On to Perfection

“On to Perfection is a significant contribution to several understudied areas—Swedish Methodism, broader ethnic Methodism, the seminary system for each, Swedish Methodism in Chicago and the Midwest, Nels O. Westergreen and his colleagues, and the people called Swedish Methodists. In addition to her thorough scholarship, Norén brings the ineffable quality of being of the house and lineage of this very Methodism, so this is scholarship with heart.”


—Daniel Swinson, Historian of the Northern Illinois Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church





“On to Perfection tells the long-neglected story of Swedish Methodism in America through the lens of one of its early immigrant leaders, Nels O. Westergreen. Norén’s narrative covers Westergreen’s harrowing journey to America, his circuit-riding preaching on the American frontier, and his tent-meeting revivals, as well as his development into a preeminent Swedish Methodist preacher. This book is an important contribution to the study of Swedish immigration and Methodism in America.”


—Anita Olson Gustafson, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Mercer University