The Life of a Saint: Life Celebrations

This is an excerpt from The Life of a Saint, the sixth chapter of  the book A Farmer All His Life by Linda M. Mainquist. The book is about her father Evert Mainquist, who became a member of Zion (then know as Carlslund) at age eight, when his family moved from Nebraska to Minnesota.

Confirmation

Another important part of Lutheran church life was confirmation. Dad sometimes rode bareback to town for his confirmation classes. When he reached the church, he tied his horse to a hitching post on the north side of the building. Inside the church, my father, with the other confirmands, stood facing the altar and recited the catechism in English.

It was 1925 – the first year Zion conducted its confirmation classes in English. Dad’s older sister Dora hadn’t attended confirmation classes because she didn’t know Swedish. The next year, 1926, the Augustana Synod would publish its first complete order of service in English. Harold Dixon wasn’t as lucky. He memorized the Swedish catechism one year, and the next year he had to learn it again in English. My father remembered confirmation services being conducted in both Swedish and English.

Pastor Callerstrom asked groups of three or four confirmands to recite, and usually a leader emerged.

Photo: Carlslund Confirmation Class of 1926 (enlarge photo)

Weddings

The wedding ceremonies were rarely elaborate because there wasn’t enough money, but the groom usually had the financial resources to support his future family. The bride wore a new dress (something that could be worn again) and held a bouquet of flowers. The groom wore a suit – not necessarily new. Almost always a maid of honor and a best man were witnesses, but usually no other guests were invited. Perhaps the parents attended the ceremony, and the honeymoon would be a short excursion within Minnesota.