St Paul's Lutheran Church
Filled with the spirit to share God's love with you!
Our History
This information is taken, in part, from a translation written in Norwegian by Rasmus Andersen. It was placed in the cornerstone of old St. Paul's Church on September 27, 1896. The translation was made by L.H. Larson of our congregation and Henry Erickson of Cashton Wis.
St.
Paul's Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Congregation, La Crosse Wisconsin,
was organized on November 16, 1870. Pastor P. Asbjornsen, Pastor of
Bostwick Valley congregation, which was a member of the Augustana Synod,
was helpful in the organization of the congregation. There were 38
charter members. At the congregational meeting on October 23, 1871 the
congregation sent a letter of call to Rev. P. Asbjornsen who served the
congregation until the summer of 1874. Also in 1871 the first House of
Worship was purchased and was located on North 11th Street.
On New Year's Day 1883 the congregation, now numbering 75, began
using the newly purchased Presbyterian Church Building on King Street
between 5th and 6th Streets. This building served the congregation until
1896 when plans were actively made to sell the property on King Street
and construct a new church building on the southwest corner of the
Division and West Avenue intersection. On September 27, 1896, the
cornerstone for the new building was laid with the following text "May
the Lord's blessing rest upon this house and upon those who in God's
name gather here, and may this St. Paul's congregation church always
stand as witness of the true Lutheran faith.
This,
God, grant us in Jesus' name. La Crosse, Wisconsin, the 27th of
September, 1896."
January 13, 1942 brought the approval of a new constitution and the name was officially changed to St. Paul's Lutheran Church. Pastor Arthur M. Feroe, the longest serving pastor in St. Paul's history, accepted a call to serve in February 1953 and remained here until his retirement in 1984. In the coming years a new parish house and chapel were dedicated in October 1956 and a new church was dedicated in December 1961, both located on the corner of West Avenue and Division Street where it remains today. The mortgage was burned in a celebratory service on November 14, 1982.
In February 2001 St. Paul's became a transformational congregation and officially adopted a Covenant of Transformation in September 2002. Pastor Kristine Fahey was called to serve as a redevelopment pastor in May 2003. In February 2009 St. Paul's called Pastor Tom Meyer to continue the journey of transformation.
For the last 140 years St. Paul's has served the community of La Crosse as a congregation fully engaged in the work of the Lord.