Our History
Our congregation was officially organized on July 25, 1893 by Swedish immigrants who settled in Woburn, Massachusetts and felt the need to hear the Word of God as they had heard it in the land of their birth.
The group met in Fraternity Hall in Woburn and was called to order by a seminary student, N. E. Kron. On
September 5, 1893, papers of incorporation of the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Church were filed by the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
In 1897, the first church was built on Montvale Avenue in Woburn. The Swedish language was used in Worship Services and in Sunday School until 1930.
The congregation grew quickly following World War II. The congregation put an addition on to the church and built a parsonage, also on Montvale Avenue.
It was not enough. By 1956, it was evident that a new church building would eventually be needed. In September of 1959 the congregation voted to relocate.
The ten acre site on which the current church building and parsonage now stand at the corner of Forest Park Road and Alfred Street was part of a large parcel of land willed to the city of Woburn for the benefit of the town. Since this rocky knoll offered little hope as a useful recreation area, the City felt the land would be better used as a site for the Church. It generously made a gift of the land to Redeemer in May of 1960.
A change of location was accompanied by a change in name. On October 22, 1962 the congregation changed its name to the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, which reflected the way its mission and vision had expanded beyond the Swedish community that birthed the church.
Work on the current Alfred Street parsonage was begun in 1962, and was completed and dedicated in 1963. Ground was broken on the new church building in 1968 and the church was dedicated on April 19, 1970, fourteen years after the project was begun.
Our present church building has allowed us to continue to grow in new ways over the last forty years. Twelve years ago Redeemer created Little Hands Big Hearts Preschool and, along with the United Methodist Church in Woburn, the After School Club. Our building is also home to a Cub Scout pack, a Boy Scout troop, and the Immanuel Unity Church, a Korean congregation.
From its founding over 110 years ago by a devout group of Scandinavians, the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer has grown to include members from a broad range of communities, occupations, cultural backgrounds, and Christian traditions.
