{"id":79,"date":"2016-06-08T22:09:24","date_gmt":"2016-06-08T22:09:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.oslchopeonthehill.org\/?page_id=79"},"modified":"2016-08-24T21:07:50","modified_gmt":"2016-08-25T02:07:50","slug":"history","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/www.oslchopeonthehill.org\/index.php\/about-us\/history\/","title":{"rendered":"History"},"content":{"rendered":"

A brief history of Our Savior Lutheran Church<\/strong><\/h1>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In November, 1957, the Reverend William H. Swarbrick was sent to Pekin as a missionary of the Board of American Missions of the United Lutheran Church in America. Shortly after his arrival in Pekin, he began calling on homes primarily in the north end of town to inquire about the religious status\/church affiliation of each family. In the evenings, Rev. Swarbrick made evangelism visits to those families who had no church affiliation.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 By February, 1958, a steering committee had been formed. This committee of eight men and Rev. Swarbrick proceeded to make decisions and guide the formation of the congregation. On February 3, 1958, the steering committee voted to approve plans for a house chapel at 1307 Sheridan Road. This would serve as a temporary worship facility until the congregation was in a position to construct a permanent facility. Ground was broken for the house chapel on March 3, 1958. On March 22, 1958, the steering committee selected \u201cOur Savior Lutheran Church\u201d as the tentative name for the congregation-to-be. As official name would be adopted at the organizing business meeting of the congregation in the fall. The name was chosen to both designate \u2018Christ\u2019 and a central Christian doctrine.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The first worship service in the house chapel was held on May 16, 1958, with 101 persons present. A reed organ donated by a Chicago church was used for this service and for services through the next 21 years. On July 4, 1958, the first Sunday School was held with 30 students and seven teachers.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In March, 1960, a site on the north side of Pekin was selected for the construction of a permanent church facility. A five-acre tract on Sheridan Road across from Sheridan Estates was purchased for $35,000. A new parsonage was constructed on 1960, in Sheridan Hills approximately four miles from the new location for the church. On August 19, 1962, ground breaking services were held for the new church building.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 During 2007, and continuing in 2008, the congregation has been challenged to continue its ministries both in the community and within Our Savior. Overall, the situation has been an opportunity for members to grow in faith, service, and unity. 2008 was \u201cthe year of anticipation\u201d as members have looked forward to the celebration of the 50th<\/sup> Anniversary of OSLC.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The congregation has been blessed by the special gifts and talents that each individual pastor has brought to the life and ministry of OSLC.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 As a community of faith in relationship with one another and God, we move forward with the sure knowledge that \u201c\u2026all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called to His purpose.\u201d (Romans 8:28)<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Pastor Stephen Barnes was called to OSLC in September of 2013. Together we celebrate our life, time and gifts shared. We look forward to a bright and growing future.<\/p>\n

<\/h4>\n

The Pastors who have serviced Our Savior Lutheran Church<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Rev. William Swarbrick 1957-1960<\/p>\n

Rev. John D. Meyer 1961-1965<\/p>\n

Rev. Anton P. Weber 1966-1971<\/p>\n

Rev. Phillip Hougen 1971-1977<\/p>\n

Rev. Lyle Steinfeldt 1978-1989<\/p>\n

Rev. Paul D. \u00a0Balaban 1989-2008<\/p>\n

Rev. Dennis Scoville (Interim Pastor) 2008-2013<\/p>\n

Rev. Stephen D. Barnes 2013-current<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A brief history of Our Savior Lutheran Church \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In November, 1957, the Reverend William H. Swarbrick was sent to Pekin as a missionary of the Board of American Missions of the United Lutheran Church in America. Shortly after his arrival in Pekin, he began calling on homes primarily in the north end of town […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":77,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.oslchopeonthehill.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/79"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.oslchopeonthehill.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.oslchopeonthehill.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.oslchopeonthehill.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.oslchopeonthehill.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/www.oslchopeonthehill.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/79\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":176,"href":"http:\/\/www.oslchopeonthehill.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/79\/revisions\/176"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.oslchopeonthehill.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/77"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.oslchopeonthehill.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}