Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church (Minneapolis)

Last updated
Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church
Mindekirken.jpg
The Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church from the southeast
Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church (Minneapolis)
44°57′44″N93°15′36″W / 44.96222°N 93.26000°W / 44.96222; -93.26000
Address924 E. 21st Street, Minneapolis, Minnesota
CountryUnited States
Denomination Lutheran
History
Founded1922
Architecture
Completed1930
Mindekirken altar Mindekirken Altar.jpg
Mindekirken altar
Mindekirken interior view at night Mindekirken sanctuary 2013-11-23.jpg
Mindekirken interior view at night

The Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church of Minneapolis ( Norwegian Den Norske Lutherske Mindekirke), 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. [1] King Harald V of Norway is the church's patron. [2]

Contents

History

The congregation of Mindekirken was formed in 1922 by the Norwegian Lutheran Church of America in response to the rapid abandonment of Norwegian in favor of English among Norwegian Lutheran churches at that time.

The Norse-American Centennial Celebration that was held in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in 1925 to commemorate the 1825 arrival of the Norwegian immigrant ship Restaurationen helped provide the impetus for a "memorial" church to be built to house the new congregation, to serve as a living memorial to Norwegian immigration. Mindekirken was finally dedicated on May 4, 1930.

The church has been visited by members of the Norwegian royal family on several occasions. King Olav V of Norway visited on November 4, 1975 near the Sequicentennial of the Restauration voyage. HM Queen Sonja visited on October 16, 2022 to celebrate the congregation's centennial, on the same weekend as Her Majesty headlined grand opening celebrations for neighboring Norway House's Innovation and Culture Center. [3]

To celebrate the 2025 Bicentennial of the Restauration's 1825 voyage, Mindekirken will dedicate a model church ship of Restaurationen to hang in the sanctuary. [4]

Mission

Mindekirken's mission statement reads: "To serve as a spiritual center for the Scandinavian American Community, worshiping in both Norwegian and English. To be a warm and inviting place for visitors and members alike, where people join in fellowship across different ages and cultural backgrounds. To encourage activities such as Leiv Eriksson International Festival, Syttende Mai Celebration, concerts, festive dinners and language classes."

See also

Related Research Articles

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant Lutheran 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 Synod of the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, commonly called the Norwegian Synod, was founded in 1853. It included churches in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Hanson</span> American bishop (born 1946)

Mark S. Hanson is an American bishop who served as the third Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Before being elected presiding bishop, he served as bishop of the Saint Paul Area Synod as well as pastor of three Minnesota congregations: Prince of Glory Lutheran Church, Minneapolis; Edina Community Lutheran Church; and University Lutheran Church of Hope in Minneapolis. In addition to serving as Presiding Bishop, Hanson was the 11th President of the Lutheran World Federation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norwegian Americans</span> Americans of Norwegian birth or descent

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 Lutheran Free Church (LFC) was a Lutheran denomination that existed in the United States, mainly in Minnesota and North Dakota, from 1897 until its merger into the American Lutheran Church (ALC) in 1963. The history of the church body predates its official organization, and a group of congregations that did not join the ALC formed the Association of Free Lutheran Congregations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Lutheran Church</span> Defunct Christian denomination in the United States

The American Lutheran Church (ALC) was a Christian Protestant denomination in the United States and Canada that existed from 1960 to 1987. Its headquarters were in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Upon its formation in 1960, The ALC designated Augsburg Publishing House, also located in Minneapolis, as the church publisher. The Lutheran Standard was the official magazine of The ALC.

1517 Media, formerly Augsburg Fortress Press, is the official publishing house of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). It also publishes for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada as Augsburg Fortress Canada. Headquartered on South Fifth Street in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in the former headquarters of the American Lutheran Church, Augsburg Fortress publishes Living Lutheran, the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), the Lutheran Study Bible, and the Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), as well as a range of academic, reference, and educational books. Tim Blevins has served as the CEO of 1517 Media since August, 2018. Beth Lewis served as the CEO of Augsburg Fortress since September 3, 2002.

Living Lutheran is the primary publication of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The editorial offices are at the Lutheran Center at 8765 West Higgins Road in suburban Chicago, Illinois, with the denominational offices. While circulation fulfillment is done by Augsburg Fortress Publishers, the ELCA publishing house located on South Fifth Street in Minneapolis, Minnesota, all editorial, advertising, marketing and online functions are done in the Chicago offices. Originally historically titled The Lutheran with antecedents going back to the 1831, the magazine changed its name in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America</span> Defunct Christian denomination in 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.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELC) was a Lutheran denomination that existed from 1917, when it was founded as the Norwegian Lutheran Church of America (NLCA), until 1960, when it joined two other church bodies to form the second American Lutheran Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Our Savior's Lutheran Church (Cranfills Gap, Texas)</span>

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.

Elling Eielsen was a Norwegian-American minister and Lutheran Church leader. He was the first Norwegian Lutheran minister in the United States.

The Lutheran liturgical calendar is a listing which details the primary annual festivals and events that are celebrated liturgically by various Lutheran churches. The calendars of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) are from the 1978 Lutheran Book of Worship and the calendar of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS) and the Lutheran Church–Canada (LCC) use the Lutheran Book of Worship and the 1982 Lutheran Worship. Elements unique to the ELCA have been updated from the Lutheran Book of Worship to reflect changes resulting from the publication of Evangelical Lutheran Worship in 2006. The elements of the calendar unique to the LCMS have also been updated from Lutheran Worship and the Lutheran Book of Worship to reflect the 2006 publication of the Lutheran Service Book.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norwegian-American Lutheranism</span> Lutheran church tradition

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First United Lutheran Church</span> Church in San Francisco, California

First United Lutheran Church is a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), located in San Francisco, California. Formed in 1886, it was the first Lutheran congregation in California to use English as its primary language for worship. In 1990, First United was suspended, and later expelled from the ELCA for ordaining an openly gay pastor, against the wishes of the denomination. The ELCA Churchwide Assembly voted to approve openly gay clergy in 2009, and in 2012, First United rejoined the denomination. Presently a "church without walls," First United meets in St. Cyprian's Episcopal Church, located at 2097 Turk Street, near the main campus of the University of San Francisco.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minnekirken</span> Church in N. Kedzie Blvd., United States

Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church, 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.

The 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly was the eleventh biennial Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. It convened in the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota, from August 17–23, 2009. The Churchwide Assembly is the 'highest legislative authority' of the ELCA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norse-American Centennial</span>

The Norse-American Centennial celebration was held at the Minnesota State Fair on June 6–9, 1925.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christ Lutheran Church on Capitol Hill</span> Historic church in Minnesota, United States

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.

References

  1. Grodahl Biever, Joe (2004). "The Founding of Mindekirken" University of Minnesota.
  2. Royal House web page on the King's patronages Retrieved 7 November 2007
  3. Royal House of Norway Retrieved 12 February 2024
  4. Mindekirken newsletter updating on the project Retrieved 12 February 2024

Photos