Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church (Minneapolis)

Coordinates: 44°57′43″N 93°15′36″W / 44.961997°N 93.259978°W / 44.961997; -93.259978

Mindekirken Outside view from the SE.

Mindekirken Altar.

The Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church of Minneapolis (Norwegian Den Norske Lutherske Mindekirke), better known as Mindekirken, is a Lutheran church in Minneapolis in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is one of two American churches still using Norwegian as a primary liturgical language, the other being Minnekirken in Chicago, Illinois.^[1] King Harald V of Norway is the church's patron.^[2]

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. Mindekirken was finally dedicated on May 4, 1930.

The church has been visited by members of the Norwegian Royal Family on several occasions, including King Olav V of Norway's visit on November 4, 1975. (King Olav was the father of the current King, HM Harald V of Norway.)

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

• Mindekirken is centrally located in the Ventura Village neighborhood within the Phillips community of Minneapolis, MN.
• Mindekirken is in the Minneapolis Area Synod of the ELCA.
• Mindekirken was originally a member of the American Lutheran Church (ALC), until January 1, 1988, when it merged with the Lutheran Church in America (LCA) and the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (AELC), thus creating the largest Lutheran church body in the 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

External links

• Mindekirken- Norwegian language church in Minneapolis
• Minnekirken Norwegian language church in Chicago
• Sjømannskirken Website of The Norwegian Church Abroad, which operates churches in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston, New Orleans, Miami and New York
• Mpls-synod.org of the ELCA
• Mindekirken's listing at the ELCA's Minneapolis Synod web site
• Mindekirken is centrally located in the Ventura Village neighborhood in the Phillips Community of Minneapolis, Minnesota.