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NEWPORT - The American Lutheran Church (ALC) of Newport is celebrating its 100-year Anniversary on Sunday, Oct. 18, starting at 8:30 a.m. with coffee including displays of history, events and people from the church from 1926 to the current day. A Celebration Service and Program will start at 10 a.m. followed by a Century Celebration Potluck featuring foods from each of the 10 decades.
The church’s beginnings date back to the late 1800s and early 1900s when early Scandinavian Lutherans immigrated to Newport attracted by the lumber industry and farmland. For 20 plus years, these Lutherans were affiliated with the Norwegian Lutheran Church of America, shared Ministers with other communities but had no permanent place for services. In early 1926, they were meeting in the Palace Dance Hall (Moose Hall) and decided they were ready to organize a formal church. In March 1926, they held the formal Congregation Meeting to establish the American Lutheran Church.
By February 1927, they had bought property on Spokane Street and built a chapel where they could hold services.
They worked hard to raise money and held the dedication service in the completed new church by December of that year.
The church built a parsonage in 1960 (which now houses the Miner Newspaper offices). In 1992, following a major fundraising effort, ALC bought land for a new church where the Ownbey Drive-In Theatre had been.
Groundbreaking was on May 15,1994.
The first service in the new church was held on May 28, 1995.
The early church members adopted the philosophy that “All Are Welcome” which continues to capture the spirit of ALC throughout its 100-year history, church officials say.
The American Lutheran Church is located at 332801 Highway 2 in Newport and is served by Pastor Brendan Wiechert. For more information, call 509-447-4338 or go to www.americanlutheranchurch.net.
