Trinity Lutheran Church of Durand celebrates 180th anniversary

    Trinity Lutheran Church, in Durand, will be celebrating their 180th anniversary on Sunday, Sept. 15 with a special worship service at 10:30 a.m., followed by a catered dinner.

    To celebrate the dinner with them, please call 815-248-2311 or email [email protected] to reserve a seat no later than Sunday, Sept. 8.

    They are located at 15585 Durand Road.

History of the church

    Trinity Lutheran Church was founded in November 1844 by a group of Norwegian Christian settlers that had immigrated to the United States and settled in Rock Run Township. They corresponded with the Bishop of the Church of Norway, requesting a pastor who would be paid the sum of $300 per year and use of 80 acres of land. Their first pastor was Rev. J.W.C. Dietrickson.

    Rock Run Cemetery was established and dedicated on April 8, 1945, located at the northeast corner of Best Road and Durand Road. In the same location as the cemetery, the first church building, a stone structure costing $365, was dedicated in June 1852. This congregation was named Rock Ground Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church, but became known as Rock Run Church as it was located on the Rock Run Cemetery property.

    A dissention among the church members caused a split in 1869. This dissention was caused for two reasons: slavery, and withdrawal from The Synod. The two congregations were named South Rock Run and North Rock Run. A second church was built at the North Rock Run location at Best Road and Yale Bridge Road, where a second cemetery exists. According to the 150th anniversary book, the church was split by the “devil’s cunning.” The South Rock Run church building was crumbling and in May 1876, a larger building was constructed along with a necessity house – aka: outhouse.

    Due to difficulty traveling to the “country” church in the winter, A.M. Heide, the president of the Ladies Aide Society of the church, deemed a town church as a necessity. That building was constructed in September 1905 and dedicated as Trinity Lutheran Church Society of Durand. The North Rock Run church ceased having services in 1912. In 1918, the South Rock Run church and Trinity merged. South Rock Run decided to utilize the “town” Trinity for services, which they still held in Norwegian. Trinity Lutheran Church Society offered services in English. In a strange twist of fate, the North Rock Run Church was struck by lighting and burned to the ground in May 1921 and then the South Rock Run church was also struck by lighting and burned to the ground in January 1922.

    In 1978, Trinity Lutheran Church, renamed as such, sold their building in the 300 block of W. Main Street to the Village of Durand, which now is the Village Hall. Trinity built a new building at 15585 Durand Road, just outside of the Village limits. 2004 saw an addition to that building, as it now stands today.

    The Rev. Dr. Eric Lemonholm currently serves as pastor of Trinity Lutheran. His ministry to the congregation began in February 2021. They hold services at 9 a.m. each Sunday.