Jón Bjarnason Academy - 01.05.1935, Page 25

Golden Jubilee of the Icelandic
Lutheran Synod
By REV. R. MARTEINSSON, B.A., B.D.
Principal of Jon Bjarnason Academy
Sixty-five years, ago the first Icelandic immigrants arrived
in the United States and three years later (1873) the first of
those people reached Canada. Immigration from Iceland con-
tinued until about 1910. Icelanders and their descendants are
now located in various parts of Manitoba and Saskatchewan
with smaller numbers in Alberta and British Columbia. They
are also found in Minnesota, North Dakota and Washington
in the United States. They are really scattered all over the
continent. Possibly some 30,000 people of Icelandic origin
and descent are found on the North American continent.
Very early in the history of at least their largest settle-
ments these people began to take what steps they could to
preserve their Christian faith for themselves and for their
children. They had all belonged to the Lutheran State Church
of Iceland. To at least many of them, the Lutheran type of
Christianity was a precious heritage and was not to be dis-
carded in this new land.
The first Icelandic service on this continent was conducted
by Rev. Jon Bjarnason in Milwaukee, Wis., on the 2nd day
of August, 1874. The first Lutheran congregation among
Icelanders was organized by Rev. Pall Thorlaksson in Shawano
County, Wisconsin in 1875. Icelanders settled on the western
shores of Lake Winnipeg in 1875. Not very long thereafter
the settlers began to organize themselves into congregations,
and for a time they were served by two Icelandic Lutheran
pastors, both mentioned above. An exodus from that settle-
ment to North Dakota occurred in 1879, and there similar
church work was commenced.
In 1885 there were two Icelandic Lutheran pastors in
North America. Rev. Jon Bjarnason in Winnipeg and Rev.
H. B. Thorgrimsen in North Dakota. In January, 1885, the
latter extended invitations to Icelandic Lutheran congregations
to come to a meeting at Mountain, N. D., to form a synod. The
meeting was held in January, devised a constitution and took
what other steps were necessary to organize a synod. The first
meeting of that synod was held in Winnipeg in June that year.
Officers were then elected and organization completed. The
first president was Rev. J. Bjarnason. He continued in office
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