Service planned at historic New Sweden Chapel Sunday

LOCKRIDGE ? First Augustana Lutheran Church will have a 10 a.m. service Sunday at the historic New Sweden Chapel.

Sunday is ?Be a Blessing Sunday.?

Following the service, a potluck lunch at the parsonage and a community service project are planned to celebrate the 25th anniversary of becoming the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

For the service project, volunteers will be cleaning the flowerbeds at the Lockridge post office.

The New Sweden Chapel, listed with the National Historical Society, closed in 1948 and First Augustana Lutheran Church of Lockridge was appointed as caretaker and overseer. Services are held at the chapel twice a year: on the first Sunday in June and the second Sunday in September.

The church was established in 1848 by a group of Swedish people led by Peter Cassel. This was the first Lutheran church established west of the Mississippi River.

Everyone is invited to attend the special service and activities Sunday.