Members of the congregation stand in front of Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in Iron Mountain. The church will celebrate its 100th anniversary Oct. 6-8.

IRON MOUNTAIN — Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church will be culminating a yearlong celebration of 100 years of ministry, with the theme “Rooted and Established in Love,” on the weekend of Oct. 6-8.

All area residents, former members and friends of the congregation are invited to join the church in celebrating this ministry milestone.

An Old-Fashioned Hymn Sing is scheduled 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6. There will be an open house with slide shows and displays from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7. The Centennial Banquet will be at 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7, in fellowship hall. The 100th Anniversary Worship Service will take place at 9 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 8.

As we commemorate our 100 years of blessings, we also have anniversary items available for purchase, including Centennial Cookbooks, specially designed and handcrafted metal O.S.L. Keepsakes, as well as Centennial logo T-shirts and caps. Please call the church at 906-774-2733 for more details or to reserve a place at the banquet. Reservation deadline is Sunday.

Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church had its beginning in 1923 as a merging of nationalities, denominations and youth outreach programs in a period of expanding population and industry in the area. Up to that time, early immigrants from European countries working in area mines formed church affiliations based on the language spoken.

Our humble beginnings started as a group of concerned parents founded an English churchless Sunday School, renting Frieden’s German Lutheran Church on D Street in Iron Mountain with 24 children of 13 nationalities attending. On Feb. 11, 1923, a small group of men and women met at Frieden’s for worship and to consider organizing an English Lutheran congregation to serve all nationalities.

A group of 29 charter members held the final organizational meeting on Oct. 8, 1923, adopting plans for incorporation with the new church being named Our Saviour’s Evangelical Lutheran Church. Their first building was located on Kimberly Avenue near West F Street. The church continued to grow and by 1940 the need for a new church building began to be a major concern.

A building committee was formed in 1945 and a triangular site between Kimberly Avenue and Crystal Lake Boulevard was purchased from the Ford Motor Company at a cost of $2,500. Even as the Ford Motor Company pulled out of the area in December 1951, the congregation forged ahead with plans and a groundbreaking ceremony was held in March 1954. The cornerstone for the present building was laid on Sunday, Sept. 4, 1954.

In the year 2000, more ground was broken for a $1.4 million addition housing a new office suite, a multi-purpose gathering room on the first floor, and much-needed Sunday School rooms on the lower level. Handicap accessibility was realized with a drive-through carport and elevator access to all floors of the building. The Shepherd’s Preschool opened in 2001 and a new kitchen was dedicated in 2002.

Gratefully, the congregation recently welcomed its 17th pastor to begin a second century — the Rev. Nicholas Hopman, along with his wife, Mary, and daughters, Solveig, Inga, and Tove, from the Sioux Falls, South Dakota area.

We look back on the past 100 years with sincere gratitude to God for His constant care and guidance while looking forward to the next 100 years of ministry opportunities.