The new Salem Lutheran has links to the old church
DEERWOOD - Years of planning, months of labor, and countless hours of prayer are coming together in Deerwood this weekend.
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Salem Lutheran Church, part of Deerwood for more than a century, was recently constructed on the same site as the congregation's two previous churches. The new Salem Lutheran Church will be dedicated at 2 p.m. Sunday with Bishop Thomas Aitken of Duluth of the Northeastern Minnesota Synod presiding.
Lois Hicks (left), Pastor David Anderson and Randy Holmvig stood by the Salem Lutheran Church sign in Deerwood. The granite sign was formerly the church's altar and was one of several items reused as the new church was constructed on the same site of the previous facility.
Brainerd Dispatch/Renee Richardson
After the decision was made to go ahead and build, Pastor David Anderson said continuing to be in the heart of the city was important to church members.
"We decided as a congregation we're Salem Lutheran Church - of Deerwood - and therefore we are going to stay where we have always been," Anderson said. "We felt strongly as a congregation that we're located in Deerwood, we're of Deerwood, we want to be here to serve this community that we've been part of for 121 years now."
A Salem Lutheran Church has stood on this same site in Deerwood since 1889. The previous church was torn down just after Labor Day in 2009. The new one was completed earlier this summer. Throughout the new church are links to the past.
The stained glass window now displayed as a piece of art in the Salem Lutheran Church narthex once was the window above the altar in the previous Deerwood church.
The stained glass window now displayed as a piece of art in the church's narthex, or vestibule, once was the window above the altar in the previous church. Another stained glass above the doors leading to the Fellowship Hall is from the original church.
Salem Lutheran Church has about 250 families and offers a traditional service and a contemporary one on Sundays. The previous church had 10,000 square feet and seated 150 for services. The new one is 18,000 square feet and seats about 280. The Fellowship Hall was increased from being able to seat and serve 100 to now serve 200. The commercial kitchen doubled in size. Offices allowed staff members to have their own space and an educational wing provides multi-use rooms for youth and adult gatherings. The church continues to have an option to build on the educational wing if needed in the future.
"I think it's going to serve our needs very well and a lot of our wants," said Randy Holmvig, team leader of the design/build team at the church.
Financing came from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Missions Investment Fund. Miller Architects and Builders was the general contractor. The congregation worshipped at Heartwood Senior Living Community in Crosby in the interim.
"They were absolutely great to us," Lois Hicks, part of the church's design/build team, said of Heartwood.
The first service at the church came in July before the facility was fully finished. Salem Lutheran Church operates The Mustard Seed thrift and gift store that benefits Salem WEST, a community outreach program to help those who are struggling, and a jail ministry among other activities.
Anderson said the congregation wants its new facility to be there for other organizations and recently hosted a meeting of the Serpent Lake Association.
Anderson said: "This facility is a blessing not only to us, but to the community."
RENEE RICHARDSON may be reached at renee.richardson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5852.