Augustana’s traveling missionary, Rev. Peter Carlson, came to Marshfield, Oregon in August of 1884. On Sunday evening, September 7, 1884, forty-four persons of Scandinavian descent declared their intent to join the new Lutheran church. Twenty-three others soon added their names. One member donated a lot and a church was soon built. Swedish Lutherans from Eastside, North Bend, Empire and Coos River also attended the church. In the early 1900s travel was often by boat. The services were conducted in Swedish. The North Bend Church was organized in 1908. From 1908-1949 the Marshfield and North Bend churches were served by the same pastor. On May 1, 1958, after careful groundwork was laid by the pastors then serving the two congregations, the merger took place that brought Gloria Dei into being. By 1960 a new church was dedicated. The church prospered, and by 1970 an educational wing was added. In the late seventies a recession in the lumber and timber industries affected the area, but the congregation responded with various support ministries and continued to improve its properties, even paying off its mortgage before celebrating its 100th anniversary in 1984. In recent years Gloria Dei has also developed a cooperative relationship with Faith (ALC) in North Bend.
From the guide to the Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Coos Bay, Oregon, Records, 1884-2012, (Pacific Lutheran University)
