A Brief History
The roots of First Evangelical Lutheran Church reach back to the first Swedish immigrants arriving in what was then North Bridgewater in the 1850s. These immigrants gathered in local homes and in Drake's Tavern on Main Street in the Campello section of the town. In 1867 this group petitioned the Augustana Synod to form a congregation of the Synod in North Bridgewater. The congregation was formally organized on April 30, 1867 as the First Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Church. In 1870 the first church building was erected upon the present site. This first building was paid for in large part by proceeds from a concert given in North Bridgewater by the Swedish contralto, Christina Nilsson. The congregation grew as more and more immigrants came from Sweden to work in the local shoe factories and associated industries. In 1915 plans were begun for a new church building to house the growing congregation. Delayed by World War I, this dream of a new home would not become a reality until 1923. Under the able leadership of Pastor Peter Froeberg, construction was begun on the new edifice in 1922. It was dedicated on Thanksgiving Day, November 29, 1923 by Archbishop Nathan Soderblom, Primate of the Church of Sweden. The church building was enlarged in 1958 with the addition of the educational wing and Christ Chapel. First Evangelical Lutheran Church is, today, a vital regional church, drawing membership from the City of Brockton and the surrounding towns. Ever-mindful of her Swedish immigrant heritage, First Lutheran is a congregation open and embracing to all as she moves forward in her second century of "preaching the Gospel in this place." Celebrating the love of Christ... |
Site of our first church services in Campello held in a large room on the second floor of this tavern. 
Brockton's first Lutheran church was also the first Lutheran church in New England founded by Swedish immigrants. More than eighty Lutheran churches in the region can trace their roots to First Lutheran. 
Interior of the first church building was graced by a large pipe organ that had been installed in 1890. |
The laying of the cornerstone firmly establishes this new congregation of Swedish immigrants. |
Designed by architect Charles Coveney, the first service was held in the vestry on September 30, 1923. |
Nathan Soderblom, Archbishop of Sweden, was to receive a Nobel Prize for Peace in 1930. |
Our church tower today ... an enduring edifice dedicated to God. |