The Lutheran Minnesota Conference was one of the 13 conferences of the Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Synod. Formed by Swedish immigrants in the 1800s, it originally encompassed Minnesota, parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Canada, and Wisconsin. Its size was substantially reduced years later when Alexandria, Fargo, and Red River Districts became the Red River Valley Conference in 1912, and the Alberta District and Canada Mission field became the Canada Conference in 1913.''The Beginnings and Progress of Minnesota Conference of the Lutheran Augustana Synod of America.'' Minneapolis, Minn.: The Lund Press, Inc., 1929 With the creation of the Lutheran Church in America (LCA) in 1962, it became known as the Minnesota Synod. Organizers of the Minnesota Conference were Rev.

Peter Carlson Peter Carlson (December 7, 1822 – August 13, 1909) was a Swedish-American Lutheran Minister who helped found the Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Synod and served as president of the Minnesota Conference for six years.Bingea, Marian L. "Immigr ...

, Rev.

Eric Norelius Eric Norelius (26 October 1833 – 15 March 1916) was a Swedish-American Lutheran minister, church leader, and author. Background Eric Norelius was born on 26 October 1833 in Norrbäck, Hassela parish, Sweden. He received his early educ ...

, Rev. Peter Beckman, Rev. Johan Peter Carlson Boren and laymen Daniel Nelson, Hakan Svedberg, Frans C. Bjorklund, and Ole Paulson were present at the first meeting of the Minnesota Conference held October 7–9, 1858 at Chisago Lake. At the end of 1961, the Minnesota Conference had the most baptized members of any conference in the Augustana Synod with 182,374 baptized members and 300 congregations. In 1862 members of the Minnesota Conference founded Minnesota Elementary School in Red Wing, which was renamed St. Ansgar’s Academy and moved to East Union in 1865. The institution relocated to Saint Peter in 1876 and was officially recognized as

Gustavus Adolphus College Gustavus Adolphus College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in St. Peter, Minnesota. It was founded in 1862 by Swedish Americans led by Eric Norelius and is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Gustavus gets its nam ...

. Other educational institutions erected by the Minnesota Conference include Minnesota College, founded in 1904,

Lutheran Bible Institute Golden Valley Lutheran College was founded as the Lutheran Bible Institute. The LBI was a two-year degree-granting Lutheran educational institution established in 1919 in St. Paul, Minnesota. It moved to Minneapolis in 1929 and then to Golden V ...

, founded in 1919, and North Star College and Northwestern College, which both became part of the Red River Conference.

Districts

Apple River District, Big Stone District, Chisago District, Cokato District, Goodhue District, Iron Range District, Lake Superior District, Mille Lacs District, Minneapolis District, Montevideo District, St. Croix District, St. James District, St. Paul District, St. Peter District, Sioux Falls District, Willmar District

PresidentsLund, Emil. ''Minnesota-Konferensens av Augustana-Synoden och dess Församlingars Historia.'' Vol. 1. Rock Island, Ill.: Augustana Book Concern, 926? pp. 205

*1858 - Johan Peter Carlson Boren *1859 - Peter Anderson Cederstam,

, Johan Peter Carlson Boren *1860 - Peter Anderson Cederstam,

*1861 - Johan Peter Carlson Boren, L. H. Noren,

*1862 - Peter Anderson Cederstam, Andrew Jackson *1863 - Carl August Hedengran, Johan Peter Carlson Boren,

*1864 -

, John Pehrson, Andrew Jackson *1865 - N. Olson,

*1866 - Andrew Jackson, Carl August Hedengran, John Pehrson *1867 -

, Peter Anderson Cederstam *1868 - John Pehrson, Andrew Jackson,

*1869 - Andrew Jackson, Ole Paulson,

*1870 - Peter Sjöblom,

*1871-73 -

*1874 - Peter Sjöblom *1875 - Jonas Auslund *1876 - Peter Sjöblom *1877 - Jonas Ausland, Peter Anderson Cederstam *1878 - Peter Sjöblom *1879 -

*1880 - Andrew Jackson *1881-82 - Peter Sjöblom *1883-86 - Johannes Fremling *1887 - Per Johan Swärd *1888-92 - Peter Sjöblom *1893-96 -

*1897-99 - Johannes Fremling *1900 - Peter Sjöblom *1901-04 - Johannes Fremling *1905-12 - Johan Ander Krantz *1913-38 - Peter A. Mattson *1939 - Peter A. Mattson, Emil Swenson *1940-54 - Emil Swenson *1955 - Emil Swenson, Leonard A. Kendall *1956-62 - Leonard A. Kendall

External links

Microfilm Index
at th
Lutheran Church Archives
at

* Minnesota Conference church and congregational histories, including baptisms, confirmations, marriages, deaths, and meeting minutes.
Minnesota Conference Collections by District
at th
Lutheran Church Archives
at

* Collection finding aid descriptions and district maps

References

{{reflist Swedish migration to North America Evangelical Lutheran Church in America predecessor churches Lutheranism in the United States