News : Bethlehem Lutheran celebrates mortgage retirement

Officers of Bethlehem Evangelical Lutheran Church of Vinton, Iowa, placed symbolic copies of the congregation's mortgage on a fire during a service of "Thanksgiving at the Retirement of a Debt"� on Sunday, November 13, 2016. The debt was for the construction of Augustana Hall (fellowship space), kitchen, classroom, and offices that were dedicated on March 16, 2008. With generous contributions and good stewardship, the debt that was projected for twenty years was paid in just eight years. This building is located on the footprint of the historic church building at 1206 C Avenue and seamlessly attaches to the sanctuary built in 1998. Augustana Hall is named to honor the congregation's Swedish heritage. Bethlehem was comprised mostly of Swedish immigrants and their families when it was founded in 1913 as part of the Augustana Synod, an organization of congregations mostly with Swedish roots. The Augustana Synod and Bethlehem eventually came to be part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Pictured are Kimmit Renken, secretary; Tom Hanson, vice-president; Mark C. Urlaub, pastor; Jon Clingman, president; Tenny Jertson, business administrator; and Ryan McClintock, treasurer.