Augustana 50 Years on the Hill

50 Years on the Hill

On Sunday, July 12, 2009 following 10:30 a.m. worship, Augustana gathered at the building’s cornerstone to thank God for 50 years of worship and ministry on the hill. Click the links below for facts and reminiscences about the last 50 years.

Augustana celebrates 50 years at Alameda
The bell tower and copper siding
What is inside the church?
Sanctuary Arts and Maintenance
Reminiscences by Calvin Ammerman

Augustana celebrates 50 years at Alameda
This July, Augustana celebrates 50 years of ministry at its current location. On July 4, 1959, Augustana moved to 5000 East Alameda Avenue.

Augustana was formed in 1876 with seven members—six women and one man—meeting at 18th and Welton. In 1891, the church moved to 23rd and Court Place. The congregation continued to grow and, with the introduction of cars, parking started to be a problem.

When Dr. Paul Noren became the pastor, the congregation decided to build a new church at 5000 East Alameda Avenue. An architect from Minnesota designed the building, extensive fund raising was done, and construction began in 1958. The general contractor was Sven Soderquist, an Augustana member. Sven was required to get a new license to build a structure of this size. Our church was the only building on the hill at that time and had an unobstructed view of the mountains. On July 4, 1959 the doors of the new church were opened, and our bell tower became a familiar site in the city.

What do we know about the bell tower and the copper siding on the Sanctuary?
The bell tower stands 115 feet in the air. It has three bells and a cross on the very top. Lights were placed on the top, to light the cross. How were the light bulbs changed or bells repaired? Sven Soderquist designed a pulley system that he could hoist himself up to the top of the tower to change the bulbs. (Rumor has it he sat in a lawn chair!) Thankfully the flood lights are now located at locations that are easily accessible, so the light bulbs can be changed without having to go to the top of the tower (not as much fun but absolutely safer). The pulley hook can still be seen next to the top bell.

The copper siding and trim was spectacular when it was first installed. Unfortunately there was a problem. The siding created such glare when the sun hit it that the entire neighborhood complained. People driving on Alameda were blinded when driving by the church. When the siding was designed it was expected to tarnish to the beautiful copper green that we now see, unfortunately that does not happen quickly in our climate, if at all. The solution was to help that process along. Acid wash paint was applied to the siding which tarnished the copper and solved the glare problem.

During coffee hour on July 12 enjoy early photos of the church in Fellowship Hall. After 10:30 a.m. worship, meet at the cornerstone to learn a few more fun facts and to celebrate 50 years of ministry in our current building.

What is inside the church?
The Sanctuary is entered on the west side from a circle driveway that would be Elm Street. Approximately 800 people can be seated in the pews of the sanctuary. Stone steps lead up to an altar which is a table made of California black granite and weighs 2,500 pounds. Behind the altar is a wooden cross that stands 18 feet high. On both sides of the altar is seating for the choir. The seating was originally pews which were later removed so the choirs would have more flexibility. The communion rail and baptismal font are made with the same black granite as the altar. The wrought iron of the communion rail represents the Lord’s Supper and the Apostles.

The ground level under the Sanctuary is the Fellowship Hall. This is where Sunday school was first held. To create classrooms, screens were put up as dividers, and the children attended Sunday school while parents went to worship in the Sanctuary.

Across the breezeway are the church offices, but the original building ended at the staircase. The education wing that includes Christ Chapel was not built until 1965.

Sanctuary arts and maintenance
There have been additions and changes to the Sanctuary in the past 50 years. The stained glass windows were installed for the congregation’s 100th anniversary in 1978. The 40 windows represent the colors of the rainbow that symbolizes God’s covenant with God’s people.

The original organ came from the church on 23rd and Court Place. In the 1980s, the organ was upgraded into the existing Chancel Organ which consists of 5,653 pipes. The organ and the music are a centerpiece of our Sanctuary and worship.

The needlepoint hangings and kneelers were made by members of the congregation which required many hours of work. Air conditioning has been installed, and this past year we put on a new roof and redecorated the Anna Paulson Room.

Numerous people make contributions to enhance our worship space and maintain it for our use. In the upcoming years the congregation will have more opportunities to change, maintain, and enjoy using the church building.

Thanks to all who help create and maintain this beautiful space we all share.

God’s work. Our hands.

From our home in Washington Park we could watch the construction of Augustana’s new sanctuary at Alameda Avenue and Fairfax. Before the copper siding was etched, the building glowed like a ball of fire on the hill.

I attended the first worship service of the Augustana Lutheran Church at 5000 East Alameda Avenue. It was a busy and rather hectic morning for the congregation moving from an old and established location at 23rd and Court Place.

It was my first meeting of Dr. Paul H.A. Noren, senior pastor of Augustana. Our son, Ravel Fisher Ammerman was an infant, and we were in search of a church home. So I returned to Augustana the following Sunday, and Dr. Noren called me by name at the church door at the conclusion of the worship service. This was July of 1959.

When I received my academic doctorate from the Iliff School of Theology in 1962, Dr. Noren asked if I would be interested in joining the professional staff at Augustana on a part-time basis. I said “yes,” and I became an associate in ministry with an office at Augustana as a family counselor to the general public for 21 years. In 1993, I retired as a salaried employee of Samsonite Corporation on Friday, and on Monday became a full-time member of the professional staff at Augustana coordinating Senior and Social Ministry and conducting Adult Forum until retirement on October 1, 2000.

Thelma taught 2-year-old children in the Christian Education program at Augustana. It was a wonderful way to learn the names of small children, other members of the family, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and kissin’ cousins.

During the Augustana years, it was our privilege to minister alongside Dr. Paul H.A. Noren, Pastor Martin Lingwall, Pastor Marbury Anderson, Pastor Ivan Anderson, Pastor Ronald Swenson, and Pastor John Pederson.

Always a gardener and always a reader, I raised all the plants to fill the huge wooden planters on the roof garden and conducted many of the summer Sunday evening vespers. I have been a part of the Dial-a-Care recorded telephone ministry for 35 years, recording every Wednesday and, for many years, every Sunday. I record from wherever we happen to be—mostly Denver, but also Chicago, Atlanta, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Vermont, Nome, Alaska, Christ Church, New Zealand, Ushuaia, Chile, Durham, England, Paris, France, Geneva, Switzerland, and Spiztbergen.
Our children, Risë and Ravel were confirmed at Augustana. Risë was married in Christ Chapel. Some day my ashes will be inurned in Augustana’s Memorial Garden.

Calvin Ammerman, Th.D.