Welcome to Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church of San Jose, CA

Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church of San Jose, California, was founded in 1884 when the Rev. John Telleen of Ebenezer Lutheran Church of San Francisco sent a young seminary student, named G. Ristrom, to begin gathering the Swedish community in San Jose together for worship service. 40 Swedish immigrants signed the charter roll on November 23, 1884. The legal name of the church at that time was Svenska Evangeliska Lutherska Emanuel-Kyrkan, or Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Church. A sanctuary building was planned for the corner of Market and Auzerais Streets in downtown San Jose, and construction was complete in time for the Christmas season of 1885.

The original church building was demolished in 1952. Although the building had survived the 1906 earthquake and had been refurbished numerous times, it was too antiquated and small to meet the growing demands of the congregation. Construction began at our current site at the corner of Leigh and Moorpark Avenues in 1953 with the building of the current Parish Hall, and the main sanctuary was dedicated on May 23, 1965. The memorial organ was dedicated in July of the same year, and at that time was the third-largest organ in San Jose.