A Central Lutheran love story

Central Lutheran with steeple and bell tower in downtown Minneapolis

Sanctuary and organ

Earlier this week I enjoyed a visit to the downtown Minneapolis church were my mom's parents met, Central Lutheran.  My grandparents, both of Norwegian ancestry, became acquainted in the later 1920s, after having come to the city to further their education. They attended a young adults gathering at the church.  Grandpa Dybvig moved to Minneapolis from a farm in Colton, South Dakota.  He later enrolled in the University of Minnesota, where he received degrees both in electrical engineering and the law school.  Grandma Anderson came from a farming family that had immigrated from Norway to Cokato, Minnesota. She became a registered nurse through Fairview's school of nursing.  They later launched their family after moving to Dayton, Ohio.

Stained glass window
with Norwegian flag

Back to Central Lutheran.  It was in 1928 that Central's current neo-Gothic type cathedral-type building was dedicated to accommodate this burgeoning congregation.  It was built with a seating capacity of 2,500. Though the early plans included a clarion bell town, the crash of the stock market precluded its construction.  In 2003 a generous donor provided a designated gift to complete the bell tower addition, as initially planned.

Over the years Central Lutheran has become increasingly diverse as it works to be a model of vibrant urban Lutheran ministry. I have a special appreciation for Central's outreach, as among many other things it hosts Kinship's fall harvest party.  The senior pastor, Rick Nelson, is also a long-time Kinship mentor for a young guy from Minneapolis.

Ring the bells for Central Lutheran, as it continues to stand tall in service to the people of Minneapolis.