Hungry Horse news., 1954-12-24
10 cents a Copy
Churches Grow With Columbia Falls

Mirror. of a growing city is its
churches, and in Columbia Falls
church and Sunday School attend
ance during 1853 and 1854 has in
many instances doubled.
Example is Our Savior's Luth-
eran church. In 1947 local Luth-
Grams organized a congregation
with Harry Baker as pastor.
Christmas, 1851 saw the new
church building used for the first
time. Last Sunday Pastor c. M
Rasmussen brought 80 adults and
81 children into church member
ship.
The Lutheran Sunday school
now attracts 1876, and there are
l60 confirmed.
Local Lutherans find their
church building that was dedicated
Sept. 90 and 80, 1858 too small in
1854. The Christmas program was
held at Columbia Falls grade
school auditorium last Monday
and had more than 400 in attend
ance.
ST. RICHARDS OLDEST
Oldest church in the community
is ST. Richards Catholic church. It
was built in 1891, and serves 165
families between Columbia Falls
and West Glacier or about $50 per-
sons. When Father William C.
Molloy came here from Butte two
years ago there were 120 families
st. Richards seats 120 persons.
Result is two masses each Sunday
morning.
Oldest Protestant church in Col
umbia Falls is the Methodist. Rev
M. o. Smith is pastor. The church
was built in 1894-95.
Methodist Sunday school attend
.ance reached 104 last Sunday. Rev
erend Smith says that active
church membership has doubled
during 1854.
Local Methodists hope to COM
plete payments in l956-57 on the
parsonage they purchased two
years ago.
PASTOR WERNER's DECADE
The local minister who has best
observed the growth of Columbia
Falls from religious standpoint is
Pastor Ralph Werner of the Bap-
fist church.
He founded the church here in
1945. At that time he was the only
local resident minister
The Baptists purchased a Cob
umbia Falls landmark, the former
Kennedy home on highway No. 40
that had been the residence of the
towns first postmaster. Downstairs
was remodelled into chapel and
Sunday School rooms and upstairs
into a parsonage. The chapel be-
came too small, so the porches
were enclosed and walls removed
to enlarge seating capacity.
Now under construction IS
new parsonage, and next fall local
Baptists plan to start building
their new church. Last Sunday
there were 126 at the Baptist
church.
NEW Ids CHURCH
One church building in Columbia
Falls that appears adequate for
its growing membership is the Lat
ter Day Saints chapel that will be
dedicated this winter. 1t is $75,-
900 brick 100 by 50-foot building.
First Ids services were held in
Columbia Falls in May, 1850. Sum
day school services had been held
in nearby Bad Rock previously.
In 1850 there was total member
ship of 80 adults and children.
This rose to 1872 last Jan. l, and
now is 228.
Seven Mormon families who
were associated with Hungry
Horse Dam construction left. The
Ids group lost 54 members, but
picked up 100 new ones. Harold
c. Tolley is branch president
CHRISTIAN GROWTH
Feb. 4, 1851 saw first Christian
church services held in Columbia
Falls. The c. B. Cobb residence
was purchased and used for serv-
ices starting June "a, 1851. Down.
stairs became the chapel and Sum
day school classes overflowed
with one group using the pastors
for their meeting.
Tom Shelton has been pastor for
two years and church membership
has Increased from p to 81 last
Easter and now II for Christmas.
Construction of new church
building is planned.
One of the community's Oldest
churches is St. Matthew's Episco-
pal presently without a minister.
Bishop Daniels of Helena is to be
present for services at the White