HOME 

The ELCA through the Mission Development Program hired Rev. Muriel Peterson to come to Wilsonville and start a Church. in August of 1991. They began meeting at Pastor Muriel and her husband, Richard (Dick) Peterson, also a Lutheran Pastor.  Dick and Muriel were just back from a two or three year mission in Africa.

The first meetings were casual in her back yard until the weather became cold.  Meeting next at Frog Pong Grange Hall.. The was also  having Sunday evening meetings that were Bible Study and Fellowship. 

WHAT were they thinking?

The ELCA had long thought that Wilsonville was a growing community and could support their own church.

Muriel was great at door to door evangelism.  She walked the neighborhoods and invited people to attend.  

WHEN did CoH open its doors?

Our first church service was Christmas in The Barn. Dick and Muriel had a barn and we put up light, trees, baked a bunch of cookies, and scattered hay. They added some animals. But that is how our tradition of a manger in front of the church got started.  To the best of may knowledge, all of the Christmas Eve services at CoH have had animals for a manger. As I remember we also had live nativity characters including a baby Jesus. 

Our first Sunday Morning church service was at the Frog Pond Grange about 2 weeks later.  Bishop Swanson was there along with some other local Pastors. The Choir from Our Saviors was there. The place was packed. 

Easter Services were in the Memorial Park at Shelter C until we have a church building.  It was a beautiful setting.  One year a deer walked right behind Muriel as she was preaching.

We moved to Boeckman Creek Elementary School in fall of 1992. We held services in the multi-purpose room.  We officially became an ELCA congregation in November 1992. It was Advent Sunday. 

The building we are in now opened in April of 2001.  After Pastor Doug Adams arrived, we knew we needed a church building. They sent letters to property owners in the area and the people living in the youth house took us up on the offer.

WHERE did this church first take root?

Our roots we in the Frog Pond grange and Boeckman Creek for a lot of years.  In 1992, we had the opportunity to buy 15 aces of land at the corner of Stafford Road and Gage Road.  Since we were not yet a congregation and not financially self-sufficient, the ELCA purchased the property for $250,000. That was about 1/3 of the market rate at that time.  The ELCA agreed to hold it for CoH until it was time to build. 

In 1994, we decided it was time to build. We held a building fund drive and went to the county to file for permits.  The county rejected our application.  When we took over the property, the house on it was in very poor shape. We were concerned that it would be vandalized or some unauthorized people would move in. So we allowed Tualatin Valley Fire to use the house for a learn-to-burn drill.  That act then disqualified us from the building process.  There had not been a house on the property for 12 month.  Therefore we could not build. We appealed and in 1995, we had to abandon our plans to build on Stafford and Gage.

That was a low point and membership did drop for a while. 

We give 3% of our offering locally to ensure that in our community we fed and clothed those as Jesus would. I remember that being a big step of faith for us as a young church. We have always given at least 10% to the ELCA.  We must practice what we preach about first fruits. 

 WHY do we do what we do the way we do it?

It’s simple: people matter to God. Even if they don’t know it yet. So we strive to meet them in their comfort zone, with messages that deal with their everyday challenges, hopes and heartbreaks.  And in ways they can relate through messages relevant to their lives.

View our mission, vision and values statement.