History of Pilgrim

A small group of people, eighteen in all, began worship services on October 20, 1963. They gathered around the means of grace, God's Word and Sacraments, with the Reverend David Lillegard serving as temporary pastor. Reverend Lillegard was serving our sister church in new Hampton at the time. On November 17, 1963, the first Sunday School classes were begun in order to help parents bring up their children, "in the training and admonition of the Lord." Ephesians 6:4.

A name had to be selected to identify this group. Under consideration were: Bethany, Epiphany, and Pilgrim. Pilgrim was selected at a meeting on December 29, 1963. Pilgrim means a "sojourner", someone residing in a country not one's own. This is a picture of the whole Christian Church, all who believe in Jesus and are awaiting the resurrection to eternal life, our real homeland. The following Bible passages describe our "Pilgrimage": I Peter 1:17, I Peter 2:11, Hebrews 11:9, 13. The official name became: Pilgrim Evangelical Lutheran Church but is often shortened to Pilgrim Lutheran.

On April 26, 1964, the voters decided to locate in the south part of Waterloo; east of Highway 63, south of Ridgeway, and north of then Highway 412 now called San Marnan Drive. Dean Holt became the first adult to be confirmed, August 2, 1964. Daniel Alan Hanson was the first infant baptized on September 20, 1964. Articles of Incorporation were filed with the State of Iowa on September 24, 1964, and are valid until the year 2014. President of Pilgrim at that time was Reverend David Lillegard; Secretary Howard Hanson; Treasurer Paul Potratz; Financial Secretary Edgard Potratz; Trustees Stanley Holt, Howard Hanson, and Dean Holt. A call was extended to Reverend Paul Petersen on December 6, 1964. Reverend Petersen accepted the call and was installed as the first full time pastor on June 13, 1965.

In March of 1965 the congregation applied for membership in the Evangelical Lutheran Synod. Many of the founding members had come from other congregations of the ELS. This Synod traces its roots back to the Old Norwegian Synod, prior to the 1917 merger. Before 1917 the Norwegian Synod enjoyed faithfulness to God's Word and to the Lutheran Confessions. However, the merger of several synods with the Norwegian in 1917 permitted truth and error with regard to doctrine to coexist. This forced 6 pastors to resign from the merger church. They along with concerned laymen met at Lime Creek, Iowa, in 1918 and formed the Reorganized Norwegian Synod commonly known as the "Little Norwegian Synod." This group later was rename the Evangelical Lutheran Synod.

The Trustees of the ELS provided a Home Mission loan to enable the congregation to purchase a building site and a parsonage. The original site on Hammond Avenue had many roadblocks so a parcel south of Olympic Drive and east of Ansborough was purchased in 1966, our current location. The church was designed by Thorson, Broshar and Brom, who won an award for its design, and contractors were Beck-Erickson. Ground was broken on May 28, 1967. Until it was completed, services and Sunday School were held at Kitrell School. Christmas 1967 was celebrated in the new church thanks to many hours of help from the congregation. On January 20, 1968, the church was dedicated for the Lord's work of extending the "Good News" to all nations. 300 people attended the dedication service. Three years later the parsonage was completed on the new property and the former parsonage sold. The construction of the parsonage was mostly done by the talented members of the congregation. Through the years, maintenance and improvements have been carried out on both buildings in a timely manner so that both facilities remain attractive and useful in the work of the church.

The following are a list of those pastors who have served Pilgrim Lutheran to date:

• 1963-1965 Reverend David Lillegard
• 1965-1975 Reverend Paul Petersen
• 1975-1976 Reverend ElRoy Buhr (vacancy)
• 1976-1977 Reverend James Olsen
• 1977-1978 Reverend Milton Tweit (vacancy)
• 1978-1982 Reverend Erwin Ekhoff
• 1982-1986 Reverend John Schmidt
• 1986 Reverend ElRoy Buhr (vacancy)
• 1986-1993 Reverend David Hoyord
• 1993-2005 Reverend Gregory Haugen
• 2005 - present Reverend Daniel Finn

Through the years God has been gracious to this congregation and through its labors many blood bought souls have entered the Kingdom of Grace. It is our prayer that God will continue His work among us and preserve His Word in truth and purity here at Pilgrim Evangelical Lutheran Church. To God alone be the glory.