|
Salem Has Moved!
Salem
English Lutheran Church held its final worship service in it's
building at 28th and Lyndale in Minneapolis on October 29th, 2006.
Moving quickly, Salem's congregation was worshipping in our partner
church's building the the following Sunday (November 5th).
Salem and
Lyndale UCC
(31st and Aldrich) had been discussing a partnership for a year prior
to the move. Salem's congregation couldn't refuse Lyndale UCC's
gracious invitation to move in with them and share costs. Since then,
a temporary partnership agreement has been signed between the
churches. This partnership is not a merger, but a way for both
churches to be better stewards of their resources. Both congregations
are still able to maintain their individual history and identity while
living within this ecumenical agreement. Lyndale has since renamed
their building Lyndale - Salem Church.
Salem and
Lyndale are presently seeking development ideas for their properties.
A development could include a combination of space for housing,
retail, arts organizations, and, ideally, a smaller and sustainable
ministry center for Salem and Lyndale congregations. People with an
interest in this development are invited to view the
R.F.I. produced for developers. While
Salem continues to seek alternate avenues for development they keep in
mind their original goals of providing ministry in their
neighborhood, maintaining a legacy for itself, and creating a
sustainable financial situation.
Salem is a
faith community led by the Holy Spirit and on the move as it embarks
on an exciting next phase of its ministry. Please include Salem
in your prayers and be part of the future into which God is calling!
|
New Address
810 West 31st Street
Minneapolis, MN 55408
612.872.4650
Worship Schedule
8:30 Salem's Traditional Service in Main Sanctuary
9:15 Sunday School and Youth Group w/ Lyndale
9:30 Adult Education
Opportunity and/or Coffee
10:30 Salem's Jazz Service in Dance Studio
|
|
Congregation History
Salem
English Lutheran was one of the first Lutheran congregations west of
Chicago to worship in the English language. This deep desire to
worship in the language of the neighborhood is still part of Salem’s
calling.
As the
neighborhood has transformed, Salem strives to speak the “language” of
our area and provide a welcoming faith community.
Salem began
in 1890, building its current sanctuary in 1904 with major additions
along the way. The last addition, the west wing, was added in 1963 to
accommodate an extremely large congregation.
'Urban
Flight' began before the 1963 addition was complete and many of its
families moved to the promise of the suburbs. Over the years Salem's
population declined and it wasn't able to attract a large enough
population to regain momentum and pay for increasing energy costs. Out
of necessity, at the beginning of 2006, Salem's congregation's voted
to reinvent itself.
Throughout
this time, Salem has maintained a small, yet vital, congregation. The
leaders of this congregation have led the charge to reinvent itself
with vigor and energy.
|
Neighborhood
The property
Salem served for 116 years and wishes to return to shortly is
planted on the corner of 28th Street and Lyndale Avenue in
South Minneapolis. To many this area is known simply as Uptown,
though more specifically, we are near the intersection of three
different Minneapolis Neighborhoods: Whittier, Lyn-Lake, and
Lowry Hill East (Wedge).
This is a
highly diverse and creative area with dozens of theaters, coffee
shops, locally owned businesses and restaurants, as well as strong
residential pockets of families and individuals with wide-ranging
backgrounds. The GLBT community finds a home in this area of
town as well as in this congregation.
Salem and
Lyndale UCC plan to return to this same corner in a smaller,
green-friendly, building that is sustainable by our collective
churches. Our goal is to continue serving our neighborhoods during and
after our development gets under way. |
Beliefs
 Salem
is a Christian church and a congregation of the
Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
The ELCA was formed by the 1987 merger of a number of Lutheran
immigrant denominations. Salem’s roots are in the
Lutheran Church in America (LCA), the Swedish Lutheran church.
Salem is also a 'Reconciling in
Christ' (RIC) congregation
welcoming into the life and leadership of the congregation people of
all sexual orientations and gender Identities.
Our Christian belief is in the one, triune God, Creator and parent of
us all and still creating; God’s son, Jesus Christ, by whose example
we live and through whose death and resurrection we receive fullness
of life; and the Holy Spirit, ever sustaining and inspiring.
We
believe the Bible, God’s Living Word, speaks to us today and that we
are called to be as Christ to one another.
Some of the core values that motivate our commitment to Christ, our
community, and the diversity of our neighborhood are: justice,
peace, equality, servanthood, and a desire to be a life-giving
community.
|