Brief History of Saron

Around 1889 several Swedish immigrant families settled northeast of Big Lake. Worship services were held in various homes and eventually in 1892 the congregation was organized and a church was built on land donated by the Aaron Peterson family.  The church was built about three and one-half miles North of Big Lake near the Greenwood Cemetery. The charter members of the congregation named the church Saron and the congregation was founded January 25th, 1892. The original church had pointed arch windows, a pulpit, altar, and a steeple. A large shed was built in the back of the church for the horses. The bell (which can be found today in front of Saron) was installed in 1899 or 1900.  Saron is the Swedish spelling the "Sharon" and is defined as follows:

The most fertile part of the coastal plain of Palestine. The plain of Sharon lay within the Kingdom of Israel after the division of Solomon's United Monarchy. It's fertility was proverbial in Bible times. It's roses, possibly the narcissus, or the autumn crocus are mentioned in the song of Solomon (2:1).
It's Excellency was used to describe the Messianic hope. Broad valleys gave access to Sharon for the interior and water was plentiful. In ancient times marches dotted the Plain. Flocks grazed in Sharon after the grain was cut. In David's state, Shitral the Sharonite was in charge of the royal flocks that fed there (I Chronicles 27:29).  In spring profusion of gay flowers carpeted the Plain of Sharon and made it a garden.  In the plain today there are extensive citrus groves and farm lands among the numerous Jewish settlements. The pioneers no doubt felt that this area compared favorably to the Plain of Sharon.
 

Church activity had been on the decline for some time in the area. Following World War I many families sold their farms and moved elsewhere.  In 1922 it seemed there was little hope for the future of Saron unless a reorganization was undertaken. In March of 1922 a special meeting was called for the reorganization. It was decided that the church would move into Big Lake and begin using the language of country (English). The church in the country was dismantled and reassembled in Big Lake. While the church was being moved church services were held in a hall in the city. The "new" church was dedicated on November 28th, 1922 debt free and the church again began to grow.

Soon after the move the Monticello congregation disbanded and many of those families joined the Big Lake congregation and the Big Lake-Silver Creek parish was formed.  Rev. J. E. Hedberg was the first pastor of the relocated church. His services were held in Swedish and he served Saron for about one year. Rev. John Milton was the next pastor to serve and it was at this time that the services were changed to English.  Most of the members at this time were "second generation" and their families.  Most of the pastors that served between 1922 and 1932 served for only a short period of time. They include:
Rev. J. E. Hedberg, V.P. Rev. John Milton Mr. David Ostergren,  Rev. Paul Erickson, V.P. Rev. G.K. Stark, V.P. Harold Lorimer, Student, Ted Levander, Student Rev. Paul Gustafson V.P., ans Rev. Ernest Weinhart.

December 17, 1933 marked the Saron Tragedy. A dense fog had settled over Big Lake as the yearly Christmas program was going on. As the Charlie Magney left Saron following the program the windows of their car steamed up and with the dense fog it was very difficult to see. The Magney car was hit by a passenger train going to Minneapolis at  the highway 25 crossing. All six people in the car were killed. The members of the Magney family that lost their lives that night were. Charlie Magney, father; Amanda Magney,  mother; and their children Ansel age 20, Edith age 14, Marvin age 8. Also in the car were Mrs. Bengta Weim, Hans Person's daughter, John Person's sister, and Elvin Person's Aunt.The Big Lake undertaker Albert Johnson took command and a mass funeral was held at Saron and the family is buried in the Greenwood Cemetery.

If the train accident were not enough , John Person passed away suddenly in 1934. John had been a mainstay of Saron and was sorely missed by the whole congregation.

Rev. Adolf Dickhart served as the Pastor to the Big Lake and Silver Creek churches from 1931 to 1935. The depth of the depression didn't stop romance. Pastor Dickhart conducted many small wedding in his home. The younger generation was now becoming more involved which led to increased musical talent and more involvement in the Worship services. Harold Skillrud served as a student pastor for a very short time and Rev. Ernest Weinhart served a second time at Saron from 1937 to 1940.

The 50th Anniversary of Saron was celebrated on January 25, 1942. The church celebrated the event in June with an ice cream social and a brief historical sketch on the church and congregation by Rev. Peterson. Rev. Ernest Weinhart returned from Bolivia and gave the sermon.

Rev. John G. Erickson served Saron as the first resident pastor from 1940 to 1948. Rev. Erickson was blind from a early childhood; was a graduate of Lutheran Bible Institute; studied two years at Luther Theological Seminary; was a graduate of Augustana Theological Seminary; served congregations in Minnesota for 23 years; and devoted full time in securing devotional literature in Braille type and talking-book records. Chief, a beautiful German Shepherd was presented to Pastor Erickson as a gift from the Master Eye Foundation in Minneapolis. Chief was especially bred and trained to act a guide for the blind. In an article from a local paper Pastor Erickson stated that he now expects he will be able to serve his parishioners better, because he has a new guide and companion."

In 1948 a new congregation was formed in Monticello to better serve the area. Silver Creek joined with the new congregation and left Saron to struggle on its own. A growing population and the work of a small number of dedicated families allowed the church to survive.
 

In the Mid-fifties many new people came to Saron from throughout the area. The beginning of the Senior Choir was in 1956 when Elizabeth Luukkonen was asked if she could direct the choir. To present the Senior choir has been a very dedicated group of people and the list is far to long to list here. The late fifties brought the arrival of the Saron Junior Choir.  Articles of Incorporation were drawn up by Scott Mitchell, Dale Peterson, Reuben Bollinger, Calvin Henrichs, Walter Broker, and John Hunter. They were dated August 4, 1958.  On August 5, 1958 the articles were filed with the Register of Deeds in Sherburne County.  A parsonage was built near "Our Lady of the Lake" Catholic Church in 1958 or 1959.

In 1962 the National Church changed from Augustana to Lutheran Church in America (L.C.A). Saron automatically became a member of the L.C.A.

Pastors that served Saron in the fifties were:
Rev. E.J. Lindholm Rev. Clarence Peterson, V.P. Rev. Richard Hillsrtom, and Rev. C.G Okerbloom.

The early sixties again showed favor for Saron. Rev. Hugh Gilmore was installed and replaced Rev. E.J. Lindholm. Rev. Gilmore became the second Pastor to reside at the parsonage. Saron was still growing and the increase in membership clearly indicated that a new church was a must. Many details for the new church needed to be worked out.  There was some conflicts about the location that the church was to be built on.  Once again the Peterson families offered to donate the land that the church was to be built on.  On June 13, 1965, the ground breaking service took place. The congregation assembled in front of the old church and then proceeded to the new location.  The Pastor and council gave brief messages about the ground breaking. Pastor Gilmore and each council member each turned a spadeful and earth, and then each member of the congregation was given a turn. The Junior and Senior Choirs combined to sing "The Church's One Foundation".  It took six months to build the new church and the first service was Christmas Eve, 1965.  The new church was dedicated February 27, 1966 and Dr. Melvin Hammerburg, Bishop of  the Minneapolis L.C.A was present for the dedication.

In mid-June of 1967 Saron celebrated it's 75th Anniversary. The morning worship service was conducted by Rev. Andrew Cornell of Buffalo who had been the acting pastor since the departure of Rev. Gilmore earlier in the year. A large number of members, former members, and former pastors were present for the celebration.

Pastor Oltmanns was called to serve Saron in 1967, shortly after the 75th anniversary of Saron. During his long tenure there was very steady growth in the community as well as the congregation. By 1979 a new addition had to be built which doubled the size of the church. The increased membership eventually made the need for additional staff a necessity. First, the congregation was served by two different lay parish workers. Next, two different student interns were brought in to help serve the ever growing number of
parishioners.

In1989, Pastor Doug Duin was called as Saron's first Associate Pastor. This was an exiting time for the church as membership increased, Youth Programs expanded, choirs flourished, organization ere vibrant and by the time Pastor Oltmanns retired in 1995 after 28 years of service, the congregation had grown to the point where three services were needed.

Pastor Oltmanns says the most important tasks at Saron has been the "Ongoing  preaching/teaching of the Gospel and offering the Sacraments of Hold Baptism and the Lord's Supper.

Pastor Oltmanns notes that the people of Saron have taken their Christian responsibility seriously. The church in this community has continued its day to day response to Christ by having multiple services, Sunday Church School, Vacation Church School, Confirmation Instructions, Adult Bible Study, Youth Programs, Church Counsel, various committees, Saron Lutheran Church Woman, Choirs and more.  Pastor Oltmanns said "The highlights of Saron, as I see them, is first of all Christ and  people's response to him. 

The period from the retirement of Pastor Oltmanns in October of 1995 through 2003 has been marked with almost continuous change. Following Pastor Oltmanns remarkably long tenure the call process for a new pastor took very long. Pastor Duin and Interim Pastor Tom Schultz carried the load until the call of Pastor William Larson in 1997.  The growth of the community and the congregation had already necessitated the planning of a large new sanctuary. Pastor Larson oversaw the building of the new addition and instituted many changes including child communion. The stress of the building program combined with other changes took its toll on the congregation.  Pastor Duin left after ten years of serving Saron in 1998. It would be almost two years, during which Saron was served be Interim Associate Pastors Rod Bringen and Dennis Spitzen, before Associate Pastor Linda Wahlstrom was called in July on 2000. The congregation and the area continued to grow but the congregation was also losing many members who had been active volunteers. It was obvious that there needed to be a new direction. Pastor Wahlstrom left in June of 2001. Interim Pastor Jim Lindekugel was called to help the congregation through this difficult transition period and Pastor Larson announced his intention to seek a new call and left in April of 2002.

A call committee was formed to begin the search for a new Pastor to serve Saron. As the call committee worked through the process it became clear to them that the congregation wanted to keep Pastor Jim.  On Sunday October 19th, 2003 the call committee called a special congregational meeting following Worship service to vote on their recommendation that Saron call Pastor Jim as the Senior Pastor. The vote affirmed the call committee recommendation.  The following letter is from Pastor Jim to the response to his call to serve Saron.

November 13, 2003

Dear members of Saron Lutheran Church,

 

It is an honor and privilege to receive the Letter of Call to serve as Sr. Pastor at Saron. It has been more than two years since I came to serve beside you in the ministry of the congregation. I said then that the congregation had the right to ask at least two questions of me:  first, "Will you love us?”, and secondly, “Can we trust you?” It is my hope that you have sensed my compassion for each of you and that I have earned your trust during this time. My life here as your pastor has brought me great joy and I thank you for your many expressions of support and love.  We can only imagine the challenges and opportunities that God has waiting for us in Saron’s future as a new chapter of our life begins!

 

Having said this I wish to add only one last word: Trusting in the strong and sure leading of the Spirit of God in bringing us together as pastor and congregation, I hereby accept the Letter of Call to serve as Senior Pastor of Saron Lutheran Church. May God bless us as we grow in His grace together!

 

Looking ahead, I invite you to attend the Service of Installation for this new position which is planned for Sunday Worship, 9:00 a.m., January 11, 2004. Glenndy Sculley, assistant to Bishop, Craig Johnson of the Mpls. Area Synod, will be present to preach and conduct the Service of Installation. 

 

I take this opportunity to give thanks for the faithful service of the Call Committee as it has proceeded this past year. Their commitment to this task on behalf of the congregation and to one another is commendable. Sincere thanks to them as their work officially now comes to a close.

 

The Lord be with you all.

Pastor Jim Lindekugel

 

With a new, but "broken in" Senior Pastor, a growing community, a growing congregation, expansion of many existing programs, new programs being investigated and implemented we we look forward to the future with optimism and excitement.

Over the next few years, Sherburne County's highway ten corridor was the state of Minnesota's fastest growing area.  Big Lake and the surrounding area changed from farm fields as far as you could see to housing developments as farmers sold their property.  Although Saron had steady growth during this period, the growth was not as high as you might expect.  Many programs continued to happen within Saron, but as time went on it became apparent that focus on youth and family ministries was needed to help bring in the young families that were moving to the area.  Our volunteer members had done a great job with the youth programs, but more was needed then the volunteers could do on their own.  In 2003 a search began for a Youth and Families Ministries Director.  After s few years of searching and a false alarm here and there, it seemed that we were never going to find a youth and families director so we continued to do the best we could while keeping the search alive.

In April of 2007 our prayers were answered as Curtis R. Rieck was installed as the Youth and Family Ministry Director as Saron Lutheran Church.  With new direction for the youth, education programs, and activities we have begun to see our youth programs get some traction for growth and we have entered and exciting time on the life of our congregation.

November of 2007 Pastor Jim announced that he would be retiring in April of 2008.  Pastor Jim has been a huge force is getting us through our last transition and helping us to set our direction and reestablish who we are what what our mission is.  We wish Pastor Jim and his wife Sandy well as they look to the next chapter in their life and we look to our next transition at Saron with optimism to what our future holds.

~Updated December 2007