The origins of Emanuel go back to 1918 when the brothers William and Carl Merz, along with their families, arrived in Yelm and engaged Paster Svinth to conduct worship services once a month in the Merz home. The worshippers used public facilities until the congregation was formed as Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church of Yelm on May 9, 1926 with 17 charter members. The church was completed in 1931, and services were held the first and third Sunday of each month. In 1949 a full-time pastor was a dream realized and the parsonage was built. Sunday School classes were held upstairs and in other facilities until construction of a Fellowship Hall/Church Sunday School addition to the church was completed in 1951. It was at this time that the name was changed to Emanuel Lutheran Church. Declining membership led to a merger with Bethany Lutheran, Spanaway, in 1967, which was resolved in 1974 by returning to mission status and gaining support from the Board of American Missions and Immanuel Lutheran in Centralia. For the 50th Anniversary, a project of new siding, landscaping and colored windows was completed and dedicated on October 19, 1975.
From the guide to the Emanuel Lutheran Church, Yelm, Washington, Records, 1926-2012, (Pacific Lutheran University)
