Ryssby Church is a church located outside of Longmont, Boulder County, Colorado. The church was built in 1882 by Swedish immigrants, although it fell into disuse between 1914 and 1924. A dedicated committee from the First Evangelical Lutheran Church, the descendant congregation of the Ryssby and Elim churches, maintains the church, organizes events, and funds continuous improvement projects. The church hosts weddings, church picnics, an annual Midsummer service, and Christmas candlelight services in early December.
In 1862, Sven J. Johnson, an agent for the White Star Line, along with Bengt Johnson, Aaron Peterson, Sven Magni, Peter Johnson, Lars J. Johnson, and Samuel Gummeson, set off from their homeland in Ryssby, Sweden, to come to America seeking free land under the Homestead Act. In the first years, Sven's home, the only framed house, was the community centre and served as a church. In 1875, a school house was built and the services moved there.[2]
In 1877, Rev. Frederick Lagerman came to the Ryssby settlement as a spiritual leader, and in 1878 he organized a congregation among the settlers, calling it the "Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Congregation of Ryssby, Boulder County Colorado." The new congregation was affiliated with the Augustana Synod. In February 1878, the congregation officially called Rev. Lagerman to be their pastor and in January 1881, the congregation accepted the offer from Hugo Anderson for 3 acres (12,000 m2) of land on which to build the church. August Olander donated sandstone from his homestead to be used as building materials and by Oct. 31 of that year, the cornerstone of Ryssby church was laid.[3]
The church was finished and ready for occupancy on Midsummer Day of 1882, and a dedication ceremony for both the church and adjoining cemetery were held. The settlers strove to fashion the new Ryssby church from the church they had left in Ryssby with a tall tower in the front and four-pointed windows along each side. The church was heated by a large stove, which still heats the church to this day. A white railing circled the front altar under the domed barrel roof.
In 1908, the Elim congregation of nearby Longmont invited the Ryssby congregation to merge with them but this did not officially happen until 1914. The Ryssby congregation ceased to exist and the little country church was left empty. A lightning storm damaged the tower and it appeared that the Ryssby church would be left to crumble. In 1924, Rev. Luther Stromquist of the Elim congregation organized a group to repair the church and to again hold an annual Midsummer service there. With their efforts, Ryssby was made a state historical site in June 1933 with an official marker laid. In 1938, the annual Christmas services were reinstated at the church which continues to this day.[2] In the 1960s a group of descendants funded a full restoration project where the tower was replaced, renovation and painting of the interior, and new landscaping in the cemetery were carried out.
Todayedit
Families continue to bury deceased family members in its consecrated ground and there is an annual church picnic and service on Midsummer Day in June . Christmas services are held on the second weekend of December. The church is decorated by youth from First Lutheran Church and is lit by hundreds of candles. Choirs from First Lutheran Church provide music and the birth story from the Gospel of Luke is read in Swedish. The church continues to be improved with Rusty Brockmann, of Iron Age Arts building a new footbridge with steel railings and a gate that connects the parking lot and church grounds over the Swede ditch. The Lutheran Seal is worked into the gate. A new fence near the road was also created by Iron Age Arts with detailed historical designs outlined on four panels.[4]
^ abRyssby: The Country Church, David P. Nelson, 1978.
^First Lutheran Church of the Rockies, Carl W. Segerhammar, Times-Call Print, Longmont, CO., 1946.
^Artist builds history into fence at Ryssby Church, Pam Mellskog, Longmont Daily Times-Call, Feb. 1, 2009.
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ryssby Church.
Ryssby Church
First Lutheran Church
Iron Age Arts
January 01, 1970
ryssby, church, church, located, outside, longmont, boulder, county, colorado, church, built, 1882, swedish, immigrants, although, fell, into, disuse, between, 1914, 1924, dedicated, committee, from, first, evangelical, lutheran, church, descendant, congregati. Ryssby Church is a church located outside of Longmont Boulder County Colorado The church was built in 1882 by Swedish immigrants although it fell into disuse between 1914 and 1924 A dedicated committee from the First Evangelical Lutheran Church the descendant congregation of the Ryssby and Elim churches maintains the church organizes events and funds continuous improvement projects The church hosts weddings church picnics an annual Midsummer service and Christmas candlelight services in early December Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Church of RyssbyU S National Register of Historic PlacesRyssby Church in 2012LocationN 63rd St Boulder ColoradoCoordinates40 08 23 N 105 12 20 W 40 13972 N 105 20556 W 40 13972 105 20556Built1882 1882 NRHP reference No 84000797 1 Added to NRHPFebruary 16 1984 Contents 1 History 1 1 Today 2 References 3 External linksHistory editIn 1862 Sven J Johnson an agent for the White Star Line along with Bengt Johnson Aaron Peterson Sven Magni Peter Johnson Lars J Johnson and Samuel Gummeson set off from their homeland in Ryssby Sweden to come to America seeking free land under the Homestead Act In the first years Sven s home the only framed house was the community centre and served as a church In 1875 a school house was built and the services moved there 2 In 1877 Rev Frederick Lagerman came to the Ryssby settlement as a spiritual leader and in 1878 he organized a congregation among the settlers calling it the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Congregation of Ryssby Boulder County Colorado The new congregation was affiliated with the Augustana Synod In February 1878 the congregation officially called Rev Lagerman to be their pastor and in January 1881 the congregation accepted the offer from Hugo Anderson for 3 acres 12 000 m2 of land on which to build the church August Olander donated sandstone from his homestead to be used as building materials and by Oct 31 of that year the cornerstone of Ryssby church was laid 3 The church was finished and ready for occupancy on Midsummer Day of 1882 and a dedication ceremony for both the church and adjoining cemetery were held The settlers strove to fashion the new Ryssby church from the church they had left in Ryssby with a tall tower in the front and four pointed windows along each side The church was heated by a large stove which still heats the church to this day A white railing circled the front altar under the domed barrel roof In 1908 the Elim congregation of nearby Longmont invited the Ryssby congregation to merge with them but this did not officially happen until 1914 The Ryssby congregation ceased to exist and the little country church was left empty A lightning storm damaged the tower and it appeared that the Ryssby church would be left to crumble In 1924 Rev Luther Stromquist of the Elim congregation organized a group to repair the church and to again hold an annual Midsummer service there With their efforts Ryssby was made a state historical site in June 1933 with an official marker laid In 1938 the annual Christmas services were reinstated at the church which continues to this day 2 In the 1960s a group of descendants funded a full restoration project where the tower was replaced renovation and painting of the interior and new landscaping in the cemetery were carried out Today edit Families continue to bury deceased family members in its consecrated ground and there is an annual church picnic and service on Midsummer Day in June Christmas services are held on the second weekend of December The church is decorated by youth from First Lutheran Church and is lit by hundreds of candles Choirs from First Lutheran Church provide music and the birth story from the Gospel of Luke is read in Swedish The church continues to be improved with Rusty Brockmann of Iron Age Arts building a new footbridge with steel railings and a gate that connects the parking lot and church grounds over the Swede ditch The Lutheran Seal is worked into the gate A new fence near the road was also created by Iron Age Arts with detailed historical designs outlined on four panels 4 References edit National Register Information System National Register of Historic Places National Park Service July 9 2010 a b Ryssby The Country Church David P Nelson 1978 First Lutheran Church of the Rockies Carl W Segerhammar Times Call Print Longmont CO 1946 Artist builds history into fence at Ryssby Church Pam Mellskog Longmont Daily Times Call Feb 1 2009 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ryssby Church Ryssby Church First Lutheran Church Iron Age Arts Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ryssby Church amp oldid 1139665831, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
