THE MISSION CHURCH OF ROSEWOOD

THE MISSION CHURCH OF ROSEWOOD

The congregation was organized on September 28, 1910, as the Swedish Scandinavian Bethlehem Congregational Church. Charter members were Pastor and Mrs. O. A. Anderson, Mr. and Mrs. T. Mellem, Mr. and Mrs. F. Styrlund, John Bloom, and Elvina Bloom. Sunday school and Ladies Aid was also organized. Meetings were held in various homes and school houses.

The church was built in 1912, and the congregation was served by Pastor Anderson until his death on October 1, 1917.




Reverend W. Drotts, who was at that time pastor of Viking's Mission Church, was then called to preach once a month, all services were in the Swedish language. Due to illness Reverend Drotts resigned in January, 1929. Included in the English speaking pastors who served the church was Blackwood, who married Judy Anderson to Ron Arnold in the spring of 1963.



It is not known when the name was changed to Mission Church. In 1942, the congregation became members of the Northwest Conference of Evangelical Covenant Church.




The congregation was dissolved in October of 1970, and the building was sold to Helmer Kalbakdahlen and was converted to a carpenter shop.


It is interesting to note that Pastor O. Anderson did not have regular wages.



Material for the church building cost $1,000. This did not include the foundation and basement which were com­pleted some years later. Enoch Nelson, a carpenter, was paid $80 dollars for building the church.


At that time the members were required to supply the wood for heat. The janitor was paid 50 cents per month. Kerosene lamps were used, kerosene costing 12 cents per gallon, a box of matches was 5 cents.

April 1917
Rosewood News John Bloom and T Mellem sided up the west wall of the Congregational Church on Saturday. The reason it wasn’t sided was because an addition was considered.

Guns in church are not permitted.

January 1925
Rosewood News The arrest of Carl A Sather, a familiar character at Rosewood since the beginning of December, at Thief River Falls last Saturday caused quite a stir in local circles. Sather arrived here about December first, from North Dakota claiming an earlier intimate acquaintance with Newell Anderson from Fordville where both have been employed this summer and proceeded to make his home at the home of Newell’s step father, Mr. Carl Bloom and stayed there until taken by the sheriff.

Sather left about December 10 for Minneapolis and returned about the 18th, driving a Dodge automobile and an unusually large supply of wearing apparel, fur coats, merchandise and rings and jewelry. This was after his operations at Gonvick. This large and varied collection appeared somewhat mysterious to some and some of the neighbors at the time cautioned the Bloom's of foul play. Sather showed a very generous and help some disposition and was engaged as a church assistant for the Christmas program held at the Swedish Mission church on the evening of December 30th at which time he played a very prominent public part here.

Sather made a good many friends with the local business men and evidently secured a thorough inside knowledge of the many places now strongly suspicion as forethought should be later plan a roundup of this place. There is no suspicion of any thefts here, as this was his hibernation for the time and he could find no better place of seclusion that the Bloom farm which is located at a considerable distance away from the highway and if he had kept shy of the highways and towns he would evidently have eluded suspicion even after his Alvarado burglary.

Considerable of the stolen loot was confiscated at the Bloom farm on January 12. When Hans Hanson, Marshall County Sheriff, personally raided the place, locating articles both in and the home and hidden in out buildings. At a hearing before Judge Andrew Grindeland Friday, Sather pleaded guilty to a series of thefts and was sentenced to serve an indeterminate sentence of from one to ten years in Stillwater. Shall we call this a wolf in sheep's clothing?

January 1926
Rosewood News The annual meeting of the Swedish Mission Church was held at T Mellem’s last Sunday. Mr. and Mrs. Carl Bloom have been appointed treasurers and T Mellem appointed trustee for three years.

OCTOBER 1937
10 18 T Mellem was pleasantly surprised on his 83rd birthday on Sunday. He was given a blanket by the guests. The guests listened to KFAM, the home of the Covenant Church station

May 1941
Mission Covenant Church has new steps

Mrs. Carl Bloom and Mrs. Lloyd Anderson will entertain the Ladies Aid at the Mission Church, Oct. 22 at 2:30.

JANUARY 1945
01 18 The annual business meeting for the Mission Church was held last week. Lloyd Anderson was appointed treasurer

April 1947
04 24 The JA Hellquist family lost their home due to a fire. Family and friends gathered at the Mission Covenant Church and presented them with a money purse.

July 1947
07 31 The Gospel Team performed in Strandquist Sunday night. Lloyd Anderson was part of the group that played before the Mission Covenant Church Service.

February 1947
0223 Group members of the Rosewood Mission Church met at the Lloyd Anderson home for a Valentine party. Games were played and lunch was served.

June 1952
Members of the Mission Covenant Church of Rosewood are busy digging a basement under their church.

In an early photograph of Rosewood, the Mission Church does not look as if it has been painted. We know it is the church because of the windows. Maybe $80 dollars to build the church didn't include paint!

I do have a question: If the west side wasn't finished because the church may be added on to, doesn't that mean the back of the church? The church still stands.

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