Creation Date

November 11 1923
2009

Description

The Union Prairie Lutheran Church congregation met on November 11, 1923 to dedicate their newly built church building. Norwegian immigrants held their first church service at the farm of Torgar Pederson Lunde. Pastor Koren officiated these first services on September 2, 1856. The first church constitution was adopted on November 20, 1865 and six months later, on May 21, 1866, the congregation was incorporated.  The original building was constructed in 1869 when Halvor Olson Laastuen's family sold two acres to the congregation for the church grounds and cemetery for $1. The warranty deed was signed on December 1, 1873. The first congregation consisted to two groups, North and South. The South group wanted to build their own church, but the North group members persuaded them to try being one group. The agreement was if they were dissatisfied, they could pull their money out. In 1873 the altar, pulpit and pews were installed. In 1874 the church building was dedicated and the first coat of paint was put on. In 1879, Union Prairie became sister churches with Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Lanesboro. The bell was installed in the steeple in 1882, having cost $224. The original building was turned from the North/South position to an East/West position, then sawed in half, pushed apart and a new section was built in the center from North to South at the cost of $2,000 in 1894. in 1923 a basement was added for $5,000. Another improvement in 1923 was the installation of stained glass windows costing between $3-4,000. These were all the improvements done until the time of the photograph, but more were made in years following. In 1948 the painting over the altar was installed. Finally on November 2, 1997, the wooden cross above the altar was donated by Kyle Shanahan on his confirmation day. Kyle had handmade the cross for the occasion. The photo and history are held in a gold-painted, wooden frame.