Grace Lutheran Church

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Grace Lutheran Church in Tarrant County. Now settle in, because this is a story about roots; deep ones, the kind that don't stay put. In 1905, a group of Swedish-American Lutherans in Fort Worth decided it was time to make things official.

They organized formally, they called their first pastor, a man by the name of Reverend Theo Seashore, and they got to work building something that would last. Services were held in Swedish, which tells you something about who these people were and where they came from. This was a community holding onto its language like a hand reaching back across the Atlantic.

Then 1912 rolls around. Under the pastorate of Dr. Martin Noyd, the congregation built itself a proper sanctuary, right there at the corner of Hemphill and Broadway in Fort Worth.

A real address. A real home. Still preaching in Swedish.

Still singing in Swedish. That's how it went; right up until 1918. Now, 1918 is a particular kind of year in this country, and the congregation made a particular kind of decision.

The members agreed to suspend use of the Swedish language for the duration of World War I. That was the agreement. Duration of the war.

And then, well, the war ended, and the Swedish never quite came back. They continued the practice after the close of the war, and there's a whole world of quiet history folded inside that single sentence. By 1928, the name changed too.

What had been known as the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Church became Grace Lutheran Church. The Swedish word had faded from the walls and from the name, but the congregation kept right on going. They relocated to a new site in 1957.

Then again, and this is where the story doubles back on itself in a way that would make any old-timer smile, the congregation relocated once more, to this very site, on November 29, 1998. And on November 6, 2005, they dedicated themselves to another hundred years of grace to the glory of God. A congregation organized in 1905, still standing, still moving, still dedicating.

Some roots travel with you.

What the marker says

This congregation was organized formally in 1905 to serve the Swedish-American Lutheran community in Fort Worth. The Rev. Theo Seashore served as first pastor. In 1912, during the pastorate of Dr. Martin Noyd, the congregation built a sanctuary at the corner of Hemphill and Broadway. Services were conducted in Swedish until 1918, when the members agreed to suspend use of the language for the duration of World War I. They continued this practice after the close of the war. Known until 1928 as the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Church, the congregation relocated to this site in 1957. (1984) supplemental: Congregation relocated to this site November 29, 1998 and dedicated to another 100 years of grace to the glory of God on November 6, 2005.