History

Our History
In August of 1978, Mission Pastor Dennis Marttala began to develop a new congregation of the Lutheran Church in America near Clackamas Community College in Oregon City. The new congregation met first at Moss Junior High School, and later in a re-modeled dairy barn that held an archery range (the pastor tried to preach on target!) and a wood stove store. The organizational worship service was November 29, 1981. The church building was constructed in 1984 and was dedicated by Bishop Thomas Blevins. The architectural design by Milton Stricker received the Oregon City Commission’s annual award for the best new construction in the city. In 1988, Prince Of Life became a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, when three Lutheran bodies joined to form the ELCA. We celebrated our congregation’s 40th anniversary in November of 2021.

Timeline
October 1978: First service 

November 29, 1981: Organizational Service and signing of the charter

June 24, 1984: Groundbreaking for the original building on hwy 213

December 16, 1984: Dedication of the building. Total cost: $285,000 plus volunteer contributions valued at $20-25,000

May 1992: Groundbreaking of the new site on Meyers Road. Building is cut in two, trucked to its current site, and laid over a daylight basement. Square footage is doubled, and mortgage is paid off

2000: The corner of Hwy 213 and Meyers is developed, and Haggen Food and Pharmacy becomes a neighbor

Pastors
1978-1982: Pastor Dennis Marttala, Mission Developer
1982: Pastor Stan Hoobing (interim)
1982-1988: Pastor John Baglien
1988-1998: Pastor Jim Flachsbart (Pastor Joel Nangole from Tanzania was a visiting pastor in 1989)
1998-1999: Pastor Linda Larson (interim)
2000-2022: Pastor John Reutter-Harrah
2022-2023 Pastor Robert Neubert (interim)