Central Lutheran Church

 Our Beginnings

The roots of Central Lutheran Church go back to 1911, when the first of the predecessor congregations was organized. Immanuel Lutheran Church was an Augustana Synod congregation, Swedish in background. Four pastors served Immanuel; Pastors Lind, Thoren, Anderson, and Lindquist. Pastor Thoren was killed in an auto accident, dealing a terrible blow to the young congregation. Immanuel had difficulty finding pastors and was served at times by seminary students. This church’s building is located on Spruce Street near Davis High School.

In 1912, Pastor O.C. Hellekson organized St. Luke’s congregation of the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. He was a ‘circuit-rider’, serving also congregations in Kennewick and Toppenish and a preaching point in Grandview. Pastors Fjeldstad and Gulhaugen served St. Luke as well. St. Luke’s building was located at 202 N 3rd Ave.

Pastor Andrew Engeset was ordained in 1916. He came to Yakima that same year and organized Holy Trinity Lutheran Church. The United Lutheran Church, a body of predominantly east-coast German folk, was more Americanized than the Scandinavian churches. It was sometimes called English Lutheran, not because they were people of English ethnicity but because they used the English language to worship. That may also help explain how the ‘German’ congregation had a founding pastors with a Norwegian surname.

The strategy of the ULC was to build a church building and then a congregation. They built a fine stone church at 6th Avenue and Chestnut in 1917, and dedicated it within a year of the young pastor’s ordination. The relatively large Holy Trinity Church was to become the home of the merged congregation, though the Scandinavian congregations were not untroubled about getting a mortgage in the bargain.

Central Emerges

From its inception 1926 in 1951, Central occupied the property at the corners of South Sixth and Chestnut Avenues. The original congregation of 134 charter members was formed from three small congregations. Lutheran Church history was made. Never before in the United States and few time since, have groups of Germans, Swedes, and Norwegians elected to combine into one congregation.

In the church’s membership directory of 1928-1929, Pastor R.H. Norlander, who served the congregation after the merger until 1931 said, “For after all it is not the doctrine, nor the language that separates the Lutheran Church. It is the difference in national traits and individual forms in polity and in religious worship and life.”

In 1926-27, at times with the ferocity of a political convention, the three small groups hammered out agreements, which included that the language of the church be English only and that a Board of Trustees be elected. Additionally, the assets of all three congregations were merged legally and it was decided that the congregation would affiliate with the then Augustana Synod.

Pastor Julius Lorimer, field secretary of the Columbia Conference of the Augustana Synod led the neophytes until the first regular pastor was called in 1927. The congregation gained strength and began construction of a brick parsonage on property adjacent to the church in 1931. During this time, additional adjoining property was added to the holdings and the first pipe organ was installed in the church. The congregation became self-sustaining in January 1940, and in 1942 the church was debt free for the first time.

During the World War II years, in addition to national and local commitments and burdens, members contributed to a fund for the purpose of seeking a new church location to accommodate the expanding membership. As a result, the church’s present site at Sixteenth and West Yakima Avenues was purchased for $24,000 in April of 1948. Ground breaking took place April 8, 1951. Construction of a nave with fellowship hall below and church offices facing West Yakima Ave followed. The first worship service was held in the new Central Lutheran Church on Christmas Eve of 1951.

As the community of Yakima continued to grow, the community of Central Lutheran also expanded, until in 1959 the people of Central realized that an educational unit was needed. Ground for the new unit was broken October 4, 1959. It was dedicated September 18, 1960. The same year the current pipe organ was purchased and installed in the sanctuary.