Our Early History

In 1896 a group of women formed the Danish Ladies Aid Society. They wanted to help build a church in which to worship. The pastor who served Bethany Lutheran Church in Ludington at that time came out to the homes occasionally to administer sacraments. In 1901 the new pastor helped these ladies officially draw up a charter for their aid society and was the pastor of the first church which was built in 1903. Old settlers donated a half acre of land, time, and labor to build the church. A store counter was made into an altar and a pulpit. In 1908 the church was struck by lightening and burned to the ground. The congregation received a $985 insurance settlement so they immediately started to build again. The walls were raised in the fall but by spring they caved in. With the money gone, they had to start over. After much work and hardships and many donations, they built another church building. Bernard Hilling painted the artwork on the alter which was built by Carl Jeppesen of Ludington. In the early years of our church, transportation of the pastor to and from our church was furnished free by our members taking turns. One member would drive a team of horses into town and pick up the pastor and another member would take the pastor back to Ludington. During these early years, the Church was affiliated with the Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. A portion of the Confession in the Constitution states that the Church is part of the Holy Christian Church, in accord with our mother church, The Church of Denmark. By 1925 worship services were in Danish only once a month and by 1942 all services were in English. Reverend Mr. Eric Bach came in 1929 and stayed for nine years. Pastor Bach proposed a plan for a new altar and through his and the members’ efforts, it became a reality in 1932. The altar was dedicated on Palm Sunday 1932, with a large group attending the service. Workmanship on the altar by the artist Bernard Halling and Carl Jeppesen, added to the beauty of the altar.