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StreetMankato Churches Established Between 1900 and 1950
Our Savior's Lutheran Church
On January 7, 1950, Our Savior's Lutheran Church was organized
with fourteen men present. The first service was conducted on January 8, 1950
with 126 persons present. In April of 1950, the congregation purchased a street
car barn at 1101 North Broad Street. The members renovated it to serve the
congregation. In 1955, a two-story addition was added to house the Sunday
School. Seven years later, construction began on a new church building adjacent
to the former street car barn. From Our Savior's sprang two "daughter"
congregations--Hosanna Lutheran Church and Lutheran Church of the Good
Shepherd.
Exerted from a passage by Iris
Iddings
Mankato Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses
In 1938, five people began meeting once a week in Mrs. Sundby's apartment on North Front Street. This was the beginning of the Mankato Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses. As the congregation expanded, the apartment was no longer large enough to hold everyone. Eventually, the Jehovah's Witnesses built their own Kingdom Hall on 3rd Avenue. It was now 1944. This suited them for a time, but increased membership caused them to move the Kingdom Hall to its current location at the corner of 2nd and Vine in 1952. There are approximately 150 Jehovah's Witnesses in Mankato. A new site is being constructed on Marie Lane in North Mankato.
Mount Olive Lutheran Church
Mount Olive Lutheran Church (known as Bethany Lutheran Church until
1948) was organized on June 3, 1928. On June 25, 1935, the congregation
incorporated. A parsonage was constructed in 1938 at 1004 Plum St. The
congregation established an elementary school in 1945. These classes were
conducted in a room at Bethany College. The school started out with 25
students. In 1947, property along Marsh Street was purchased and a one room
school was erected. The following year, a church building was built adjacent to
the school building. A parsonage was constructed next to the church in 1955. In
1970, an addition was built onto the church which provided additional
classrooms, offices, and a fellowship hall. With a growing population, more
space was needed and the old church was remodeled. The congregation of Mt.
Olive had been instrumental in sponsoring several Vietnamese refugee families
during the 1980's. It is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod and numbers
630 souls.
Exerted from a passage by Rev. Richard Newgrad
St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church
St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church was started in September of
1941 . The first service was held on November 2, 1941 with 25 members in
attendance. The Sunday School was organized on November 9 with two teachers and
twenty children. The congregation grew to 69 communicants by 1944. The Ladies
Aid was organized in February of that year and St. Mark's was officially
incorporated in April. The first children's confirmation was held on April 2,
1944. That summer Vacation Bible School was begun. In 1958, the Girl's Pioneers
was organized and in 1960 the congregation started an annual St. Mark's Day
observance to celebrate the anniversaries of the congregation. St. Mark's
Christian Day School opened its doors on September 6, 1976 with an enrollment
of 19 children in grades 1-6. St. Mark's joined the Minnesota Valley Lutheran
High School Association in 1979 and added grades 7 and 8 to the Day School in
1980. Kindergarten was added in 1983. An Evangelism-Outreach program was
initiated in 1987. St. Mark's currently has a membership of 305 and the Day
School has 28 pupils.
Exerted from a passage by Arn C. Kind
Source:
The Heritage of Blue Earth County Minnesota.
pgs. 308-327. Curtis Media Corporation. Dallas Texas. 1990