Emmanuel Lutheran Church (Shepherd, Mont.)

Emmanuel was organized by Rev. Charles E. Johnson, pastor of American Lutheran in Billings. To begin with, it was served by interns from American Lutheran, and the first resident pastor was Rev. Erling R. Estrem who came in 1947.

The roots of the congregation go back to 1912 when Rev. Halvor S. Quanbeck of the Lutheran Free Church formed a congregation among Norwegian-American settlers who came from North Dakota. Services were held from time to time in schools. Pastor Quanbeck donated three acres of land for a church site and cemetery, but the building was never constructed. The congregation was eventually dissolved in 1920.

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