A Brief History of Our Church The Finns, even in the Old Country, were known as quite heavy partakers of strong spirits. When they immigrated to this country, because of the difficulty in getting acclimated and in response to the weary life of back-breaking work and the uncertainties of nature, drinking became rampant. The Finns finally decided to do something about it so they formed a Temperance Society and built a building on Plum Street. Everyone who joined the Society had to take a pledge to stay sober and if at any time they got caught breaking that pledge, they had to pay a fine of 25¢ which represented at least two hours labor at that time. The Society was disbanded in 1913, having served its purpose but the building continued to be used for many functions including classes in English. Religious services and Sunday School classes were also held there. Church and religion were all-important to the Finns. The Lutheran Church was the official Church of Finland but the citizens of Finland did have freedom of religion. Here in West Barnstable, there were several sects of Finnish Lutherans and each thought that their own particular way of practicing their religion was the best and correct method. Because of this, there was always some friction among the groups. At one time there were four Finnish churches. Before the churches were organized, it didn’t matter what sect a child was confirmed into. At that time there was not much choice. If a minister was available and capable of teaching classes it would do, as long as a child had religious training. Later, of course, when churches were more organized, the parents did have a choice and children were confirmed into the preferred church. When it was decided to build a central church, the co-operation among the various sects was exemplary. No matter how much the sects disagreed, they all banded together and donated their money and labor to build the church. After it was all built, they went back to their own sects and began quibbling all over again. In 1974 there was one sect left, The Finnish Lutheran Evangelical Apostolic Church, meeting in the old Temperance Society Hall on Plum Street. On January 18, 1915, a group of Finns met at the Temperance Hall to organize an Evangelical Lutheran Congregation. The meeting was conducted by Pastor Alpo Setala. The Congregation’s by-laws and purpose, as presented by Pastor Setala, were patterned after those of the Suomi Synod Lutheran Church. The name of the Congregation, selected at that first meeting, was to be “The West Barnstable Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church”. The University of Helsinki and Suomi Theological Seminary of Hancock, Michigan, were recognized as proper schools for their clergy. In May of 1916, agreement was made to begin looking for land on which to build a church. In September of 1918, the Pastor and the committee reported that a piece of land had been purchased for $170 and was registered with the Barnstable Registry of Deeds. Clearing of the land was done by members donating free labor. Stones to build the foundation were donated and construction was scheduled to begin in the summer of 1922. Dedication of the original building was held on June 22, 1924 with seating capacity of 150 people. Electric power was first installed in 1931. In March of 1949 a once-a-month English service was begun. Pastor Edwin Kyllonen officiated at the service, offering his participation at no charge, hoping to increase attendance at the church. During that year, the possibility of changing the name was first discussed. In 1950 the church went to two English services a month. In 1955, English became the dominant language but services were still being held in Finnish. In 1956, the Church called their first full-time English-speaking pastor, Douglas Ollila. Pastor Ollila resigned in 1961 to take a teaching position at Thiel College. He was replaced by two pastors, Dr. Henry Whiting and Dr. Harold Haas, who shared pastoral duties until Pastor Hans Dumpy was called in 1962. He was also a part-time pastor. The Garret Pond property was purchased from Carl Liimatainen in November of 1964. The property bounded the church land down to Garrets Pond and included a house, cottage, sauna and garage. Pastor Dennis Albrecht arrived in June of 1965 to be the second full-time pastor and the first to occupy the renovate parsonage. During Pastor Albrecht’s tenure as pastor, the first part-time, paid secretary and a paid janitor were hired. Pastor Albrecht resigned in August of 1971 to accept a call in Minnesota. He was replaced by Dr. Karl Olander, who served until December of that year when Pastor Gordon Nelson arrived. In 1984 the church called its first Associate Pastor, David Koppel, for a period of three years. In September of that year an architect was hired to develop plans for building expansion and remodeling. The plans were approved at a special Congregational meeting in February, 1985. The ground-breaking was held on March 26, 1986, Palm Sunday. Worship services were held in the Fellowship Hall while construction took place. The work was completed and the new sanctuary and enlarged facilities were dedicated on December 7, 1986. Pastor Nelson retired in July of 1988. During the interim, Pastor Ernest Bergeson and a string of other pastors served until our present pastor, Jonathan Ahnquist arrived in April of 1989. In December of 2000, Lynn Tozier, Associate in Ministry, joined the staff.
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