320.963.3592
7809 County Road 35 W
Middleville Township
Annandale, Minnesota
1941 -1976
A call was sent out to Pastor J. H. Klausmeier of Little Falls, Minnesota. He was installed August 24, 1941.
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In a special meeting held December 14, 1941 the matter of buying a church flag and U.S. flag was discussed. The congregation bought the U.S. flag and the church flag was purchased by an individual member. In January 1942 the new Lutheran Hymnals (known as TLH) were introduced. On February 9, 1942 the pension plan of synod was adopted.
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In 1943 it was decided to move the school to the southwest corner of the unfenced land in Albion Township. It was stipulated that the school should be as close to the road as possible and that a basement be put under the school. Four school teachers served under Pastor Klausmeier. In the summer of 1946 Pastor Kausmeier accepted a call to Convoy, OH.
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Pastor J.H. Klausmeier
Pastor H.E. Bentrup
Pastor Berthold Hein and Mrs. Hein
While the number of members declined somewhat, stewardship by the grace of God has advanced. With the help of God the considerably greater financial needs had been met. The goal of having a permanently called teacher was finally realized.
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Our Ladies Aid joined the Lutheran Women's Missionary League (LWML) on August 11, 1949. Stained glass windows were donated as memorial gifts by various members. A Lutheran Laymen's League was organized.
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Improvements to the church and grounds were surfacing the parking lot on the land donated by Victor Miller and indoor plumbing added to both the church and school.
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Bethlehem congregation celebrated its 75th Anniversary on September 27, 1953 with an estimated crowd of 900. Not much of this celebration was recorded.
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The fund was set up for the training of ministerial students.rs, that works well on almost every site.In all, the Neys have contributed $7,000 for the principal. The income has grown and can be used by young men and from Bethlehem and Immanuel Lutheran Church of Silver Creek, Minnesota to help finance their schooling at the seminary. There have only been a few that have used money from the Ney fund. Lyle Klemz of Silver Creek was a recipient of the Ney fund and is now a Pastor in Lehr, North Dakota.
Pastor H. E. Bentrup accepted a call to Elk River, Minnesota and left in June 1955.
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Pastor Berthold Hein of Hancock, Minnesota was installed on October 2, 1955. In December of that year the starting time of the English services was set at 9:30 a.m. and it has remained at 9:30 to this day. The communion rail was made and installed by Mr. William Jans. Poor health forced Pastor Hein to resign on October 15, 1956. At this time it was decided not to have any more services in the German language.
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Pastor Martin F. Rische of Mayer, Minnesota was installed on July 28, 1957. His Pastorate was cut short by his death on March 18th of the following year.
Pastor Werner C. Barlau of Lester Prairie, Minnesota was installed in October of 1959. He wasn't a stranger to Bethlehem as he had filled the vacancy pastor's duties after Pastor Hein's resignation and again after Pastor Rische's death.
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The stained glass windows were releaded. In 1965 new shingles were put on the church building. Smoke damage necessitated a new interior paint job in 1966.
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The cemetery fund was started in 1966 to provide funds for the perpetual upkeep of the cemetery. It's nice to know that no matter what happens to our church the cemetery grounds will be maintained for years to follow. Pastor W. C. Barlau accepted a call to Elgin, Minnesota in October of 1966, leaving a vacancy until June of 1968. This was the longest period of time that Bethlehem was without a full time pastor.
Pastor Werner C. Barlau
In June of 1968 Pastor David A. Likeness accepted our call from the seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. He was installed on July 28, 1968. The very popular Ebenezer Thank Offering, collected all year long in 1967 on birthdays, brought in $3,192 for missions.
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Prior to Pastor Likeness' coming extensive repairs were made to the parsonage, necessary in part, because of vandalism which occurred while the parsonage was empty.The ladies aid purchased gold carpeting for the altar area and aisle in the spring of 1969. The chimney was shortened. In July of 1969 the Cascade Pictures of California, Inc. came with their TV motion picture camera to film a commercial for Land O' Lakes Ice Cream Company. Many of our members were seen on TV in this commercial.
Pastor David A. Likeness
In April 1972 Pastor Likeness accepted a call to Washington, Illinois where he preached at Our Savior Lutheran Church. Pastor James Shears, from the seminary, accepted our call and was installed on July 23,
1972. At this time the north porch of the parsonage was remodeled. The church steeple was fixed and new siding was put on the bell tower. In February 1974 the constitution of our church was revised and clarified. Also while Pastor Shears was here, Vacation Bible School was started.
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The parsonage was insulated, the cemetery fence was removed and a projector and loud speaker system was purchased.
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Pastor Shears resigned in May of 1976 to go into the chaplaincy of the United States. Pastor Ronald Stehr of Immanuel, Silver Creek filled the vacancy.
In the fall of 1946 Pastor H. E. Bentrup of Winona, Minnesota R. F. D. No. 2 was called. He was installed December 8, 1946. President Robert Heyne of Waconia preached the sermon.
In 1953 Mr. and Mrs. Albert Ney donated $1,000 to set up the Robert E. Ney Memorial fund (in memory of their son killed in action).