CCB MEDIA PHOTO
The First Lutheran Church on Route 6A in West Barnstable.
WEST BARNSTABLE – A local church is celebrating a milestone this year.
The First Lutheran Church in West Barnstable is celebrating its 100th anniversary.
As a nod to its heritage the church will be holding a ham and bean supper on Saturday, July 18, from 4:30 to 6 p.m.
“[The church] was founded in 1915 by a group of Finnish settlers and the Finnish population had a great deal to do with forming our church,” said David Norlach, Chairman of the 100th Anniversary Celebration Committee.
Norlach said the church continues to grow and become more diverse.
“Over the years we have grown and we have become a multi-national church,” he said. “The Swedish population contributed a lot. The German population contributed a lot and today we are a church that represents many, many nations, but we find out founding did go back to the Finnish people and we thank them for that.”
The church is located on Route 6A in West Barnstable just west of Route 132 in the area that is referred to as “Finn Town” due to its Scandinavian history.
Norlach said the church has gone through a number of changes over the last 100 years with the current structure being built in the mid 1980s.
The First Lutheran Church has between 500 and 600 members, according to Norlach.
“We have been primarily an older congregation and a lot of the current membership is a senior-type citizen, and that’s changing though,” Norlach said. “We’ve been getting more younger people in the church.”
Norlach said the committee is holding an event each month at the church to celebrate the anniversary and decided on the ham and bean supper for both July and August.
“Ham and bean suppers go way, way back in our tradition,” Norlach said. “We did one last year in the summer to find out how well it would go and we had well over 100 people attend. So it was successful last year and we are hoping to bring back the tradition again this year and keep it going in the future.”
The church will be holding the second ham and bean supper on August 22.
The meal is $8 for adults and children under 10 eat free.
