First Immanuel Lutheran Church (Portland, Or.)

The beginning of the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Congregation of Portland, Oregon, is the very beginning of Lutheran church work for the Augustana Synod on the Pacific Coast. The Synodical Mission Board in 1879 became aware of some 300 Scandinavians living in Portland. Casting about for a suitable pastor to do missionary work and eventually charter congregations, they called Pastor Peter Carlson, who had already pioneered missionary work in Illinois and Minnesota. Pastor Carlson arrived in Portland on September 13, 1879 and immediately started looking for Christian believers. He found 23 who would sign a charter and together they rented a small chapel which later grew into a church. Pastor Carlson traveled on horseback, boat and stage under severe hardship, organizing many congregations in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. Being an inner-city church, First Immanuel ha had its share of problems. In later years it has been involved in many outreach programs to better serve the community and go forward ecumenically.