Pr. Kenneth Larson was not yet 30 when he began the long drive from Minneapolis to Houston in 1945 to become the first pastor at Christ the King Church. It was his first time to go so far south, and he was going to a parish very unlike the one he served in Minneapolis. His Minneapolis parish was still emerging from the depression; the majority of the parishioners had no more than a high school diploma. He knew that the community he would serve in Houston was more affluent with its geographical boundaries including both Rice Institute and a growing medical center. His wife Elaine was expecting their first child, and her doctor had advised her to travel by train rather than make the long trip in the car. Pr. Larson jokes that if he hadn't had to meet Elaine in Houston he may very well have turned around midway and gone back to Minnesota.Our congregation can count itself truly blessed that Elaine was on the train. Pr. Larson's leadership at Christ the King Church was pivotal in forming the community of faith that we have today.
Kenneth Larson grew up in Iowa, graduating from high school in 1934 in Elliot, Iowa. In 1938 he graduated from Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois, and continued at Augustana Seminary, graduating in 1942. (Augustana Seminary has since merged with the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Chicago.) His first call was to a parish in Minneapolis, where he served for about 3 years before coming to Houston.
The new Christ the King Church was somewhat of an experiment for the Augustana Lutheran Synod, a predecessor to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Previously the Synod had formed churches in response to the requests of local Lutherans. But in Houston the Board of Home Missions sought people to form the church. There was a small group of parishioners from Augustana Lutheran Church in midtown Houston who agreed to become a nucleus for a new church in the growing area around the medical center. Their task was to seek others who may be interested in joining with them and to raise money for programs and buildings. They began meeting in August 1945 in Roberts Elementary School, with Pr. Eric Hawkins conducting services. In September the Board of Home Missions extended a call to Pr. Larson to serve as a Board Missionary in the new mission church in Houston. He visited the congregation and preached at a service in October, and in November the congregation unanimously voted to call him. He was offered a salary of $2,200 a year (which even in 2003 terms is only about $22,500) plus a parsonage at 3112 Amherst, which the church had purchased for $11,000, and utilities.
Besides fulfilling the traditional role of parish pastor, Pr. Larson had responsibilities to the Board of Missions. Each month he was expected to make 100 calls on people in the neighborhood and make a report to the Board. Texas was a far cry from Minnesota, where Lutheran churches dominated the landscape. Pr. Larson found that many Houstonians were not even vaguely familiar with Lutheranism. He felt that he was sometimes perceived as though he were representing a cult. The congregation grew slowly at first, but he remained steadfast in his efforts. "I grew up in farming country and I reminded myself and others that you don't harvest the day after you plant," he recalls.
The early worship services were indeed often sparsely attended. "Realistically," he stated, "you just didn't know how many would show up." Pr. Larson remembers one Sunday when Elaine was at home with a sick child only there were only four worshippers: himself, the organist, Elna Birath, and one male visitor. Elna, who, as older members will recall, was the epitome of propriety. She didn't think it would be fitting for a woman to serve as usher, so she graciously asked the visitor if he would serve in that capacity.
The proximity to Rice Institute offered a natural avenue for cultivating a campus ministry, even though such programs within the formal church organization were barely in place yet. Pr. Larson stated, "I had been doing campus ministry for two years when I received a letter from the Synod Division of Student Ministry. They told me they would support my ministry. They said, `You write a report every year about what you do and we'll send you $25 a year to cover your postage.' " Al and Bridget Jensen, both Rice students in those days, were attracted to CTK when Pr. Larson was here.
In the 1940s congregations didn't write formal mission statements, but, Pr Larson said, "We knew what we were about. We were there for worship, education, and stewardship." Almost immediately members dreamed of erecting a large building, but he would remind them, "If we build the biggest church in Houston we can't offer more than what we offer now: worship, education, and stewardship." Half jokingly he says the reason stewardship was so successful at Christ the King church was that he had nothing to do with it; the members themselves encouraged one another. Even as a small church CTK led the synod for parish giving. Pr. Larson recalls a conversation between two members in which one commented that her family tithed to the church. The second member said he didn't think he was able to do that. "Have you ever tried?" the first asked.
Faithful stewardship allowed the small congregation to purchase the property at Rice and Greenbriar and to break ground for a stone building in March 1949. The first service was held in the new nave, now our parish hall, on June 26 of that year.
Pr. Larson left CTK in 1953 for a parish in Chicago. He stayed at that church for 2 years and then began work as a campus minister, work that he continued until 1981. For the next 10 years he served in interim positions, finally retiring in 1993. He has four children, three of whom were baptized at CTK. But he is clear that he also thinks of Gail Glass, Elaine's sister, as another daughter. (As a young teenager Gail lived with the Larsons on Amherst.) Elaine passed away in 1987, and Pr. Larson married Mary Hall in 1997. The couple lives in Spokane, Washington, near his daughter, Victoria.