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A part of the IAGenWeb and USGenWeb Projects New Sweden United Methodist Church and Cemetery |
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A part of the IAGenWeb and USGenWeb Projects New Sweden United Methodist Church and Cemetery |
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The church building in the three photos immediately below was built in 1871. In June, 2010, lightning struck the steeple, setting the church afire and burning it to the ground. By November, 2011, the church had been rebuilt, but the new steeple was of the wrong style. By May, 2013, the correct style steeple had been received and installed.
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 The church, built in 1871 |
 View from within the cemetery |
 View of the cemetery |
"The Fairfield Daily Ledger"
Tuesday, October 2, 1928
Page 7, Columns 2 & 3
New Sweden Methodist Church Received Into Circuit Sunday
The Fairfield Methodist circuit churches held a reception welcoming the New Sweden Methodist church into the circuit Sunday at the latter church. At (sic) splendid picnic dinner was served on the lawn of the parsonage at noon followed by an interesting program.
Prayer was offered by Rev. H. E. Butler followed by a speech by the oldest living member of the church G. A. Smithburg who is 86 years old. The address of welcome was given by Elmer Davis and was responded to by Grant Jacobson. The men's quartet of Parsonsville gave a number. Miss Wilda Ogden gave a musical reading and Dorothy Butler gave a reading. Short speeches were made by George E. Stephenson, Mrs. Gus Scott, N. H. Johnson, for 20 years a member of the church, and Mrs. Monroe Kyle. The history of the church was given by Mr. Kauffman.
Gus Scott, who is a successful gospel singer, was trained in this Sunday school and church as also were Mr. and Mrs. George Stephenson and Mrs. Gus Scott.
Miss Winnie Gabel was sent from this church as a missionary to India and spent twelve years as a missionary there.
~Church History~
Following is a history of the church:
The New Sweden Methodist church was organized in the year 1849 and bears the distinction of being the first Swedish Methodist church west of the Mississippi river. The church was organized in the home of John Danielson, a pioneer who lived in the field about a half mile south-west of this church. The first Sunday school was held in the home of G. A. Smithburg's parents. Mr. Smithburg was one of the first Sunday school scholars. He and his sister, Mrs. L. Mendenhall of Fairfield are perhaps the only surviving members of that first Sunday school.
~First Pastor~
Rev. Jonas Hedstrom was the first pastor of this church and among the first members were Peter Cassel, A. F. Cassel, John P. Farman, Andrew Castile and John Castile.
Before the building of the first church, meetings were held in the homes of members for 5 years. About the year 1855 the old log church was built which served the congregation as a meeting place for sixteen years.
The present church building was erected in 1871. Rev. A. G. Engstrom was pastor at that time being an excellent carpenter himself he assisted in the work and built the pulpit, altar rail and pews. The church was dedicated on New Years day 1872.
~Former Pastor~
Among the church records are found the names of 33 men who have served as pastor at this place. They are: Jonas Hedstrom, Peter Cassell, Andrew Erickson, Peter Nyberg, N. O. Peterson, J. E. Berggren, A. Walgren, P. Lang, A. G. Engstram (sic), Alfred Anderson, Oscar J. Swan, P. J. Peterson, N. G. Nelson, J. O. Alven, P. M. Johnson, Nels Eagle, E. G. Rosendahl, John Simpson, Carl J. Berggren, G. A. Anderson, G. M. Holmberg, S. A. Lindeberg, L. M. Lindstrom, H. A. Peterson, C. F. Levin, Carl Nord, J. O. Borgeson, K. A. Stromberg, J. A. Gabrielson, H. E. Weaver, G. E. Malmquist, Magnus Weber, H. E. Butler.
The parsonage was built during the pastorate of Rev. P. M. Johnson, about forty-five years ago and was remodelled (sic) during the pastorate of Rev. J. O. Borgeson in 1907. Gus Scott was the carpenter employed to do the work.
~Cornerstone Preserved~
The original corner stone which was used in the foundation of the log church is preserved by the congregation.
Trustees of Central park New York have been in correspondence to get this corner stone. It is a granite boulder suggestive of the ruggedness of the gospel of Jesus Christ and also of the sturdiness of those early Swedish settlers who settled in the New Sweden community. Six weeks were required to come from Sweden to the United States in those days and often 18 weeks were required to get to Burlington and on to New Sweden.
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"Brighton Enterprise"
Thursday, September 9, 1965
Page 1, Column 2
OLD SCHOOL BELL WILL CALL PEOPLE TO WORSHIP.
The bell, which hung in the tower of the old grade school building and announced the start of another school day to so many hundreds of Brighton children for nearly a century, now has a new place of honor. The ringing of the bell will now call to worship services those attending the New Sweden Methodist church, northwest of Lockridge. The church was built in 1902 and a tower erected, but never used until two weeks ago when the members installed the bell from the Brighton school.... Once again the tones of the old bell can be heard, and the knowledge that the bell has been hung in a church tower to serve future generations can be a gratification to those of Brighton who through the years remember, "There's the school bell. Hurry now so you won't be late."
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"The Fairfield Ledger"
Monday, June 21, 2010
Front Page
Fire destroys rural Lockridge church
New Sweden United Methodist Church Pastor Dianne Brokken said although there will be grief over the loss of the church, the congregation is looking to the future and planning to rebuild.
By Lacey Jacobs
Ledger staff writer
LOCKRIDGE -- A painting of the first log church used by the congregation in 1854 is one of just a few items salvaged from the New Sweden United Methodist Church, which burned to the ground late Friday.
"It's a great piece of history lost," said Lockridge Fire Chief Jeremy Loving, who was called to the scene around 11 p.m.
Neighbor Carla Woodsmall alerted emergency officials after noticing a bright light flickering through her bedroom window. The church steeple had been struck by lightening (sic) and was fully engulfed in flames by the time firefighters arrived.
The fire had already spread to 25 percent of the entire building, putting the fire department on defense, Loving said. The church's heavy timber construction fostered a fire with a lot of heat at the ceiling level, he explained.
A fire like that takes a lot of water to extinguish, Loving said. He estimated the Lockridge, Fairfield, Brighton and Mount Pleasant fire departments sprayed close to 14,000 gallons of water on it. The four fire departments and Lockridge First Responders had 32 personnel at the fire -- they remained until 3:30 a.m.
The church's pastor Dianne Brokken watched the scene from the Woodsmall's stoop, where they prayed the fire wouldn't spread farther.
"[The church] has weathered many a storm, but not this one," Brokken said.
Built in 1871, the Methodist church has served the area continuously except for two short closures from 1931-1937 and 1946-1951. Today, the church has 63 members.
"The church is not the building. It is the people," Brokken said. "We will come through this."
Sunday, the congregation met in the New Sweden Lutheran Church, which is only used twice a year and was offered to them by First Augustana Lutheran Church ELCA in Lockridge.
"This morning, having church there, it felt like home," Brokken said Sunday. The churches are of similar size and age, but were more like rivals in the 1800s, she said. The Lutheran church is on the National Register of Historic Places; the Methodist church is not because of modernizations throughout the years.
"We had a service of celebration today," Brokken said.
Although there will be grief over the loss, she said the congregation looked to the future. They plan to rebuild. Brokken will meet with the insurance adjuster today, and meetings to discuss the church will be held this week.
During Sunday's service, members of the church were given an opportunity to share their memories. Several recalled walking past the Lutheran church where they were gathered to attend service at their Methodist church.
Brokken, who was a member of the church as a teen, thought of the baptismal font and pulpit she had a hand in restoring as part of the Methodist youth group several years ago.
"We're a small rural congregation, and over the years, we've made do with what we had," Brokken said. Now, most of it is lost.
Numerous area churches have offered aid -- through the use of their hymnals or assistance with summer Bible school.
"It's pretty neat. God has provided in many ways," Brokken said.
In addition to the painting of the orginal log church, a communion chalice and Swedish Bible were salvaged from a hutch the night of the fire.
Firemen were able to pull the hutch out of the entryway. Loving said the heavy timber construction prevented the entryway from collapsing as early, giving the fire departments an opportunity to retrieve the hutch.
They also pulled out a safe containing some of the church's records.
Brokken said some damp photo albums she hopes to save were pulled from the hutch Saturday. A small bag of money, containing children's donations to Heifer Project International, also was found in the hutch -- even without their church, Brokken said the congregation can continue to be in service to others.
~~~~ Photos that ran with this story ~
"The Fairfield Ledger"
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Front Page and Page 7
New Sweden congregation moves into its new church
The congregation has been worshipping in borrowed space since June 2010 when the 1871 structure burned
By Diane Vance
Ledger staff writer
LOCKRIDGE -- Members of the New Sweden United Methodist Church will worship and celebrate in their own structure once again this weekend.
District Superintendent the Rev. Rose Blank will attend the 9 a.m. Sunday consecration service.
A new, one-level, handicapped accessible church is finished, built on the site of the previous 1871, wooden beam building that burned to the ground 16 months ago.
Not that the Methodists haven't been able to meet over the past year.
"We've been worshipping in the historic New Sweden Lutheran Church and the Augustana Lutheran Church," said Dianne Brokken, pastor of the Methodist church. "The historic church does not have heating, so we held services there after the fire [June 18, 2010] until cold weather. The Augustana Lutherans graciously shared their church with us during the winter. We went a half hour earlier on Sundays, and they started a half hour later.
"We are so grateful to our neighbor church for sharing and helping us out."
An ecumenical effort in August 2010 provided more support and options for Brokken's congregation.
Nine Fairfield area churches worked together, hosting a benefit and auction 14 months ago, which raised $10,800 for New Sweden United Methodist Church.
"The benefit allowed us to purchase additional land," said Brokken, "That way we could rebuild a one-story building and eliminate stairs."
She said the insurance company, Church Mutual, has been wonderful to work with.
"And now, we have replacement insurance on the new building and its contents," she added.
With memorial money, the New Sweden Methodist Church has purchased a PowerPoint system.
"And we have a new, state-of-the-art sound system," said Brokken. "We'll still have hymnals, but now we can also project songs. We've been using hymnals borrowed from the Methodist church in Mount Pleasant. We'll be able to return those. So many people have been very generous."
On the night of the fire, Brokken drove the six miles from her residence to the church, reminding herself it was a building, and buildings can be replaced.
"I'm not a crier, and I told myself I wouldn't cry," she said. "I thought, 'Well, there isn't anything irreplaceable inside.' Since I'm a one-quarter-time pastor, my office is in my home.
"But then I thought about the historic painting."
That historic painting, of a log home, the first place of worship used by the congregation in 1854, was rescued by firefighters.
"It had smoke damage and is being restored," said Brokken. "We won't have it back yet this weekend."
Also not quite ready for this weekend -- a church steeple.
"Through a very honest mistake, the wrong steeple was sent," said Brokken. "We'd ordered one that is louvered, because the former steeple was louvered. So, for now, we won't have a steeple installed. But it is coming."
There were some notable losses in the fire, besides the 150-year-old-plus building itself.
"We had two record books, recording baptisms, memberships and weddings about church members, in a safe in the church," said Brokken. "One record book dated from the beginning in the 1850s, and the second book recorded through to the present. The safe wasn't fully shut, because I like for those record books to be accessible to everyone. Sometimes visitors stop to look up records and history. We lost those books."
But a set of photo albums, celebrating the church's 150th anniversary in 2000, was salvaged.
"The outside of the photo albums burned," said Brokken. "But all of the photos survived."
Lightning striking the steeple caused the fire. The heavy timber construction provided hot fuel to the fire in the ceiling.
"When I heard the fire started in the steeple, and watched the flames that night, I worried about the hutch that sat [under the steeple] in the church entrance," said Brokken. "The steeple bell fell all the way through to the basement.
"One of the firemen also is a church member. He knew the location of the hutch. Firefighters used their hooks, used to pull down walls in fighting fires, to drag the hutch out of the building."
A communion chalice and a Swedish Bible were salvaged from the hutch, as well as a small bag of money that held children's donations to Heifer Project International.
The new church, built using several local contractors headed by Schaus-Vorhies Contracting, Inc., of Fairfield as general contractor, also will hold links to the past.
"One of the large ceiling beams didn't burn completely," said Brokken. "It was charred and of course resting on the ground. One of our church members used that beam to construct two altar crosses for the church. One cross has been sanded and is smooth, it looks new. The other cross was left with the scars and char from the fire."
Another nod to the past -- and to the church's mindfulness to spend money wisely -- are the furnishings in the sanctuary.
"The Presbyterian church in Donnellson closed," said Brokken. "It sold its furnishings. We bought the pulpit, the altar table, lectern and pews. A church member made the lectern into a baptismal font. Our sanctuary looks beautiful."
The new sanctuary will hold 90 people. The congregation has grown from 63 to 67 since the fire.
Brokken has been pastoring the New Sweden United Methodist Church since being appointed nine years ago. She also interned as a new pastor there in 1999-2000.
"It's my home church, where I grew up," she said. "I 'stepped out of the pew into the pulpit.' I never dreamed I would be a pastor later in life. Things happen for a reason.
"God didn't provide all this help -- people's generosity, churches working together in support and the smoothness in rebuilding -- for no reason. Our church anticipates doing new things."
What that might be, Brokken does not speculate, but leaves it to God.
The church already supports community activities, including a women's quilting group that meets every Tuesday and a once-a-month after-school activities program for area students, kindergarten to junior high ages.
"The quilting group has been meeting in a woman's home since the fire," said Brokken. "I imagine they will return to meeting at the church. Our after-school program has been meeting at the Augustana Lutheran Church in Lockridge. We'll continue meeting there in November and December because of the programs planned, such as caroling in town in December. But in January, the after-school program will move back out to the country, to our church."
Brokken is happy to be celebrating the consecration of the new church building. Last year, shortly after the fire, Brokken said she'd like to have a rebuilt church ready by Thanksgiving 2011.
"The community is welcome, also," she said. "But this is not the full open house. We're planning an all open house for the community, probably in the spring. We want to be in the building a while and get to know it. We're coming up now on Advent and the holiday season. It's better to plan it later.
"Everyone in the congregation is happy about our new facilities and the possibilities."
~~~~ Photos that ran with this story~
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There are also two Historical Markers in the church yard: both are boulders with plaques.
One boulder marks the grave of Rev. Peter Cassel who led the first colony of Swedish emigrants to establish a permanent colony west of the Mississippi River. It was erected by his descendants and dedicated on the ninetieth anniversary of the New Sweden Church.
The other boulder's plaque reads, "In this church yard are buried many of the first band of people of Swedish birth who settled west of the Mississippi River in 1845. All came from Kisa and vicinity, Sweden." There is a list of the names but they were not noted in the source material; however they can be found in the cemetery burial listing.
In May, 2013, these photos were submitted by our Research Assistant Richard Thompson showing the church with its new sign and the correct style steeple installed. Thanks, Richard!
