FIRST SWEDISH METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH (SAINT PAUL, MINN.)

According to the congregation's centennial publication, the history of the First Swedish Methodist Episcopal Church divides into three principal periods: The Scandinavian Methodist Episcopal Church (1854-1873), the period of separation (1873-1948), and then the St. John's Methodist Church (1948- ), in which the two separated congregations reunited.

The Scandinavian Methodist Episcopal Church began with a small group of Swedish and Norwegian Methodist families that met informally and sought a Scandinavian alternative to the English-language Methodist congregation in the city. The first official quarterly conference occurred in 1854, with the church occupying the old Jackson Street schoolhouse. A church building was completed in 1855 at the corner of Tenth and Temperance streets that served the congregation through 1887.

In 1873 a small group of non-Swedish Scandinavians organized the First Norwegian-Danish Methodist Episcopal Church, which thereupon served that language group until 1948. The remaining majority of the Scandinavian congregation renamed themselves the First Swedish Methodist Episcopal Church, remaining in the existing building. In 1921 the Norwegian-Danish congregation purchased the Emanuel Lutheran Church building at the corner of Aurora Avenue and St. Albans St., subsequently changing their name to the Aurora Methodist Episcopal Church of St. Paul. Following the 1924 completion of a new, larger church building at Hamline and Charles avenues in the Midway District, the Swedish congregation changed its name to the Midway Methodist Church. By this time all its worship services and business were being conducted in English.

In 1948, following the sale of the Aurora Methdoist Church building, the Norwegian-Danish and the Swedish congregations reunited as St. John's Methodist Church, establishing themselves in the Midway Methodist Church building, which was being expanded significantly .

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The records include minutes of meetings of the church council, of the congregation, and of quarterly conferences; a record of baptisms and marriages (1860-1885); minutes of the Minnesota (1873-1882) and St. Paul (1883-1889) district conferences; minutes and other records of the Northwestern Swedish Methodist Episcopal Church Insurance Society, a group that insured church buildings (1891-1907); minutes of the Sunday School Board (1894-1903); minutes of the Ladies Aid Society (1904-1912); records of membership and subscriptions; and treasurers' accounts. Some records are in Swedish, and are accompanied by English translations.

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Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. First Swedish Methodist Episcopal Church (Saint Paul, Minn.). Parish Records. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Provenance:

See Minnesota History, 18:95 (March 1937).

Accession Information:

Accession number: 4384; 7460

Processing Information:

Processed by: Kathryn A. Johnson, February 2000

Catalog ID number: 990017321080104294

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Fire insurance -- Northwestern States.

Swedish Americans -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.

Persons:

LaVine, Charles John, 1925-2018, translator.

Organizations:

First Swedish Methodist Episcopal Church (Saint Paul, Minn.). Ladies' Aid Society.

Methodist Episcopal Church -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.

Places:

Saint Paul (Minn.) -- Statistics, Vital.

Document Types:

Church records.

Parish registers.

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