diverse, 2014

Seven Lutheran Congregations along the Mississippi River, by David Zersen

1) Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church, Main and Sixth Street in Trempealeau, Wisconsin was founded in 1958. Situated on Highway 35, the Great River Road, one of the 10 most scenic drives in America, the small ELCA parish has the Rev. Dana Jackson as its pastor. French traders first came to the area in 1870 and called the spot “La Montagne qui trempe a l’eau” (“the mountain with its foot in the water”).
2) Tabor Lutheran Church, N1298 530th in Bay City, Wisconsin was founded in 1881 by Swedish immigrants. The country parish belongs to the ELCA and the Rev. Edward Groop is the pastor. A soldier who died in the United States Civil War is buried in the cemetery to the left of the church entrance. Bay City is situated on Lake Pepin, a paradise for birdwatchers and fishermen.
3) First Lutheran Church, West St. and 5th Street in Red Wing, Minnesota is a towering ELCA parish built of local white limestone. The community was founded by Germans and Scandinavians in the early 1850s. Once the home of the Red Wing Seminary, the pastoral training institution of the Hauge Synod, a Norwegian Lutheran Synod, as well as Gustavus Adolphus College, a Swedish Lutheran institution, Lutherans played an important role in the development of Red Wing. Today Pastor Brian Scott leads First Lutheran, a prominent parish across from the city square in Red Wing.
4) St. John’s Lutheran Church, 5th Street and East Avenue in Red Wing, Minnesota was founded in 1858 by German Lutherans. Today Pastor Todd Engel serves as senior pastor of the parish. St. John’s is a member the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. It maintains a parochial school in the heart of Red Wing, a prosperous city situated on the Mississippi River.
5) Good Shepherd Lutheran Church on Mormon Coulee Road in La Crosse, Wisconsin was founded in 1955. Originally established by French trappers in the late 1600s, the city today has 51,000 residents. The Rev. Harald Brinsjord is pastor at Good Shepherd, a congregation of the ELCA.
6) Cashton Four-Point Lutheran Church on State Highway 33 in Cashton, Wisconsin was founded as a Norwegian Lutheran congregation in 1874. Restructured a number of times, the current facility was dedicated in 1992. The Rev. John Stennes-Spidahl is pastor of the parish, which holds membership in the ELCA.
7) St. Paul Lutheran Church, Main and 7th Streets, in McGregor, Iowa was founded in 1864. The pastor, the Rev. David Zimmer, has served the parish since 2004. Pastor Zimmer also serves Trinity Lutheran Church, Guttenberg, Iowa. Both parishes are members of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.

David Zersen
Austin, Texas, USA
E-Mail: djzersen@aol.com

Bemerkung:
photographed in October, 2013