In the May 20, 1908 edition of the Independent there was an article about Rev. Gutnecht, who would be living as a resident in Carrington. He was to have services in English in the courthouse starting on June 6, 1908. The Reverend was also going to conduct services at Bordulac, New Rockford and Melville. He stayed in the area until 1910 when he was called to be a minister at Lyndeville, New York.
The next history of the Lutheran church goes back to 1915, when 15 families of German descent banded together to organize the "German Lutheran Church of the Ohio Synod." Because of the difficulty of keeping a minister they joined the Missouri Synod in 1920. This continued until 1924 when the congregation was discontinued. Some of the families continued to worship in New Rockford. All services were conducted in the German language. William Zebell was the pastor in 1917.
Lutherans of Norwegian descent also gathered in worship and started the First Lutheran Church in 1922 as a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Services were held in the Baptist Church, at the courthouse, and in the theater. Pastor Tollefson served in 1928.
A significant forward step was taken for the ministry of the Lutheran Church in Carrington with the arrival of a young pastor named Alvin L.C. Kelley, who had been ordained into the ministry of the American Lutheran Church. He arrived in 1932. Under his leadership members of the German Lutheran Church joined the group, meeting as the First Lutheran Church in the hope that a new congregation could be started by these two groups working together. Dr. Stoeve, District president of the E.L.C. called a meeting of the First Lutheran Church (E.L.C.) and the German group of the A.L.C. on September 14, 1932, to consider which church body should remain in Carrington. By a one-vote majority the group decided to affiliate with the American Lutheran Church, and the Reverend A.L.C. Kelley was called by the Mission Board of that synod to organize a congregation.
This united group worshipped every Sunday in the courtroom of the Foster County Court House.
On February 23, 1933 the group decided to reorganize the congregation and also change the name from the First Lutheran Church of Carrington to Trinity Lutheran Church. Also at this first meeting the first officers were elected:
President, Mr. Paul Nelson
Secretary, Mr. O.B. Smebak
Treasurer, Mr. Charles Froelich
Trustees: A.C. Otto, Mr. Richard Schoen, and Mr. Grover Hobson.
Other business at this meeting was the reading of the constitution of the American Lutheran Church by Pastor Kelley. This was accepted by the members and incorporated in the congregation.
Rev. Kelley was formally called by the members of this new congregation to serve as pastor. His salary was paid by the Mission Board, because the congregation was not self‑supporting at that time.
With Pastor Keller's aggressive work and the optimism of the officers and some of the members another meeting was called in March of the same year to reopen discussions regarding the building of a church. At this meeting it was decided to request a loan from the church building board. However, during the year 1933, no further progress was made on the building, so services were continued in the courthouse.
The two dominant groups, the Germans and the Norwegians, and people of other backgrounds had merged as a unified congregation. They had learned to worship, to pray, to sing, and to work as brothers and sisters in Christ, our Lord.
In the spring of 1934, it became evident that the courthouse would no longer accommodate the congregation, and it became imperative that a building be erected.
Plans were drawn and building costs estimated by the congregational president, Paul Nelson, and treasurer, Charles Froelich, who were both building contractors. Although the Building Board did not as yet have the money to loan, it was decided that the congregation borrow the money locally as a start to finance the building. Previously the Norwegian Lutheran Church in Carrington, with the effort of Mrs. O.D. Dawalt, had raised about $1,000 by the Ladies Aid. This money was used to help finance the new church.
After some consideration and discussion the present site was selected and purchased (on Main street) from Mrs. Lee Harmon. On August 14, 1934, ground was broken for the new building and the process of building the new church began at once. The work was both difficult and interesting since it was decided to build the church by donated labor, with Mr. Nelson and Mr. Froelich and Mr. Schoen supervising the construction. It was hoped that the building might be completed by Thanksgiving Day, but delays caused by bad weather and failure of materials to arrive held up the building operation, so that the church was not ready for occupancy until December 16, 1934. During the year of 1934 the farmers had a complete crop failure due to drought, and the country was in the middle of a deep economic depression.
Stained glass windows were given as memorial gifts several years later. The Dedication Service of the Church Art Windows took place on Easter Sunday 1948.
As the need for more Sunday school facilities became more urgent a Building Committee was elected in 1950. Dedication of the new addition was May 1952.
As the years went by it was decided to build new facilities for the Trinity Lutheran Church. Ground was broken on Sunday October 1, 1978. The building price tag was quoted to be about $400,000.
The first services were held on December 23, 1979. Formal Dedication Services were conducted by Bishop Nelson F. Preus on April 13, 1980.
The bell that hangs in the front of the church was donated by the James River Lutheran Congregation. It weighs 950 pounds and was purchased by the James River congregation in 1919 at a cost of $85. It formally rang at the church along highway No. 200, twelve miles east of Carrington.
Trinity Lutheran Church has grown from the fifteen original families in 1915 to a present membership of about 300 families in 1982.
Those ordained from this church were Rev. Sylvan Lee, Rev. Fred Moberg, Rev. Jerry Miller and Rev. Dwight Penas. Omar Bonderud received a theological education and entered the publishing field, writing Christian educational materials. Alvin Kuehn was killed while serving as a missionary in New Guinea.
Trinity became involved in the theological education of pastors when it entered into the Intern Program in 1973. Each of the students spends one year in the congregation fulfilling various duties.
Paul Johnson, Brooklyn, New York‑1973‑74
Jim Knudson, Sioux Falls, South Dakota‑1974‑75
Jeff Martinson, Milwaukee, Wisconsin‑1975‑76
Fandall Nicolai, Bismarck, North Dakota ‑1976‑77
Tom Dunham, Sioux Fals, South Dakota‑1977‑78
Jonathan Dorum, Moorhead, Minnesota‑ 1978‑79
Jan Peterson, Manitowoc, Wisconsin‑1979‑80
David Engelstad, Aneta, North Dakota‑1980‑81
Bob Koepp, Belle Plain, Minnesota‑ 1981‑82
Arland Braaten‑Lee, Decorah, Iowa‑1982‑83
Rev. A.L.C. Keller‑ September 1932 to April 1941
Rev. H. Meske‑ April 1941 to June 1944
Rev. E.E. Lang‑ June 1944 to November 1956
Rev. Rialto Roesler‑ November 1956 to 1966
Rev. James Schoeld‑1966 ‑1974
Rev. Gordon Berntson‑ July 1974 ‑ serving at the present time (1982)
Ladies Aid started 1933
Lutheran Daughters of Reformation
Lutheran Brotherhood‑ Men's Club
Trinity Lutheran Church
Women Luther League
Junior League
Ladies Aid was organized January 1933 at the home of O.B. Smebak with 18 members present. The first officers were:
Mrs. Frank Deede, president
Mrs. A.C. Otto, secretary
Mrs. Nels Swenson, treasurer
The first dinner was held for dedication services on September 22, 1935. The price of the meal was 35 cents for adults and 25 cents for children.
One of their projects is to serve meals at the Foster County Fair. The first group to serve there prepared the hamburgers on an oil stove in a small tent located across from the main exhibit tent. The ladies have continued to serve meals at the county fair each year.
A kindergarten, which was open to the community, was established in 1961 under the leadership of Mrs. Roesler, who served also as the teacher. She was the wife of the minister at that time. These classes continued until 1981 when kindergarten became a part of the public educational system.
Source: A History of Foster County 1983 Page 234