Church Division

First Coon Prairie Lutheran Church
This church, built in 1858, was 54 feet long,
34 feet wide and 20 feet high. It cost $4,200.

The withdrawal of a large group of people from a Christian congregation, even the withdrawal of one member because of doctrinal disagreement, is a serious matter and can be defended only when there are good reasons for the same. To rightly judge this withdrawal one must consider the extraordinary circumstances surrounding the incident. In 1888 Coon Prairie Congregation was a member of the former “Norwegian Synod.” This body had for many years been troubled with the doctrine of predestination, the so-called “Missourians” on the one side and the “Anti-Missourians” on the other. This struggle came to its end in the withdrawal of the latter group from the Synod. Both factions accused the other of false doctrine. Both factions were represented in the Coon Prairie Congregation. The pastor, Reverend Halvorsen, took the position of the “Missourians,” and in the latter years of the struggle became one of the leaders in the defense of that position both by word and in writing. The majority in the congregation supported the view held by the pastor.

It was not until the Synod was divided into two separate church bodies that anyone thought of a division in the congregation. All hoped and prayed that peace might be established again, but things only became worse and finally all hope was abandoned. To remain in the congregation and to be made the object of the judgement pronounced by the pastor and by the Synod on the “Anti-Missourians” was unbearable. To surrender the doctrines one found in the word and the Confessions of the Church was not advisable. Withdrawal from the organization was extremely unpleasant. Many were the tender ties that bound these people to the old Coon Prairie congregation. Finding a solution seemed impossible. The suggestion was made to the pastor and to the majority of the members of the congregation that the congregation withdraw from the Synod for a time and remain without Synodical connection. This was refused. The next suggestion was that the pastor cease his polemics against the “Anti-Missourians” from the pulpit. This was the reply: Any pastor who would not testify against false doctrine would be a poor pastor.  

About fifty families withdrew from the Coon Prairie Congregation at one time, more withdrew later. At the same time about half of the West Coon Prairie Congregation withdrew and joined the group. A few families who previously had no church connection also joined the group, thus making the total membership of the new group about eighty families

The first meeting of this new group was held in the Smith school house a couple of miles south of Westby. The meeting was well attended. The air was quite tense with the seriousness of the situation. No one felt like saying very much, but everyone thought many things. Many thought of the pastor and the congregation they had left. For many it meant parting with relatives and friends. Others’ thoughts wandered to what the future had to offer to make up for the sacrifice. When the meeting became altogether too quiet, the chairman asked Lars Tollakson if he still had the courage to start building another church when he just finished the one on the prairie. 

First Our Savior's Lutheran Church

This sort of broke the tenseness of the situation. The question now became where the church should be placed, the calling of a pastor, etc. The location for the new church seemed the most difficult to decide since the people were quite well separated in several communities. One thing was settled, however, that they would stick together and not be divided because of this question. The only accomplishment at this first meting was to elect a committee or council. This council was given a great deal of authority, namely to decide time and place for services, to procure temporary pastoral service, etc.

During the first few months services were held just about as often as the members had been used to previously. Reverend J.N. Kildahl, then pastor of the Vang and Urland Congregations near Dennison, Minnesota, came several times.

The organization meeting of the congregation was held on November 9, 1888, in the Westby Methodist church. Reverend Kildahl was present at this meeting and was elected chairman. All were agreed that the time had come to organize the Our Savior’s congregation.