Pastor Erik Niemi at the Highland Lutheran Church in La Center is pleased to showcase the church’s history as on Sunday, Sept. 10, the congregation will celebrate its 140th anniversary.
The Highland Lutheran Church’s congregation began as the La Center Norsk Evangelisk Luthersk Menighed by a group of Norwegian and German Lutheran immigrant families who desired Christian fellowship in 1883, the church’s history page on its website states.
“Little did the original congregation members realize that Highland would become one of the founding congregations in the State of Washington and that the original chapel would be one of the oldest church buildings west of the Mississippi River,” the church’s website states. “Now called the Centennial Church, {the} chapel stands today much as it did in 1887, except for the kitchen add-on in 1900. Inside the Nave on the wall behind the altar is a wonderful original mural of Christ. The mural was designed and painted by Mr. Peter Moe, one of the congregation’s founders.”
For years, the Highland Lutheran Church was served by ministers from Silverton, Oregon, once a month. The ministers traveled by riverboat and horse-and-buggy to share the gospel at Highland.
“I found over the years that a lot of people identify with this congregation, and even after 18 years, there are people that I’ve not met before that claim this is their home congregation because they were baptized here or married here years and years ago,” Niemi said. “So, I think the celebration is a chance to invite people back and recognize how many families and people this church has been connected to over the years.”
With 140 years of history and the original church building still well maintained, Niemi said many have driven by the church and wondered what it’s like inside. The 140th-anniversary celebration will offer people a chance to see as Niemi will offer tours. The back room of the old church has some antiques and photos of the church, along with newspaper clippings, through the years.
Other celebration plans include a bounce house, live music, grilled burgers and hot dogs and more.
“The Lewis River Mobile Food Bank was started here at Highland, and we’re going to have the trailer here to help people become more aware of the food bank and how that got started,” Niemi said. “Our preschool got started in 1980. Our preschool is going to have a little display … so it’s kind of a celebration of the different activities and ministries here.”
There’s even the chance of Curly the Camel making an appearance, Niemi noted.
Niemi said the congregation was founded in 1883, and the church building still on site was built in 1887. For the 100th anniversary, Niemi said there was a remodel of the structural support.
“We try to use the building as much as possible. For smaller events, usually we have two or three summer weddings over here,” Niemi said. “It’s great for midweek evening services, like during Advent and Lent. We’ll do Wednesday evening services over here, and a nice little candlelight service in this old building is just magical.”
The 140th anniversary celebration will start with a church service at 10 a.m. before the party from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 10. For more information, call Highland Lutheran Church 360-263-2302, or visit the website at highlandlutheranchurch.com. The church is located at 38809 N.E. 41st Ave. in La Center.
