The first was Lennis "Swede" Lind of Polk County, Nebraska. A member of the rural Swede Plain Methodist congregation, Lennis took a keen interest in the history of his church and was a congenial ambassador of that tradition to others. He had traced its roots to Andover, Illinois, and the days of Jonas Hedstrom and L.P. Esbjorn. He supplied us with the centennial booklet of Swede Plain outlining its history and roots in Illinois. It is illustrative that a Methodist congregation should trace its roots to a pastor who became founder of the Augustana Lutheran synod. The diversity and fluidity of those times must be remembered. Perhaps the most unusual group of Swedish immigrants had come to this part of Illinois under the leadership of one Erik Janson, founding the utopian commune of Bishop Hill. By 1848 some two to three hundred persons had left this commune to join Methodist and Lutheran congregations in Galesburg and Victoria. There was no Swedish synod for Lutherans as yet, but there was the voice of Jonas Hedstrom and his brother Olav Gustav claiming that in America, the Methodists "read Luther better" than the American Lutherans! Esbjorn could not ignore the claim, and in a few years came to the conclusion that neither the American Lutherans nor Methodists quite suited the immigrant Swedes...so the Augustana synod was born. The group that left Illinois for Nebraska came from the period and the persuasion that Methodism was a worthy name to bear. Swede Plain became a Swedish Methodist church.

Esbjorn is described in detail by historians Norelius, Lilljegren, Arden and Stephenson. Land agents for Andover had promised great things including an artist's conception which included steamboats plying the river running through it. This proved completely illusionary, as it turned out to be a mere creek. Funds were sought with the help of O.G. Hedstrom, but could only be supplied if Esbjorn would join the Methodist church. The Congregational Home Missionary Society proved a more likely resource, but required that membership in his church give evidence of conversion. This issue is discussed in a very illuminating way by the Augustana historian Arden:(Augustana Heritage, p.33)

"No one shall be received as a member of a congregation, or admitted to the Lord's Table, who can not give evidence of being born anew." To receive members by "prastbetyg" or transfer from the Church of Sweden or through confirmation was unacceptable to the Society... This (being born anew) is the essence of salvation. Such an experience must be so real, so gripping, and so totally life-transforming that it can be dated by the very day and hour it occurred... In such a concept of Christianity the sacraments as a means of grace are replaced by prayer, exhortation, and evangelistic techniques, and the emotional experience of conversion is substituted for the promises of God's Word as the ground and basis for Christian certainty. Liturgical forms and traditional usages are deemed to be hindrances to the free working of the Spirit of God... Most of them (the immigrants) had celebrated their departure from home and family by attending Holy Communion on their last Sunday with relatives and friends. But out here in the wild prairies of the American frontier they were to be denied the comfort of the Lord's Supper, and excluded from church membership, until they could produce evidence of what the Americans called "genuine Christianity."

This would be ultimately unacceptable to Esbjorn and the Augustana founders, who were originally priests in the Swedish Church, but it is interesting that the same issue would divide the Mission Synod and its successors from Augustana. It was the issue at Stromsburg's Swede Home Lutheran church and at Boone, Iowa, under the pastorates of A.N. Sweders. It figured at Swedeburg, Mead and Malmo under the leadership of A. Hallner. The Swedish land company that founded the Lindsborg, Kansas, cooperative required that members be "born anew." (Swedish: "pa-nytfodelse") There was a strand of American Lutheranism which admitted these "new measures," but the immigrant "old Lutherans" resisted them as being "reformed" or "Calvinist." Congregational church leaders looked upon the conversion-oriented Swedes as kindred spirits and many Missionfriends felt the same way. But that is another story.

There is an illuminating account which Lilljegren cites from Norelius' history concerning a meeting in the Moline home of Claus Bengtson. There Jonas Hedstrom is expounding Romans 7 to Esbjorn, contending that it is possible for Christians to be "fri fran all vidladande synd." (free from all inherent sin) Perfectionism had been a tenet of Jansson's Bishop Hill creedo, and Hedstrom was apparently inclined in this way also. Once one's salvation had been secured in the instantaneous conversion favored by the new ideas now swirling about, what remained on the agenda of the Godly life? Seeking sanctification provided such an agenda for the "holiness" groups. Regular and earnest confession of sin and absolution of grace through the sacraments was the old method still preferred by the Lutherans. Esbjorn was not convinced.

Lennis Lind's Aunt, Nettie Carlson, who we knew in Nebraska, was the granddaughter of one of the twelve charter members of the Swedish Methodist congregation in Andover, Illinois; Mrs. Helena Hurtig. (Centennial book, p. 7) Also mentioned is a Mrs. P. Bergman who was from Hedstrom's Swedish Methodist congregation at Victoria, Illinois. An early pastor, John Linn, visited from his base at Saronville near Sutton in 1875. He had previously served at Madrid and Swede Bend, Iowa. His 1877 successor, O.J. Swan, who previously served at New Sweden, (Skunk River), Iowa, also was "on a circuit" with Saronville and included Stromsburg. Swan had been a colporteur among the Lutheran revival Swedes and had left the Hokanson congregation at New Sweden to join the Methodists. Before Sutton he preached at Swedona and Keokuk, Iowa. Later he served at Lindsborg, Kansas, and Oakland, Nebraska, and was Superintendent of the Kansas-Nebraska Conference. In 1893 he was Presiding Elder of the Iowa Conference.

The initial Swede Plain meetings were held in a sod house. Later a school house was home to the congregation. The final church building was preserved on the nearby grounds of Covenant Cedars Bible Camp when the congregation was finally dissolved. Little remains of the "Chatauqua Camp Grounds" in the woods south of Stromsburg, but the Swedish Methodists sponsored tent meetings at that location which drew large crowds.

The second person we think of was Rev. Lester Anderson, retired Methodist pastor from Stromsburg with first-hand knowledge of the Swedes in Nebraska. He was from the Phelps settlement area and spoke often of the churches in that area and the Looking Glass settlement to the north. It was in his copy of N.M. Lilljegren's history of the Swedish Methodists that we saw pictures of the Swede Bend and Madrid, Iowa, churches. This was very striking, since the picture so closely resembled the Mission church of Swede Bend, reckoned as the first Covenant church in the U.S. That impression remained a strong motivation to find out more about these churches. Later we were to discover that the Bjork group in Swede Bend indeed purchased their church building from these very Methodists who had outgrown it and built a new, larger church! At last we caught up with a copy of the Liljegren book again at Nebraska Wesleyan library and found out still more.

The large page of cameo pictures of Swedish Methodist ministers active near the close of the nineteen hundreds, and the long list of congregations joined in this fellowship, cause us to wonder at the strength of that body at that time. To the influence of Scott and the Hedstroms we can add some conjecture. The very image of the modest missionhouse as a place of worship was practical and held in common by the immigrants and the American Methodism of the frontier. The experience of Swede Bend's inheritance of the Methodists' building is the prime example. The sharing of pastors among two or three congregations was another expedient that favored frontier conditions. Add this to the lay orientation and emphasis on personal spirituality, and the appeal to the revival Swedes can easily be understood. The reasons why these promising early signs did not result in continuing parallel growth with the other Swedish denominations can also only be conjectured. The Methodists were a large American denomination and as Swedes became acculturated in language and custom they would tend to be absorbed. This would be good for Methodism and possibly for the Swedes as well, though the other denominations exhibited more resistance to absorbtion. The Methodist Episcopal church was also as the name implies, episcopal. Assignments were at the bishops' discretion and regimentation was resisted by the Swedish immigrants even more robustly than change in language and custom.

While the subject of frontier conditions is before us, it is remarkable that a number of Swedish Methodism's early preachers were smitten with "gold fever." It is reported that in 1850 they together traveled to California for that purpose: Peter Challman, Eric Shogren, and Victor Witting are named by Lilljegren. Challman served groups at Lafayette, Indiana, and Galesburg, Illinois, before his California trip. Upon returning he served Victoria, Illinois, and proceded to western Iowa, where the historian has him associating with the "free Methodists." These were the "sinless perfection" advocates. Eric Shogren had come down the Illinois River canal to Victoria along the route of Esbjorn. He served at Galesburg before his trip west, then went on to Minnesota, Chicago and a seamen's mission in Boston. Witting began at Bishop Hill then went to Galesburg, gold field, Victoria, Peoria and Rockford before becoming editor of the Swedish Methodist newspaper, "Sandebudet." Since all the adventurers returned to their labors it is safe to say no bonanzas were encountered in California.

According to Whyman's book on the Bethel ship, the following congregations were in existence in 1848: Lafayette, Victoria, Galesburg, Andover, Rock Island, Moline, and New Sweden (Iowa). In that same year Galesburg inherited a large number of Bishop Hill defectors and counted as many as 300 members. The revival in the American Baptist church at Galesburg figured in the story of Gustaf Palmquist and the Swedish Baptist movement. Lilljegren also reports that this same outbreak of baptist enthusiasm resulted in the dampening of not a few Methodists! In addition to those early ministers we have already named as serving Galesburg, we can add Peter Newberg and J.A. Gabrielson, the latter being among those to serve at Stromsburg, Nebraska. In Galesburg the Westergreen home is counted the birthplace of the Swedish Theological Seminary, later of Evanston.

In the eastern part of Iowa, we read of groups in Burlington and Keokuk in addition to the more detailed information about New Sweden. Then there appears to be a series of Methodist congregations strung across the southern tier of Iowa counties. The obscure name of Muchakinock is mentioned. The interesting story of this community is illuminated by the book, "Exploring Buried Buxton" by Gradwahl and Osborn. It seems that this coal mining company town north of Albia is the subject of university archaeology, having reverted to farmland and virtually disappearing. The indian name predates Buxton. A section of this community was called "Swede Town" and explains the existence of both an Augustana and Swedish Methodist church. The Augustana church existed until 1954. Other Iowa locations mentioned by Lilljegren are Swedonia, Dayton, Donovan, and Creston.

The path of Swedish Methodism continued across the central and southern tier of counties in Nebraska. The Oakland church, six miles northwest of the town, was an early congregation served by Olin Swanson, John Simpson and Harold Lindquist. The members of this church who numbered 140, had come largely from Burlington, Iowa.

To the southwest, a group of Swedes divided between the communities of Shickley and Ong were also divided in church loyalties. Lilljegren mentions "strid med Lutherska." A dozen miles to the north, a congregation at Sutton was nearest Swede Plain when they sent out their Macedonian call to pastor Oscar J. Swan mentioned above.

Continuing west, the Phelps County area was the location of the church of Axtell. This was originally of sod construction and so termed the "torv katedral." Augustana leadership later would sarcastically refer to this congregation as "Torell's church" because of the latter's failure to organise in that area. The group, according to this view, simply switched parties. (see Sandahl) Carl Charnquist is listed as a pastor of this church.

To the north along the Looking Glass Creek in Platte County was a Swedish land development guided by F.A. Beiyon. This is the same agent who is mentioned along with Victor Rylander and Leander Hallgren as the founders of the Phelps County Swedish settlement. (David M. Gustafson) In Platte County we are told that one John Bloomquist arrived in 1877 and acquired "a couple sections of land, part of which he would sell only to Lutherans for the furtherance of a Lutheran community." (Sandahl 316) But the Methodist church at Looking Glass post office already had a congregation of 137 members by 1872. Possibly the strongest Swedish Methodist center in Nebraska, the Looking Glass church remains in existence to this day as a United Methodist congregation. A few miles to the south was West Hill church, also an early Nebraska church. Olin Swanson, John Bendix and Carl Charnquist are mentioned as serving either or both of these churches. C.F. Granere was also pastor at Looking Glass, and after being ordained by the Lutherans, later served their Salem congregation three miles away. (Sandahl 320)

Later Nebraska congregations were formed at Genoa, Omaha (1882), Concord, Clay Ridge (?), Lincoln (1891) and Davey (Waverly 1892) Remarkably, no group is identified in Saunders County, the earliest of Swedish communities in Nebraska. Lilljegren's 1895 history seems to have been written very near the peak of Swedish Methodism's fortunes in America.