The very name of First English Lutheran Church, Fairmount, North Dakota, is a reminder that this part of the United States was settled by pioneer immigrants from northern Europe, especially the Scandinavian countries and Germany.
No doubt the "First" Lutheran Church to be established in Fairmount, as in many other towns in Minnesota and the Dakotas, held services in some language other than English - perhaps German or Swedish.
When I was a 20-year-old youth evangelist itinerating in the Dakotas during the summer of 1964 I had to privilege to speak - through an interpreter - in churches which held their services in the German language. As the older generations have passed on, the younger population has largely forgotten the languages of their ancestors and now speak English almost exclusively.
However, when driving through the streets of Fairmount I noticed a young local family that appeared to be of oriental descent, and Hispanics are also spreading into the area. It would not surprise me if at some point in the near future a church here will hold services in Korean or Spanish.
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