Salem German Reformed Church - Vegreville

The early Volga German settlers from Norka gathered in their homes to read and study scriptures. These gatherings became the nucleus of the group that formed the congregation of Salem south of Vegreville. In 1901, the Rev. C. F. W. Gräser from Josephburg Reformed Church (northwest of Vegreville) visited the congregation at Vegreville on a bi-monthly basis. In between the minister's visits the congregation would continue to meet. An elder would either preach a sermon in German or read from a sermon book, also printed in German, when the church was without a minister.

Soon, Pastor Gräser began visiting the community once each month, holding worship services in private homes or in the community schoolhouse. On 18 February 1910 the congregation was officially organized. It affiliated with the North Dakota Synod.

In April 1917, the congregation unanimously voted to build a church building a short distance south of Vegreville, and on 1 July 1917 the cornerstone was laid. The group chose the Hebrew name of Salem ("peace"). Through the years the name of the church changed from the "Redeemer Church of the Salem Congregation" (1 July 1917), to "Salem Evangelical and Reformed Church" (1934), to "Salem United Church" (1 November 1961) when it merged with the United Church of Canada. The church building, located a short distance south of Vegreville, is still in use today.