Trinity Lutheran
Church
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191 S. Columbia St.
Hemet CA 92544
Office: 951-658-5013
Fax: 951-658-6684
Hemet CA 92544
Office: 951-658-5013
Fax: 951-658-6684
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Rooted in the Spirit...
Growing In Faith...
Reaching Out In Love...
About Us
In 1987, Trinity wrote a history of itself. Trinity Youth interviewed
long-time members and Vicki Rufsvold wrote the history from the
information the Youth obtained. For a .pdf version of this history
click here. What follows is a brief summary of the history of Trinity
Lutheran Church.
Trinity Lutheran Church traces its beginning to the Florida Avenue
home of Mr. Knute Oscar (KO) Neste where, on Dec 8, 1904, eleven
people attended the very first Lutheran service held in the San Jacinto Valley. The home no longer stands - having
been torn down during the Depression - but it was located where the Ramona Motel stands today.
Mr. Neste, who arrived in the valley in 1903, encouraged other Lutheran families to come to the valley by promoting its
warm climate and farm land. In 1908 two strong Lutheran families arrived in the valley - the Eggens and the Utigaards.
Within a year of their arrival the Eggens added to the congregation by starting a Sunday school and a Ladies Aid
women's group as part of the growing Lutheran presence. The Sunday school met at the Eggens' home on Whittier
Avenue.
By continuing to invite large families to the area (including the families of Wiersons, Hagens and Noltes) the membership
tripled by 1911. Pastors from Los Angeles, Pasadena and Santa Barbara - the only other existing Lutheran
congregations in Southern California at the time - came as visiting pastors to conduct worship services for those in the
valley. They arrived by train once a month and stayed in the homes of members of the congregation for the weekend.
As time when on, and families continued to come to the valley, an official congregation grew closer. Unfortunately, K.O.
Neste did not live to see an official congregation come to life. He died in 1909.
It was on May 17, 1911, that O.J.H. Preus, a visiting pastor, called a meeting at the Eggen's home to adopt a church
Constitution. The Constitution was signed by 17 adults present at the meeting. Also at this meeting, 20 women signed
a document officially forming the Ladies Aid of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hemet. The Constitution included a
statement that made English the language of the services. This statement would prove troublesome only a few years
later.
While the constitution was adopted in 1911 it was not until March 20, 1912, that the name "First Evangelical Lutheran
Church in Hemet" was officially adopted by the congregation.
On November 27, 1913 (Thanksgiving Day) a new member - Mrs. Hagan - gave the church an acre of her family's land
on Florida Avenue at Columbia Street. This land would soon house the first church building. This first building was
completed in 1914 at a cost of $2,000. Construction was overseen by J. Arthur Neste, K.O.'s son and much of the labor
was provided by members of the congregation.
On November 29, 1914, the dedication took place. The original church was located on Florida Avenue near Columbia
Street - within site of the current location. Today it is a vacant lot that stands between the Century 21 Real Estate
offices and Comfort Zone shopping center. The south end of the lot extends east to Columbia and runs along the north
side of the current location's parking lot - between our lot and the car wash.
Shortly after the dedication the congregation applied to become official members of the Synod called the Norwegian
Evangelical Lutheran Church. Membership was granted but this was also the beginning of what would become a major
split among the original members - a question of languages.
The issue of language came to a point in 1914. One group of newly arrived settlers spoke only Norwegian and wanted
services held only in that language. More established residents spoke English and wanted services held in that
language. This issue became so important that the congregation split and Our Savior's Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran
Church was formed separate from the existing church.
It took almost seven years but, on May 16, 1921, the two Lutheran congregations came together to meet regarding their
reunification. Prior to this meeting, a committee had been set up with members of both congregations to determine if
reunification was even possible. At this meeting in 1921 the issue of language was the main topic of discussion but a
secondary issue arose - should women have the right to speak at the gathering and express their opinions in church
matters?
To settle the matter of language, the reunification committee recommended that there be two services each Sunday - a
morning service in one language and an evening service in the other language. This was still cause for debate but was
ultimately accepted. Also at this meeting the women of the congregation got their voice - they were given the right to
vote in all matters regarding the congregation.
The vote on May 16, 1921, reunified the congregations, gave women a say in church matters and changed the name of
the congregation to what it remains to this day - Trinity Lutheran Church of Hemet. However, the issue of language
never went away. In fact, it remained such an important issue that pastors had to maintain counts of how many services
were held in English and how many were held in Norwegian. The issue came to a point again at the Jan 1927 annual
meeting.
It was at this meeting that English was once again adopted as the main language. Norwegian services would be held
once or twice a month but only in the evening. This once again caused a split in the congregation. Those supporting
Norwegian services broke away and joining a new Missouri Synod group that had formed in the valley and had strong
German ties. That group later founded St. John's.
Trinity has had several pastors over the years. Our first resident pastor was Reverend Aadland who was hired in 1924.
He served at Trinity until 1929.
It was in the 1950s, under Pastor Malde, that Trinity started looking at building a new structure to house its growing
congregation. Many wanted to move the church into downtown Hemet, while many wanted Trinity to as to buy the
apricot orchard to the south of the existing church land. The cost at the time was $5,000.
In 1959 Pastor Bill Grout took over Trinity. During the 1960's, under the leadership of Pastor Bill Grout, Trinity went
forward with plans for a new building. The congregation bought the apricot orchard from the members and started
construction on a new facility.
The Parish Hall - now called the Celebration Center - was completed on April 9, 1961. The classrooms - used as our
original preschool - were completed in 1962. The preschool was quite a gamble in what was, at the time, mostly a
retirement community. No preschool existed anywhere in the valley prior to the one Trinity founded in 1962.
The present Sanctuary was completed and dedicated on May 8, 1966. The new Sanctuary contains many
"unconventional" designs. The chancel, for example, is oval instead of square. According to Pastor Grout, his idea was
to allow the whole congregation to gather around the alter. The curved shape allowed that better than the traditional
rectangle since more people would face the alter.
The suspended cross also has meaning. Made of irregular copper tubing it symbolizes the old rugged cross that
absorbed the ugliness of humanity.
Each and every one of the small glass windows along the north and east walls of the church has it's own specific
meaning.
Since that time, Trinity has made several more additions to its campus - an office complex and the current preschool
building.
In 2011 Trinity celebrated it's 97th Anniversary. Trinity continues to grow and share in the faith and fellowship that was
started in a valley farm house at the beginning of the twentieth century.
