Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church | |
---|---|
Minnekirken | |
Norwegian: Den Norske Lutherske Minnekirke | |
41°55′43″N87°42′29″W / 41.928711°N 87.708111°W | |
Location | 2614 N. Kedzie Blvd. |
Country | United States |
Denomination | Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ |
Previous denomination | Norwegian Lutheran Church of America, American Lutheran Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church of America |
Website | www |
History | |
Status | Church |
Architecture | |
Functional status | Active |
Architect(s) | Charles F. Sorensen |
Architectural type | Church |
Style | Gothic Revival |
Groundbreaking | 1908 |
Completed | 1912 |
Closed | 1928 (reopened in 1934) |
Administration | |
Synod | Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ |
Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church ( Norwegian: Den Norske Lutherske Minnekirke), also known as Minnekirken, is a Lutheran church in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of two American churches still using Norwegian as a primary liturgical language, the other being Mindekirken in Minneapolis, Minnesota. [1]
Memorial Church or Minnekirken in Norwegian, is located at 2614 N. Kedzie Boulevard in an area known as Logan Square. At one time, Logan Square boasted a large Norwegian-American population. With relatively inexpensive housing and rent available, this neighborhood was a favorite for immigrants and working-class citizens. Minnekirken serves as a reminder of a neighborhood heritage long past in which Scandinavians played a significant part. During the first half of the 20th century there were several Norwegian language churches in the Logan Square area and over 20 Norwegian language churches in the metropolitan area. Today, Minnekirken is the last remaining Norwegian-language church in the city. Besides church services, the church continues to host activities, including Norwegian cooking classes, musical concerts and the annual Julejentene Christmas Bazaar.
Minnekirken was first built by Norwegian immigrants as Kristus Kirken (Christ Norwegian Lutheran Church) in 1906. Its original congregation lost the church during the Great Depression, but a new congregation was formed, and the church was purchased in 1934, changing its name to Minnekirken (Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church). [2]
The neighborhood surrounding the church is typical of Chicago's North Side neighborhoods and reflective of a diversity of languages and cultures. In the neighborhood these days, one predominantly hears Spanish spoken in several dialects representing different Hispanic cultures.
The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod (LCMS), also known as the Missouri Synod, is a confessional Lutheran denomination in the United States. With 1.7 million members as of 2022 it is the second-largest Lutheran body in the United States, behind the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The LCMS was organized in 1847 at a meeting in Chicago, as the German Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States, a name which partially reflected the geographic locations of the founding congregations.
Pietism, also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christian life.
Augsburg University is a private university in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. It was founded in 1869 as a Norwegian-American Lutheran seminary known as Augsburg Seminarium. Today, the university enrolls approximately 2,400 undergraduate and 700 graduate students. Augsburg is known for its emphasis on service learning; engaged learning experiences are both an instructional strategy and a required part of a student's coursework.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant church headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA was officially formed on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three Lutheran church bodies. As of 2022, it has approximately 2.9 million baptized members in 8,640 congregations.
The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), also referred to simply as the Wisconsin Synod, is an American Confessional Lutheran denomination of Christianity. Characterized as theologically conservative, it was founded in 1850 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Logan Square is an official community area, historical neighborhood, and public square on the northwest side of the City of Chicago. The Logan Square community area is one of the 77 city-designated community areas established for planning purposes. The Logan Square neighborhood, located within the Logan Square community area, is centered on the public square that serves as its namesake, located at the three-way intersection of Milwaukee Avenue, Logan Boulevard and Kedzie Boulevard.
Norwegian Americans are Americans with ancestral roots in Norway. Norwegian immigrants went to the United States primarily in the latter half of the 19th century and the first few decades of the 20th century. There are more than 4.5 million Norwegian Americans, according to the 2021 U.S. census; most live in the Upper Midwest and on the West Coast of the United States.
The Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America, often known simply as the Synodical Conference, was an association of Lutheran synods that professed a complete adherence to the Lutheran Confessions and doctrinal unity with each other. Founded in 1872, its membership fluctuated as various synods joined and left it. Due to doctrinal disagreements with the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS), the Evangelical Lutheran Synod (ELS) and the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) left the conference in 1963. It was dissolved in 1967 and the other remaining member, the Synod of Evangelical Lutheran Churches, merged into the LCMS in 1971.
Our Savior's Lutheran Church, is a Lutheran church located near the cities of Clifton and Cranfills Gap in the unincorporated community of Norse in Bosque County, Texas.
The Norwegian Lutheran Church in the United States is a general term to describe the Lutheran church tradition developed within the United States by immigrants from Norway.
The Muskego Settlement was one of the first Norwegian-American settlements in the United States. Situated near today's Muskego, Wisconsin, the Muskego Settlement covered areas within what is now the town of Norway in Racine County, Wisconsin.
St. John of Rila in Chicago, is a historic church of the Orthodox Church of America located in Chicago, Illinois. It is considered to be one of the most aesthetically noteworthy churches in the Portage Park area of Chicago.
Christdala Evangelical Swedish Lutheran Church is a historic church located in Forest Township, Rice County, Minnesota. It is situated 11 miles (18 km) west of Northfield at 4695 Millersburg Blvd.
The Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church of Minneapolis, better known as Mindekirken, is a Lutheran church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It is one of two American churches still using Norwegian as a primary liturgical language, the other being Minnekirken in Chicago. King Harald V of Norway is the church's patron.
Saint Paul is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, the county seat of Ramsey County, and the state capital of Minnesota. The origin and growth of the city were spurred by the proximity of Fort Snelling, the first major United States military installation in the area, as well as by the city's location on the northernmost navigable port of the Upper Mississippi River.
The Swedes in Omaha, Nebraska are a long-standing ethnic group in the city with important economic, social, and political ties.
Highview Christiania Lutheran Church is an American church in Eureka Township, Minnesota, at 26690 Highview Avenue, about nine miles (14 km) southwest of Farmington, Minnesota.
The Calvin Synod is an acting conference of the United Church of Christ, composed entirely of Reformed, or Calvinist congregations of Hungarian descent. Unlike much of the UCC, the Synod is strongly conservative on doctrinal and social matters, and many members of the "Faithful and Welcoming Movement," a renewal group acting to move the UCC in a more orthodox direction, belong to this body.
Danebod is a historic district at the south edge of the railway town of Tyler in southwestern Minnesota. Founded in 1885 by Danish Evangelical Lutherans led by Rev. Hans Jørgen Pedersen (1851–1905), the district comprises a group of buildings dating back to 1888 from Minnesota's oldest Danish immigrant settlement. Danebod remains until this day a predominantly Danish Lutheran, close-knit religious community. An annual celebration named Æbleskiver Days, held on the fourth weekend of July, celebrates Danish heritage and culture and includes a parade that goes down the town's main street with floats that are made by the various Danebod neighborhoods.
Christ Lutheran Church on Capitol Hill is a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in the Thomas-Dale neighborhood of Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States.