Title: Bethany Evangelical Lutheran Church Papers
Date Span: c. 1900-1970
Acquisition Number: N/A
Creator: Bethany Evangelical Lutheran Church
Donor: Bethany Evangelical Lutheran Church
Date of Acquisition: 2010
Extent: 6 .pdf files
Format: Digital .pdf documents
Language: English
Locations: The Monroe Fordham Regional History Center, Archives & Special Collections Department, E. H. Butler Library, SUNY Buffalo State
Processed: Scanned and processed 2010, Chris Root, Lynn Lombardo, and Chris Morgan; reprocessed 2017, Hope Dunbar
Access:
The Bethany Evangelical Lutheran Church Papers Collection is open for research. Materials are only available on microfilm for access within the department. Appointment required.
Reproduction of Materials:
See Archivist for information on reproducing materials from this collection, including photocopies, digital camera images, or digital scans, as well as copyright restrictions that may pertain to these materials.
Even though all reasonable and customary best-practices have been pursued, this collection may contain materials with confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations. Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the SUNY Buffalo State assumes no responsibility.
Preferred Citation:
[Description and dates], Box/Item/Reel number, Bethany Evangelical Lutheran Church Papers, The Monroe Fordham Regional History Center, Archives & Special Collections Department, E. H. Butler Library, SUNY Buffalo State.
Biographical Note:
The congregation first met in January 1904 and was known as the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Bethany Church. A place of worship was found and services began in August 1904 at the German Evangelical Church on Michigan Avenue near Main Street. With the congregation growing, they purchased at lot in 1906 and built a church of their own at Ferry Avenue and Twenty-Seventh Street. A part-time pastor served the congregation until June 1929 when Reverend Joshua E. Nelson accepted the position as full-time pastor. With no room physically to expand the church at the present location, the congregation bought a larger piece of property at Hyde Park Blvd. at Porter Road. The church was “physically” moved to this new location in July 1941.
Then, in 1948, the church changed its name to Bethany Evangelical Lutheran Church. As the congregation grew in new members, the original church was becoming too small. In the fall of 1957, construction began on a larger church. Designed by local architect Charles F. Obenback, the new church was ready for its first service on November 8, 1959. After a period of sharing a pastor with Zion Lutheran Church located on Michigan Avenue, Bethany Lutheran closed and merged with Zion Lutheran in 1984. The church location of Bethany Lutheran on Hyde Park is now occupied by Word of Life Ministries.
Scope and Contents:
Files contain a variety of materials. Please ask an archivist for assistance.
Inventory:
Ledgers
Bethany Lutheran closed and merged with Zion Lutheran in 1984. The church location of Bethany Lutheran on Hyde Park is now occupied by Word of Life Ministries.
