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As early as 1860, efforts were made to gather the Swedish speaking community of Davenport to form a Lutheran congregation. These people had to make a long trip to First Lutheran Church, Rock Island, if they wished to worship with their fellow Swedish Lutherans. Our church began as a school in the home of A.G. Lindblom, a member of First Lutheran Church, Rock Island, and a resident of Davenport. In 1883, the formal organization of the Swedish Lutheran Church occurred. In September, the first church was built on the Lindblom lot. Later, in 1888, property on East 6th Street, near Grand Avenue was purchased at a cost of $400. This became the site for a new church.
Pastors were few in those days, and they often served several congregations. During many of the early years, the pulpit was filled by students from the seminary of Augustana College in Rock Island.
A new era began in 1923, when the process of Americanization began. The congregation relocated to East High Street and Bridge Avenue: our current location. In October of 1923, the congregation celebrated its last birthday as a Swedish speaking Lutheran Church.
Before Pastor Arthur O. Arnold came to Grace in 1939, the church had been subsidized by grants from the Home Mission Board of the Illinois Conference. After sixty years of this support, we became a self-sustaining congregation. During that time, we purchased a house adjacent to the church, which served as the parsonage until 1964. At that time, we enlarged the church with the F. Anderson memorial education wing.
In the mid-1990's, during the leadership of Pastor Pat Bell, Grace's membership increased substantially and our worship opportunities, education and social programs grew to keep pace. In 1996, our church building was enlarged and renovated. Today, around 400 people worship at Grace on a typical weekend, making Grace a fairly large church with a lot of opportunities for members to worship, learn and grow, but is not so large that you feel like a number, not a person.
After an energetic interim time of self-study, concluding in December, 2005, the parish called Pastor John F. Grebner to be our senior pastor. The members of Grace continue their rich heritage today as they strive to serve and care for all people through their wide variety of ministry and missions. Today we continue to look forward to a great future for Grace.
Grace Lutheran Church is committed to "growing in faith and service to become a Church for All People."
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