50th Anniversary (1969-2019)

  
     In September of 1968 several people attended an “interest meeting” to formulate plans for a mission church in Harvey. Attending were Rev. F.C. Kalweit, Rev. Ted Mattson, and Al Jacobson, the Township Supervisor. On December 1968 the Charter Membership Roll was signed by all the members of the newly formed and designated church.
    On March 2 1969, the Rev. Fred Gustafson was installed as the first pastor of the congregation. Services continued to be held in the old Town Hall.
     Ground was broken for a new building on September 20, 1970. It would be built on land donated by Al and Leona Jacobson, which is located on the corner of M-28 and Riverside Road at the end of a nice quiet neighborhood. On Christmas Eve, services were held in the new sanctuary, even though it was just bare walls.
     Most of the interior work was done by volunteer members. A very unique feature of the new sanctuary was the altar which was made from a huge rock supported by wrought iron legs. The altar railings were also of wrought iron. This altar would eventually become the feature of the Memorial Garden. The general contractors were LaBonte and Adams.
     On February 21, 1971, the last service was held in the Town Hall. Members carried all of the altar items off during the singing of the last hymn. It was a very emotional and visual sign that we were leaving our house of God and preparing to move into another. Dedication of the new building was held on May 10, 1971.
     By the late 1980’s, as membership continued to grow, more space was necessary. The building was raised and ten classrooms for Sunday school were realized from what was hardy crawl space. An elevator was installed in 1989.
     In May of 1993, a committee was formed to make plans for a new sanctuary. Mr. Don Klimmeck, a member, offered his expertise as the architect. The hope was for it to be finished during the winter months of late 1993 and early 1994, with most of the interior work being done by volunteers. The main contractor for this new addition was Gary Niemala. The altar, pulpit, and altar railing were designed and built by Mr. Paul Mattson of Messiah Lutheran Church. The cross hanging behind the altar was crafted by Dan Hakala, also a member of Prince of Peace.
    In April of 1994, after much research and perseverance by Mrs. Sylvia Hainstock, permission was granted from local authorities to operate a Memorial Garden. The first shrubs and plantings were completed. The original rock altar was moved out to the garden and is now a highlight of the garden. Dedication of the Memorial Garden took place on October 16, 1994. Only cremations are buried in the garden, and the names and dates of the people are on a plaque in the sanctuary by a window which overlooks the garden.  
     In 2004 the original kitchen off the present nursery was turned into the Pastor’s office with a window! That gave us secretary’s office and a workroom.
The tech world brought TV monitors to Prince of Peace's sanctuary in 2013. The The most recent improvement was in 2018 when air conditioning was installed in the sanctuary for the comfort of all on a Sunday morning and a welcome addition for summer weddings.
Written by Elry Reetz and Jeanne Meravi