The Waterbury Democrat., 1940-12-30
Evangelical Church
 Completes 5Oth Year
Four Charter Members Attend Golden Jubilee Ceebra-
 tion-Iduma Circle Donates Flowers for Program

place, in accordance with the faith and confession of our Lutheran church, and for this purpose an off, cial Lutheran preacher shall be called to proclaim the Word, be- sides, as soon as possible, to seek to bring about the organization of a Swedish Evangelical Luthera n church in this place."
 Five Dollars a Visit
 True to it's statement of purpose the society at once called candidate Harold Hegstrom to come and pro- claim Gods word each Sunday, and in return he was to receive five dol lars for each visit. To conduct funerals, pastoral acts, and admins ter the sacraments, Dr. H. L. Beck of Naugatuck was chosen. Salem Lutheran church of Naugatuck, of which Dr. Beck was pastor, was or ganized on February 12, 1887.
 How many were present at this organization meeting, or how many joined the society at that initial meeting, there is no record. But the original membership list of the church society shows 63 members whose names are recorded in the same handwriting, and in the same color ink. Then follow 35 more names, written in the same hand writing but no doubt recorded at different times, as different shades of ink are in evidence. Then in an- other handwriting we find 13 more names, so it makes a total of III men and women affiliated with the society during the course of the year 1890. No names of children are recorded. Qn our jubilee history we hope to publish this list of III nameS)
 Services had been conducted in Waterbury by Augustana Synod pastors previous to the organization of the society. Among those who preached were student Qater pas tor) Fritz Jacobson of Yale univer- sity, pastor Qater theological pro- fessor) c. J. ElofSon, and pastor N. G. Johnson, at that time pastor of Salem Lutheran church of Bridge port. These services were usually held in the home of someone inter- ested, bat permission was soon se- cured for the use of the parish house of St. Johns Episcopal church. During 1890 services were held every Sunday afternoon at 3:3O and Thursday evenings.
 Student Hegstrom must have left Yale university in June, for on June 28th the society chose Dr. c. Elof- son as president or chairman of the society, and as preached at a salary of $25.00 a month. This arrange ment was no doubt in effect until in October, for on October 11th, August Nelson, student at Yale uni- versity, Qater pastor in the Aug ustana Synod) was asked to come and preach each Sunday for the rest of the year 1890, to receive five dollars for each Sunday service.
 ReOrganized In 1891
 Just year after the organization, members of the church society met with Dr. H. L. Back as chairman, and decided to reorganize the soci- ety as a congregation, to be known as the Swedish Evangelical Zion Church of Waterbury, Conn. This was On December 30, 1891. So, it's period of service closed, the church society came to an end, or rather it expanded into congregation. So were the foundations lad for Zion Evangelical Lutheran church.
 Today we celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the organization of the church society, and as we do so we honor the pioneers, who laid the foundation. we remember with thankfulness their efforts and their sacrifices, and we thank God for the firm foundation laid on the endur- ing Word of God. Later on in our jubilee year we shall have occasion to speak of the beginnings of the congregation, ard the uphill task of those who labored in the vineyard during the early years. But in all our celebrating of our golden jubilee as a church, we say with the an- cientS, "Soli Dec Gloria" to God alone be the glory.