History of Mayville lutheran

May 20, 1881 is the date on which Mayville Lutheran Church was organized. Pioneer Pastor Bjug Harstad, who also served numerous other congregations in the area, was called to serve as the first pastor of the congregation, which became a member of the Norwegian Synod. November 23, 1883 Mayville Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church, affiliated with the Hauge Synod, was organized by Pastor Bersvend Anderson. 

In 1905 a 3rd Lutheran congregation was organized in Mayville by Pastor P. R. Syrdal. It was named Our Savior’s Lutheran Church and was affiliated with the United Lutheran Church Synod. A merger of Lutheran Synods in America took place in 1917 and as a result these three congregations united to form Mayville Lutheran Church and called Pastor N. J. Lohre to be its Pastor. The church building of Mayville Lutheran Church was used by this new congregation, because it was the biggest of the three. On June 10, 1951 a new church building was dedicated and it remains the gathering place for worship and ministry. Today Mayville Lutheran Church is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

History of gran lutheran

Gran Lutheran Church was organized as a congregation of the Norwegian Synod on September 1, 1873 by Norwegian settlers in the Goose River valley with the help of Rev. Lauritz A. K. Carlson who served a congregation in Alexandria, Minnesota. During the next year several traveling pastors stopped in and served the congregation when they were in the area and in September of 1874 Rev. Bjug Harstad was called to be its first pastor. Rev. Harstad helped organize 17 other congregations in the area and served them with the help of assistant pastors until he moved to Tacoma, Washington in 1892. In 1878 one of the first schools in the area was sponsored by the Gran congregation and classes met in the parsonage. Three years later, when the church was built, the school was moved to the church and in 1886 the church was remodeled to provide boarding facilities. The Franklin School, as it was known, served the growing community well. The school closed after a few years at the Gran location and became the Bruflat Academy in nearby Portland, North Dakota. Gran congregation still worships in this well kept 1881 building, making it one of the oldest church buildings in the area. Gran is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.