The SALT parish consists of four rural ELCA churches in northern Minnesota.
They are:
- Faith Lutheran in Culver
- First Lutheran in Meadowlands
- St. John’s Lutheran in Saginaw
- St. Peter’s Lutheran in Canyon
Faith Lutheran Church 5697 Hwy 7, Culver, MN 55779
On September 25, 1899, Pastor Salveson held the first church service of the Industrial Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church. The service was held in a log school-house on the corner of Hwy. 8 and McArthur Road. The log structure was destroyed by a forest fire on October 12, 1918. Services were then held in homes, until the new school was built in 1919. In 1922 a new church was built across from the previous location on land donated by George Scrabeck. The Industrial Church was served by several pastors from Duluth and Cloquet. The Industrial Cemetery, located on Hwy. 8 was owned and cared for by the church and still is today. In 1961, a basement was built at the intersection of Hwy. 7 and 8 in Culver Township. The name of the church was changed to Faith Lutheran Church, because it was built on FAITH. In March 1967, Bethlehem church of Alborn and Faith merged bringing new strength and fellowship. The superstructure was begun in 1970 and dedicated on June 27, 1971. Immanuel Lutheran in Brookston, MN, started building their church with a basement in 1960. In late 1969, an inactive Methodist church building was purchased and moved to the site above the basement. The dedication was held in October 1970. Pastor Thomas Anderson became the pastor for both Immanuel and Faith in June 1996. Pastor Anderson would travel between the 2 churches for services on Sunday. By the end of 2018 Immanuel decided to sell the church and merge with Faith. Today, Faith Lutheran is one of 4 churches belonging to SALT Parish. We share Minister Dave Erdmann. This organization proves that with FAITH 4 churches can work together.
First Lutheran Church 9988 Elm St. Meadowlands, MN 55765
The women of the Swedish settlement organized a Ladies Aid on September 19, 1906. The meeting was held at the home of Miss Emma Hedin. Carl Nelson, the lay pastor from Duluth, called the meeting. The group was President Miss Emma Hedin, Secretary Mrs. August Olson, and member Mrs. Gust Anderson, Mrs. Erik Olson and Mrs. A Hedin. On November 19, 1906 a meeting was held at Meadowlands School to discuss the organizing of a Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Congregation. Those in attendance moved to go ahead with the forming of the new church. Construction began in 1909. The location currently was east of the Whiteface River, on the north side of Highway 133. The construction of the new church progressed rapidly. The first service was held on June 24, 1909. On August 19, 1935, lightening struck the steeple of the church. There was no fire fighting equipment in the area at the time and the church was completely destroyed. Parishioners were able to save the altar and the small pump organ. A special meeting of the congregation was called and the decision was made to build a new church in the Village of Meadowlands. Construction of a new church on lots that had been donated by store owner, Martha Schleinitz, began in the summer of 1936. The church was almost completed when a severe electrical storm moved through the area. Lightening struck the building and it burned down in a matter of minutes. At that time, part of Hibbing was being moved to allow mining of iron ore under the buildings. A church scheduled for demolition was offered to the congregation for $25. Material from the building was hauled to Meadowlands. Work on the new structure began in 1936. The first services were held in the church sanctuary by summer of 1941. At a special meeting of the congregation held on November 3, 1941, the name was officially changed from the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Maria Church of Meadowlands to First Evangelical Lutheran Church of Meadowlands. First Lutheran celebrated their 100th anniversary in 2006!!
St. John’s Lutheran Church 4893 Independence Rd, Saginaw, MN 55779
On December 28, 1919 eleven men met to organize St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church. Articles of Incorporation were filed on January 26, 1920 with the State of Minnesota. Construction began shortly thereafter and the church was dedicated in 1922. The congregation was granted a loan from the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod to launch the building program. The first ladies group was formed in about 1935 and a men’s club was in existence from 1956 through 1958. A new basement and foundation were laid in 1943 and during the early fifties the interior of the building was given an upgrade. An addition to the building was added and the building was rededicated in 1985 after more remodeling. During its 100-year history, St. John’s has shared parish ministry with Cloquet, Wrenshall, Wright, Hope in Munger, Immanuel in Brookston and St. Peter’s in Canyon. In the 1970’s St. John’s left the Missouri Synod and joined Lutheran Church in America. In 1988 the Lutheran Church in America, the American Lutheran Church and the Association of Lutheran Churches formed the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
St. Peter’s Lutheran Church 7960 Hwy 53 N. Canyon, MN 55717
St. Peter’s Lutheran Church was founded by Norwegian and German settlers. The Ladies Aid Society was organized in September, 1899 with 5 charter members. The first service was held in a Little Brown School House on January 31, 1900. The early pastors came by train to Alborn and were met there by members with a wagon and team of horses. They would spend the night at the home of a church member and travel home the next day. On May 24, 1900, the church was officially organized and admitted to the ELC. In 1903, The Boston Duluth Land Company donated 2 acres of land for the church and cemetery grounds. In 1912 the present church was erected with plans drawn up by Edward Austen and Olaf Stenstad. Members and friends of the congregation donated logs cut from their property. John Vik, a friend of the congregation, would saw the logs with his portable saw mill. The first service in the new church was held on Labor Day in 1913. The church was dedicated on September 27, 1914. In the early years, the congregation spoke English, Swedish, German and Norwegian. When singing hymns with the same melody, it sounded like singing “in tongues”. Starting November 10, 1929, English was the only language used. The eleven stained glass windows were purchased from Proctor for $10 each and were installed in 1958.