To Pastor Lauritz Larsen I am indebted for the following sketch of our Norwegian churches: 

“The Norwegians have always been a sea-faring people and a people looking for fields of labor all over the World.  The real immigration begins about 1849, but there were Scandinavians on Manhattan Island in the Sixteenth Century.  The Bronx is named after a Danish farmer, Jonas Bronck.

“I believe that the first Norwegian Lutheran Church in New York was organized by Lauritz Larsen, then Norwegian Professor in Theology at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, who stopped here for a while on his way to and from Norway in the early sixties.  The first resident pastor was Ole Juul, who came to New York in 1866 and labored here until 1876, when he was succeeded by Pastor Everson, who was actively engaged as pastor in New York and Brooklyn from 1873, until 1917, when failing health compelled him to retire.

“At present, the Norwegian Lutheran churches of Greater New York are carrying on an active and aggressive work.  Their total membership is not as large as it might be.  Partly because the Norwegians coming here from the State Church do not at once realize the importance or necessity of becoming members of local congregations, but have the idea that as long as they attend services, have their children baptized and confirmed, and so forth, they are members of the church.  The report of the membership of the churches is therefore, hardly a correct indication of the number of people reached or even the strength of the Norwegian Lutherans in the Metropolis.

“The language question is one of great difficulty.  Many of our people live, as it were, with one foot in Norway and one in America; and are thinking of returning to the old country at some time or other.  There is also a constant influx of new people from Norway which makes it imperative to have Norwegian services constantly.  On the other hand, the young people are rapidly Americanized and prefer to use the language of the country, which necessitates English work, and where this demand is made, the young people are, generally speaking, quite loyal to their church, but it is no easy matter to satisfy both elements and to keep the old and the young together in the same church.

“The Norwegians have been very active in Inner Mission and Social Service work.  As witness:  the organization of the Norwegian Lutheran Deaconesses’ Home and Hospital about thirty years ago.  This institution has now grown to be the largest Norwegian charitable institution in the country and has a splendidly equipped modern hospital and an excellent Sisters’ Home, which together represent a value of $500,000.  It is not owned by a church, but is owned and controlled by a corporation of Norwegian Lutherans.