Stockholm Lutheran
Church
150th Anniversary Celebration
Stockholm Lutheran Church had wonderful attendance at all of the 150th Anniversary Celebration events on July 15, 16, & 17th, 2016, and it was great seeing current and former members and their families, in addition to friends and neighbors from area’s far and near.
We were truly blessed with a beautiful Friday evening where the crowd enjoyed great music in addition to seeing and hearing from various ventriloquist characters like Johnny Cash and Elvis. Our own Kelly Peterson performed and as always, she was fantastic! The Winsted Lions and the Knapp Busy Bee’s 4-H Club provided great tasting brats, hot dogs, nachos, and root beer floats, in addition to other tasty treats. But the highlight of the night had to be the tremendous fireworks show that was thoroughly enjoyed by all! Comments heard following the show were “that was the best fireworks show ever,” or I didn’t know the fireworks were going to be THAT good,” and Facebook lit up Friday evening with postings of pictures and positive comments. The Legacy committee had a hard time “idling down” after the event due to their own excitement.
Fireworks!
We were blessed with another beautiful day on Saturday where a social hour, catered dinner, and evening program were well attended. The Saturday events began with a social hour where attendee’s enjoyed looking at archives set up by the Cokato Museum and watched a 30-minute memory video in the sanctuary. This memory video contained footage from anniversary celebrations that went back to the 75th, in addition to some very old pictures of the sanctuary, Pastors, and members. This memory video was a labor of love by the committee and we hope you enjoyed watching it as much as we enjoyed working to put it together. Attendee’s then moved to the fellowship hall for dinner (231 tickets were sold). The tables were decorated with old blue mason jars filled with corn, wheat, and soybeans, and a burning votive candle. Burlap was placed under each centerpiece with burlap ribbons tied on each jar. Each person was given a packet of wildflower seeds that said, “With Gratitude, Thanks” for attendees to take home and plant. This was given to all as a thank you gift for attending and for what they have done in the past and present in addition to what they may contribute toward the future of Stockholm Lutheran Church.
The evening program included former Pastor Lee Boleman speaking about his memories of Stockholm during his years as pastor, the Swan Johnson family singing, “Children of the Heavenly Father,” with the first verse sung in Swedish, and Dan Conrad (grandson of former pastor Swan Johnson) chronicling his grandfather’s life prior to and during his time at Stockholm Church. The evening concluded with a reading titled “Autobiography of a Church Pew,” which included a hymn sing and beautiful music played by guest organist Rev. William Wilson of Golden Valley, MN.
God provided Stockholm with another glorious day on Sunday! A special worship service was attended by approx. 190 people. The service included a special greeting from Rev. Linda Pederson (Synod Minister) and former Pastor Lee Boleman. The Stockholm Singers, directed by Heidi Little also sang, and sounded wonderful!
Following the service, an anniversary picture was taken, an old fashioned egg toss was played, and a delicious potluck meal was served. A closing service was held, in which members shared their memories of the church, followed by the dedication of the inscribed “Built on a Rock” landscape rock, a gift from the congregation to commemorate the 150th Anniversary.