LAKE STEVENS — Lillian Malmstead plans to attend a centennial celebration Sunday at the church where she grew up.
Her Swedish mother and Norwegian father weren’t part of the group of 19 people who started Ebenezer Lutheran Church on May 23, 1910, Malmstead said. But they moved from Canada and joined shortly after the church was formed.
“In the beginning, the pastor came from the Lutheran church in Everett,” she said. “They came out Sundays for services. There was no running water and no bathroom. We had outhouses and a great big wood stove for heat.”
Malmstead, 86, was baptized in 1923 and later confirmed at Ebenezer Lutheran Church. In December 1946, she married her husband, Oakley, at the church. Her three children were also baptized and confirmed at Ebenezer Lutheran.
The original church building was built in an area of Lake Stevens between Hartford and Machias. The congregation was of Scandinavian descent and services were delivered in Swedish up until the early 1930s when a switch was made to all English services.
In 1954, the church congregation moved into the current building at 2111 117th Ave. NE in Lake Stevens.
“My biggest memory is when they bought that property in Lake Stevens and started building the new (church),” Malmstead said.
The church’s history is also a part of member of the Centennial Committee Loydeen Chapman’s family history. Her grandmother was part of the first confirmation class at Ebenezer Lutheran Church.
“My grandparents and a lot of other families, they walked on trails to church,” Chapman said. “Some of them walked 2 miles. They were dedicated.”
The church building has been remodeled and expanded since the original building dedication but the sanctuary, built to look like an upside-down ark, has largely remained the same.
“I look at it now and think it’s so cool they made it that way,” Chapman said. “I love the way the pews are worn by hands.”
The celebration will start with 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. worship services. A catered luncheon at 12:30 p.m. is sold out.
Following the luncheon, the celebration will feature the bishop of the Northwest Washington Synod, the Rev. Chris Boerger and former pastors of Ebenezer Lutheran Church Jerald Furgurson and Larry Olsen. A confirmation reunion, displays of the church history and mission projects, and an art walk will also be part of the event.
Ebenezer Lutheran is a church that “has a heart for ministry both in word and deed,” current pastor, the Rev. Lewis Benson said.
“This is a lively church,” he said. “We’re a church that sees its mission as serving God by serving others.”
Ebenezer is the site for the Lake Stevens Community Food Bank. The church is home to a preschool and hosts a weekly senior lunch, a Norwegian pancake breakfast and a community supper once every month. Members of the congregation participate in Operation Christmas Child and make and donate quilts, health, school and layette kits to Lutheran World Relief.
A commitment to community involvement is one reason council president Sue Wilson said she attends Ebenezer Lutheran Church. The centennial will be an opportunity to meet people who are a part of the church history, she added.
“I’m looking forward to meeting former members and pastors who have contributed so much to making Ebenezer what it is today,” Wilson said.
Amy Daybert: 425-339-3491, adaybert@heraldnet.com.
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