conducted and options were discussed.
The house was then sold to the Fusselmans
for $31,000. Proceeds were used to
retire the LCEF loan of $14,000 and a one-time equity allowance of $7,000 was
paid to Pastor Fusselman. Our
Savior celebrated 25 years of service in Valentine on October 14, 1990 with
Pastor Paul Dorr and the guest speaker.
Membership varied throughout the 25 years, beginning with 48 baptized
and 28 communicant members to 188 baptized and 141 communicants in 1990. Average attendance at that time was
100. A Monday evening worship service
was added on November 5th of that year to serve those who were unable to
attend Sunday worship services. During
this time Marilyn Ohlmann was organist. The
strength of the congregation was severely tested during the next several
years. Average attendance and,
consequently, offerings became a concern.
Discussion did continue regarding the building of a new church. A proposal to apply for a grant for
architect fees was passed. Due
to the deaths of several members of the congregation, substantial funds were
received during this time; however, most of these were allocated to the
building fund. New hymnals were
purchased in 1991 with funds from the Edna Heinert
memorial fund. During
the next several years membership remained fairly constant; however,
attendance and support of the church gradually declined. A series of meetings was held with members
of the congregation and circuit counselor, Pastor Georg Williams, in an
effort to resolve the problems. As of
December 31, 1996 there were 143 baptized members and 111 communicants;
however only for or five families were attending services. On
October 19, 1997 another building site was purchased in the City Third
Addition for $22,500. It was
anticipated the original land site purchased in 1987 could be sold. At
a special congregational meeting in October 1997, Pastor Fusselman
was given his release from Our Savior. Pastor
Andrew Utecht began serving the congregation in November 1997. Pastor Utecht, a missionary for the Rosebud
area, was active in doing puppet shows.
Noon
bible studies were held on Thursdays for women. Later, studies were added for the men. This group alternated with the women. The “Black Shirts” On
March 27, 2000 work was started on shingling the roof and revamping the
steeple. Shingles were removed, but it
wasn’t until a year later that replacement of the shingles started. Metal shingles that were hunter green in
color were used to cover the lower area of the steeple. White shingles were used to surround the
bell area, and copper-colored shingles were used for the top of the
steeple. A cross was placed at the
very top of the steeple. The
scaffolding was removed shortly after Easter; however, the steeple was not
completed until June 2001. It was at
this time that the land for the original building site was sold, with
proceeds of the sale invested in LCEF. With
all of the positive things happening both within the church through bible
studies and VBS, and to the structure of the church building, attendance was
improving. Still, many of the former
members did not return. During
this time a full-time organist was not available. Michelle Tetherow played the organ when
available, but the congregation frequently found itself without an
organist. Jeff McQuistan and his
family moved to Valentine in 2001, and he became our organist. His wife, Lori, also a very talented
musician, has given of her talents.
The Christmas Eve programs have been the beneficiary of both of their
talents. In
November 2002 a “new” 90-year-old pipe organ was purchased from Holy Cross
Lutheran Church, Kearney, which had to be disassembled, transported, and
reassembled in the loft of the church.
Prior to assembly, extensive work needed to be done to loft. The front half of the loft floor had to be
leveled (because the floor sloped from the back wall to the railing), the
railing had to be raised, and new electric wiring had to be installed. The organ itself also had to have
electronic upgrading and once assembled, had to be professionally tuned. The organ was dedicated in a special
evening service in January 2003. In
2004, the roof of the church was replaced with metal shingles to match the
steeple. Hunter green shingles were
used for the majority of the roof, with copper-colored shingles used on the
dormer windows. Later, the gutters and
downspouts were also replaced. In
August 2005, the congregation decided to undergo a major remodeling project
in preparation for its 40th anniversary.
Billy Beel removed the existing ceiling, insulated, and replaced it
with a wooden ceiling. New light fixtures were also installed. The aisle and altar carpeting was
replaced. The dorsal curtain was also
removed and replaced with a new wooden cross, crafted by Terry Hunt. Membership
of the church continued to grow through 2005.
As of September 30 there were 102 communicant members and 36 baptized
members. Our Savior celebrated its 40th anniversary in an afternoon service
on October 30, 2005. The
circular stained glass window above the altar that had been removed by the
Methodists when they moved to their new location was replaced with a new
stained glass window in 2006. The new
window, designed specifically for the congregation, features Luther’s Rose at
its center, with the rest of the design complementing the existing stained
glass windows of the church. Also in 2006, the congregation purchased a
Yamaha Clavinova keyboard to replace the acoustic piano in the sanctuary and
also purchased copies of Lutheran
Service Book, the new Lutheran hymnal. In
2006 the Voters decided to repair the north exterior wall of the church. Some of the stone fascia was coming loose
and falling off causing a safety hazard.
Additionally, the emergency doors and fire escape were in need of
replacement. During
the summers of 2006 and 2007 the congregation supported bringing a seminary
student to serve a summer vicarage at Our Savior, mainly to assist Pastor
Utecht with summer VBS at Valentine, Rosebud, Parmelee, Norris, and
Porcupine. Nathan Fuehrer from Fort Wayne Seminary served during the summer
of 2006 and half of summer 2007. In
addition to assisting Pastor with VBS, Nathan led a weekly Bible Study and
assisted with the worship service.
During the last part of summer 2007, Kristy Ring, an LCMS Deaconess,
assisted Pastor by presenting the children’s message during the worship
service and by preparing an informational outreach pamphlet. Kristy
Ring returned during 2008 and continued work with Pastor Utecht in Indian
Missions as well as assisting with Vacation Bible School and Youth
Group. An internet website for Our
Savior was developed in 2008—oursaviorvalentine.org. A new Christmas Tree was presented to Our
Savior Lutheran Church by an anonymous donor. A
major remodeling project was completed during 2009. The main floor level of the north addition
was remodeled, creating a new fellowship hall with kitchen and two
restrooms. Additionally, a pamphlet
rack was installed in the main entry. In
partnership with Zion-Crookston, it was decided to call a vicar to serve both
congregations, beginning June 2010. Gerry
Weaver accepted the call, and will perform pastoral duties at Crookston in
addition to assisting Pastor Utecht.
Our Savior created a Facebook page to expand outreach and
communication efforts. In
2011 Bud Stolzenburg attended Peacemakers training
at Seward and then conducted a training for four
couples in the congregation. The
church pews were reconditioned by Cornhusker State Industries. The Voters decided to add a part-time
church secretary. Michelle Garwood was
hired and will work 3 hours a week.
Job responsibilities will include a church newsletter, filing, and
scheduling. |