The First English Lutheran Church was built on Church Street in 1941. Before that, First Lutheran had a couple of different homes in Marshall. The church celebrates its centennial this week.

MARSHALL — It’s a major milestone for First Lutheran Church – this week, the congregation will be marking 100 years in Marshall.

Church members said there’s a lot of history and change to look back on. “The church has changed, but so has the whole community and the world in our time,” said longtime church member Perry Banks, in an interview recorded for the centennial.

Celebrations for First Lutheran Church’s centennial will be going on all next week, with events including a special reunions and worship services September 27 and 28.

The congregation at First Lutheran have been preparing for the centennial in a lot of different ways. “We’ve been working on this for about two years,” said Mark Schwanebeck, one of the centennial organizing committee members. Church members put together a history book, and even recorded video interviews with church members about their memories.

Among the people interviewed about First Lutheran were Perry and Marquita Banks. Perry, who was born in 1929, is the longest living member of First Lutheran, the church history book said. Perry’s mother Edith (Swanson) Banks was one of the early members of the church. Perry said his mother’s parents were Swedish immigrants who farmed in Lynd.

“My mother was a member of the First English Lutheran Church. It started in 1925, and that’s when their family was there,” Perry Banks said in the interview.

According to the church history, several attempts were made to establish a Lutheran church in Marshall, starting as early as 1877. None of the church groups stayed together until 1924, when Rev. C.N. Sandager was called as the pastor of the First English Lutheran Church. The church’s first service was held at the Episcopal church building at the corner of Fifth Street and Main Street in Marshall.

First Lutheran later moved into a former Presbyterian church building in Marshall. In 1941, a new church building was constructed on Church Street.

The First Lutheran congregation grew over time, and in 2002 the church broke ground on an expansion project. The church celebrated the dedication of a new sanctuary in September 2003.

In a video interview, Marquita Banks said she remembered the congregation using temporary worship space during construction.

“We had a service at (Marshall High School), which was really interesting because everyone could be in one space,” she said. With the new church sanctuary, the congregation also had more room.

By 2020, First Lutheran had more than 1,400 baptized members, the church history book said. Even as the church has grown, members have built up relationships reaching across generations. Tonya Tomasek, First Lutheran’s current director of outreach and congregational care, started out as the church’s youth ministry director in 1990.

“It’s been really fun,” Tomasek said. She was the first youth minister at First Lutheran to serve for a long period of time. “They watched me grow.”

Tomasek said she’s loved getting to know families in the congregation through generations. “for me, the real blessing is to be in a place long enough to see the kids of kids,” she said.

In 2023, Tonya’s daughter Bailey Long became youth and family ministries director. Long said her own experiences in youth ministry at First Lutheran were part of why she was interested in the job.

“I feel like I had the best experiences as a youth, and when I went to college I kind of missed that,” Long said. Between youth groups and confirmation classes, she said, “I would say I spent my whole Wednesdays here.”

“I feel like what’s nice about the (youth) ministry, is that it’s still supported by the whole congregation,” Long said. People across generations are willing to support and mentor youth.

Scott Fuller, who served as pastor at First Lutheran for 10 years before retiring in 2023, said his family has enjoyed being part of the church community. Fuller came to Marshall from Anchorage, Alaska.

The members of First Lutheran were a big part of what made the church a positive place, Fuller said. When he interviewed with the church, “We found a real spirit of strength, confidence and hope for the future,” he said. “And there’s a great subculture of people taking care of each other.”

Church members said the outreach and community connections people made at First Lutheran were part of what has made it special.

“I think that’s one thing that really resonates,” said church member Eric Luther. “We do a lot of ministry in the community.”

Fuller said First Lutheran members found ways to share their faith, whether it was small ministry groups or a Bible study group that met at the Brau Brothers brewery. “That’s been one of the funnest experiences of my life,” Fuller said of the “Bible and Brew” group. With a more relaxed atmosphere, people at the study group were willing to ask questions and get engaged, he said. The group is “still going strong,” Fuller said.

Music has also been a big part of the First Lutheran community, church members said. “We have a really great music department,” said church member Rosie Sorum. Church members have formed praise team, instrumental and choir groups, and held special events like a Christmas tea.

“I’m really delighted in the dedication to music,” at First Lutheran, Fuller said.

More than 40 people will be singing together in a reunion choir during the centennial celebrations, Tomasek said.

The celebrations of the First Lutheran centennial will include a performance by the Looney Lutherans at 7 p.m. Monday; “Party in the Parking Lot” events and a worship service on September 24; a Bible & Brew anniversary event at Brau Brothers on September 25; and reunion events and worship services September 27-28. Worship will be at 5 p.m. September 27, and at 9:30 a.m. on September 28.