Our Savior's Lutheran Church

First Our Savior's Lutheran Church

Our Savior’s Lutheran Church was formed as two streams of Norwegian Lutheranism came together in the 1880s. St. Petri (located at the present Our Savior’s cemetery) had been founded in 1857 as part of the Augustana movement which emphasized personal piety and lay preaching. In 1889 its members joined with congregants from Coon Prairie church, who, along with many other Norwegian Lutherans, opposed the Norwegian Synod’s position on predestination and had formed Our Savior’s Lutheran Church the previous year. Together they formed a new congregation which became a part of the new United Norwegian Lutheran Church in 1890. Soon Our Savior’s constructed a wooden church building in the new village of Westby and received its first pastor. With the formation of the Norwegian Lutheran Church in America in 1917, some thought was given to merger with Coon Prairie. However, in 30 years, distinct congregational identities had formed and Our Savior’s went on to begin construction on its present stone edifice in 1921. Today it is a part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.