Col. 3:15 “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts.”

“Happy New Year! HAPPY (?) New Year? How can one say such a thing when they look over an evening paper or hear the latest news. Riots in Congo, Viet Nam and at our own back door.  The iron curtain and bamboo curtain still in force. Russia putting added emphasis on stamping out God and the Bible. Corruptions in our own government, stabbings, stranglings, narcotics and what not, all through the land. Happy? How?” (Excerpt from “The Woman’s Page” January, 1965, editorial by Avis Torgrimson.)

Without changing much, this could have been the intro to an article in “The Emmaus Light” just this past January. It does make me wonder what may be said of us by future generations.

The 1960s are often described as a tumultuous decade. The Cold War is raging. The Berlin wall is built. John F. Kennedy becomes president. Civil Rights Acts are passed in 1960, 1964, and 1968. The Peace Corps is established. The Vietnam War officially begins in 1961 and escalates through the decade. Alan Shepard becomes the first American in space. A year later John Glenn orbits the earth. President Kennedy is assassinated. There are sit-ins and walk-outs. There are riots in ghettos starting with Harlem in 1964. Two years later race riots erupt in 159 cities nationwide. That same year The Beatles appear on The Ed Sullivan Show. The Feminist group NOW is formed. Medicare and Medicaid are enacted. HUD is established. The Green Bay Packers beat the Kansas City Chiefs in the first Super Bowl ever. The hippie movement is in full swing.  Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy are assassinated. There are anti-war protests. Apollo 8 orbits the moon. A year later Apollo 11 lands on the moon. Sesame Street premieres on National Educational Television. The top-rated TV show in 1960 was Gunsmoke. Also popular were Bonanza, The Andy Griffith Show, and Have Gun, Will Travel. Top movies at the box office were epic: Ben-Hur (which was released in 1959), Exodus, Spartacus, and The Swiss Family Robinson.

Meanwhile in Bloomington voters approved the transformation of the Village of Bloomington to a City. By 1960 the population had grown to 50,500. Replacing the Lyndale Avenue Bridge, the I-35W Bridge connecting Bloomington to Burnsville opened in 1960. Control Data moved to Bloomington in 1961. The Met Stadium (built in the 50s) became home to the Minnesota Twins and the Vikings in 1961. The Metropolitan Sports Center was built in 1967-68 as the home of the Minnesota North Stars. The Lindbergh Terminal at MSP international airport opened to the public in 1962. Southtown Shopping Center, with Montgomery Ward as an anchor, opened in 1963. The Southtown Mann Theater opened in 1964.  Twenty schools were built and opened, fourteen of them between 1960 and 1963, with six more opening between 1965 and 1969. (Kennedy Sr. High opened in 1965.) It boggles the mind to think how many times the school boundary lines changed in that decade!

Reading through the old bulletins, I quickly noticed that there were gaps in the information printed in them. There were references to the “Friendly Call” which was a monthly publication mailed to homes of members. While digging for copies of The Call, we also discovered copies of The Woman’s Page and The Brotherhood Report which I believe were handed to people on Sunday mornings or were available to be picked up in the church office.  These little gems were packed with information, but were not saved as well as the bulletins. In addition to news, inspiration, and information about the church and upcoming events, The Woman’s Page or the Friendly Call had occasional updates and insights from “the mouse in the corner” which were written by Avis Torgrimson. (I wonder if there might be a descendant of this church mouse still on site who may be willing to give an update…?)

I’ve struggled for a couple of weeks to write this decade’s chapter. I finally realized that my difficulty was that Emmaus is essentially two churches in the 1960s.  1960-1963 is a church being very creative with their use of the space they have, and trying to fit people and programs in as best they can, while they are raising funds for a new building and then building it. They also had $1,000 “old debt” (from Lutheran Free Church Home Missions) that they had to retire. At the same time, the Lutheran Free Church is dealing with the question of merging with other Lutheran bodies to become one big group. The ELC, the old ALC, and the UELC (“German,” “Norwegian,” and “Danish”) merger was finalized in 1960, creating The American Lutheran Church. This “new” denomination was headquartered in Minneapolis. The Free Lutheran Church joined the new American Lutheran Church (ALC) body in 1963.

Emmaus held a special meeting of the congregation in July 1960 to vote on pursuing plans for a new church building–the culmination of months of study, input, and planning meetings. There was a great deal of work done over the next 18 months to best determine how to fund this exciting building project. According to a note in the June 1961 issue of the Friendly Call, “The Survey Committee Headed by Lyell Johnson…..gave us the fact that 52% are males and 48% are females………also that our median age is 17 years old…indicating that we do have many young people coming along..” And, “In the last 4 years we have grown 9% per Year.” (I don’t recall seeing the actual numbers of baptized or confirmed members at the time, but it is clear that the church was growing, and the Sunday School was bursting at the seams!) They made plans for building the new sanctuary and offices, and future plans for an educational building. Approval was granted to hire an architect and draw up plans. January 1962 meetings were scheduled for a representative from United Bond Company to come and explain the bond program which would be used to fund the new building. An ad was placed in the Minneapolis Tribune Feb 25, 1962, announcing, “Lutheran Church Bonds 6% paid semi-annually…offered by Emmaus Lutheran Church, Bloomington in units of $100, $250, $500, and $1,000…” At the celebration for Emmaus’ 10th Anniversary (which was celebrated in February of 1962), they had a model of the new church in the auditorium for viewing. By June plans were drawn up and there was a congregational meeting for accepting bids for construction. A ceremonial groundbreaking service was held on June 24. Members of the congregation were encouraged to attend the quarterly business meeting in the spring of 1963 when there would be decisions made regarding the new building.  There was a donation slip (pledge) for the Art Glass Window in one of the bulletins to be filled out, suggested amounts $5, $10, $15, $20, or write in amount. (For comparison, tickets to the Sweetheart Banquet were $2.50.)

There were still regular work Saturdays encouraging the men to come out and help with whatever they were able to help with. “There is much work to be done, and many hands make light work.” To clear space for the new sanctuary, one of the workdays was to move the “little house” off the property to be used as a garage for the parsonage. Even after construction on the new sanctuary was underway, there were still projects that needed to be done, such as prepping housing for seminary interns (and their families). Once the new building was close to being ready, the men were also asked to pitch in and help with projects such as laying tile, and painting walls. It was discouraging to read in one of the bulletins that there were “thirty pieces of lumber missing from our construction site.”

Throughout the 60s the annual Mother-Daughter Teas and the Father-Son Banquets were held off site. Sometimes at another church, a school, or sometimes at a restaurant (the Sveden House seems to have been a popular venue). Ticket prices were higher than they were in the 1950s: $1.50 for adults, 75c or $1 for children, with a family cap of $3.50 for some events. The Sunday School end of the year picnic was an annual tradition, held at different parks. The events were potluck, with the Sunday School providing ice cream, pop, and coffee. Easter Breakfast, a fundraiser for the Luther League, was also an annual event and was held in the basement of the old church.  It was a free will offering, but they did request reservations. They served scrambled eggs, sausage, pastries, coffee, and milk. The funds were used for Leaguers to attend conferences. Sign-ups for events were accomplished by filling out the info on the bottom of the bulletin insert, tearing it off, and placing it in the offering plate, or by calling the church office.

My memories of the kitchen in that old building are fading with time—and it is very possible that they have blended with other church basements that I have visited over the years–but I do recall it was SMALL. Clearer are the pictures my mind pulls up of the ladies, working in dresses and sensible pumps, wearing aprons and possibly hairnets. Amazingly, they all had the same first name: it was “Mrs.” I am uncertain what they were actually doing…probably serving coffee with cake, pie, or bars, washing dishes, and cleaning. (More likely they were keeping the potluck hotdish table well stocked.) For events with food, the room was set with long tables that were so full of stray marks from crayons and markers they HAD to be covered with table cloths. The metal folding chairs were always cold, and made plenty of noise on the tile floor. To complete the décor were suspended florescent ceiling lights. In other words, decorations weren’t optional, they were necessary.

The church had limited office hours.  Pastor Torgrimson was in the office 9-11:30 most days of the week.  When he was on vacation, or away for a few days speaking elsewhere our visitation pastor, Pastor Harold Johnson, was in the office from 1-2 in the afternoon.  Our parish secretary, Eleanor McCaughan was in the office weekday mornings. Also on staff was a youth worker, Miss Sandvig, and a custodian. If someone needed access to the building when it was locked, there were church members who lived closeby who had keys. Their names were listed in the bulletin. At the annual meetings which were held in January, they elected the Congregational president, council members, auditors, nominating committee (three people), and a congregational secretary. In addition, they also elected the Sunday School Superintendents, the presidents of Dorcas and Men’s Brotherhood, Luther League, Boy’s Brigade, Boy Scouts, Pioneer Girls, as well as Kindergarten Board, Youth Board (two youth and an adult). Imagine the work the nominating committee had without being able to leave a voice mail or text requesting a call back if the potential nominee was not at home when calling!

In the year leading up to the move into the new building, it seems there was a great deal of time and energy spent on getting the new building ready and raising funds. Many of the established programs did not change. VBS for preschoolers was held for one week. Grades 1-8 had two weeks a bit later in the summer. In 1963, due to a lack of space, they did not have VBS. During the school year, in addition to Sunday School, there was Pioneer Girls, Boys Battalion, cherub choir, chapel choir, senior choir, men’s chorus, Boy Scouts, Junior and Senior Luther League, and confirmation. For the ladies, there was a weekly fellowship group that met at church. Due to lack of space, they stopped meeting for a while but were able to resume after the move. The women’s circles met in member’s homes, but the men’s brotherhood met monthly at church. I was surprised to see that often there was a communion service on Sunday evening. It was explained in one of The Woman’s Page notes that because so many had so many responsibilities on Sunday morning communion would be held in the evening so all could partake.

With a great deal of excitement and planning, there was a special single service on June 2, 1963 with members of the Church Council, their families, and the choirs starting in the old church building and marching to the new sanctuary, where seats were reserved for them. Everyone else was already gathered in the new sanctuary. That day they had communion in an evening service. The new building was dedicated at a special afternoon service two weeks later. After the official move to the new sanctuary they were able to go to two services, 8:30 and 11:00. That fall Sunday School classes were held between services at 9:45, including adult Bible class and adult instruction. They were able to have a supervised nursery during the 11:00 service.

Worship services on Sunday did not change much during the 1960s. The order of service was printed on page 408 of the Concordia Hymnal, and they were full of music. A typical Sunday service started with a piano or organ (electric) prelude, then an opening hymn. This was followed with the order of worship—which some of our older members could probably still recite and sing from memory! The special music, which was different at each service, was often provided by one of the choirs, or a solo, duet, trio, or instrumental piece by members of the congregation. The offering plate was passed after the announcements and there was an offertory piece, usually instrumental, played during that time. (The offering music during the Easter service in 1960 was an accordion solo!) After the offering, it was time for the pulpit hymn, the sermon was given, and then the closing hymn. The congregation prayed The Lord’s Prayer, the pastor gave the benediction, and the congregation sang the three-fold Amen. The ushers dismissed the congregation by rows into the center aisle while the postlude was played on the organ or piano. (If someone arrived late for the service, they waited in the narthex until an appropriate time, which was marked in the bulletin with an asterisk, for the usher to direct them to a seat.) Of note, the hymns and sermon may have been the same, but the rest of the music was different at EACH service! There were occasional reminders in the bulletin encouraging people to have a reverent and reflective time prior to the service and to keep themselves and their children quiet during that time. Printed in the bulletin more than once was this gentle reminder: “Before the service we speak to God, During the Service God speaks to us, After the service we speak to each other.”

The congregation was clearly maturing. The babies of those early years were being confirmed. The confirmands of those early years had graduated from high school and were getting married. There were baptisms, usually one, often two, 2-3 Sundays/month. New members were welcomed into the congregation monthly. There were invitations to celebrations for 25th wedding anniversaries. There were occasional offerings of condolence to members mourning the death of a parent.

1964 saw the beginning of Bethel Series leader training. Bethel Series Classes started two years later, and two years after that they celebrated their first “graduates.” The Bethel Series was a two-year program providing a systematic, chronological study of the Bible, and was offered at Emmaus for several years.

 Over the next several years, social issues were addressed at special meetings held at various times. Films were shown at Emmaus or in the community, or speakers were invited addressing issues related to communism, race relations, and the war in Vietnam. There were frequent reminders to send card to our service men and women, and to keep their contact information updated with the church. There was a series of lectures and a women’s study on the differences and similarities between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. Members were encouraged to watch a Channel 2 airing of a program of interest to churches: “A Lutheran Scholar Views Family Problems.” There was encouragement to listen to a Sunday night radio program from the MN Church Committee on Radio-TV: reaction of leading clergy and lay to religious, moral, and civic aspects of problems confronting Christians today. In 1967, the Junior and Senior confirmation classes had a speaker from New York introducing the Teen Challenge Program. Teen Challenge returned a few months later for a Sunday evening service and showed the film “Youth in a Fix.” There was a week of prayer in July 1967, with a focus on war in many places, and the fact that racial conflict was predicted in many cities across the U.S.

The congregation was invited to the first performance April 30, 1967, of The Pacesetters, a Gospel Team made up of Emmaus young people.  This was a group that performed poignant and entertaining dramatic sketches for church services and events for the next couple of years. The senior choir recorded an album of a new cantata by John Peterson, “No Greater Love.” That same year a group of students went on a mission trip to a mission in Mexico, deposit for those wishing to go was $15.

Throughout the decade there were several Billy Graham events held, some in person, some televised evangelistic events, and some movie events.  Emmaus held prayer meetings and provided counselors for in-person events.  Some of the films that were shown (at the Orpheum) were “The Restless Ones” and “For Pete’s Sake.”

Snippets in the bulletins that I found interesting:

>Ladies could donate their time by working some shifts at the Spartan store, $1.60/hour would be paid to Dorcas.  There were also requests for S&H Green Stamps to help equip the kitchen. Every once in a while ladies were reminded to check the kitchen for items they may have left after events.

>There were occasional reminders to “check your home and return any hymn books” to the sanctuary as well as to check for library books, which included a list of the missing books.

>There were annual clothing drives for Lutheran World Relief to be sent to needy areas around the world. There were also reminders to fill the Lutheran World Relief banks and return them.

In 1964 the church budget was $1175.00/wk. ($61.100/yr). By 1968 it had grown to $1336.00/wk. ($69,472/yr).  Donations would lag a bit and then catch up. There were some rather blunt reminders in bulletin inserts about donations: “Last year we provided ½ support for one missionary, the other half was from a farmer in North Dakota.” “…East Bloomington is poor, but this is ridiculous!” Also on a financial note, there were occasional offers to buy someone’s bond.

1968 was a year filled with changes for Emmaus.  A note in the January 1968 Friendly Call states “Our baptized membership is now 1508, a gain of 102 over last year; our confirmed membership is 811, a gain of 72.” Pastor Johnson, our visitation pastor retired. Pastor Torgrimson accepted a call to a church in Sioux City, IA. There were special Holy Week services and every member visits that year. VBS was held for two weeks for grades 1-6, with preschool the first week.  Teen Week was held in August for 7-12 graders. “In Club” started for youth committed to Jesus to grow deeper with weekly Bible Study. There is surprisingly little information about Teen Week and In Club in the bulletins or other publications, but their impact on the lives of the students involved in them was long lasting and remarkable (more on that in the next decade snapshot). Mark Thompson’s year of internship was ending; Jerry and Sherri Bauer were coming. Pastor Erwin Brandt accepted our call and came in October. Eldon Nelson was installed as youth director. Emmaus was providing some support to Brian and Vicki Kloster a young missionary couple to Nogales, AZ (Mission to Mexico). Their letters to the congregation describing their work and life are deeply moving. A group was trying to get a Young Couple’s club started. The clarification note in the bulletin stated: “If your combined age is >72, you are too old!” The following year there were discussions about purchasing a pipe organ.

As the decade drew to a close it seems that Emmaus was in business-as-usual mode. The kindergarten ended, but there was no information in the bulletins or available Friendly Calls about this. From a practical standpoint, this is probably due to Kindergarten being an option in the Bloomington public schools starting in 1969. There were activities going on in or around the building almost every day of the week. They are starting to talk about when it might be time to build the education wing envisioned at the time of building the new sanctuary. The purpose of the new building would be to bring honor and glory to God and be of use to the community.

I was still quite young during these years, and I am certain the memories of others, especially those who are just slightly older than me, are much clearer regarding life at that time. But I do know the adults leading and teaching the Sunday School classes, the VBS classes, serving the meals, planning the events, directing the choirs, writing the articles, and preaching the sermons still impact me today. I am grateful to their dedication, and to the testimony of their witness to the personal work of God in their lives.

-Bev Foss