Twin Cities Sacred Spaces

Historic Muskego Church

One of the earliest Norwegian-American churches built—and the oldest one still standing—the Muskego Church has a fascinating history. Learn about its three locations and multiple uses, from a place of worship to a farm building to a historic site commemorating Norwegian-American immigrants and their religious life.

HOLY GROUND: HISTORIC CEMETERIES OF THE TWIN CITIES

Whether military, religious, or non-denominational, cemeteries large and small dot the local landscape. Learn about the evolution of cemeteries in and around Minneapolis and St. Paul, from private family plots, through the beautiful Victorian garden cemeteries of the nineteenth century, to contemporary designs and settings.

A Church on Every Corner: Sacred Spaces in Northeast Minneapolis

The rich diversity of ethnic groups settling in Northeast Minneapolis created an amazing array of worship spaces in the Nordeast neighborhoods. In this fully illustrated presentation, we will look at the heritage of religious buildings in Nordeast, from the 1840s to the present.

SCANDINAVIAN-AMERICAN CHURCHES IN THE TWIN CITIES

Hundreds of thousands of Scandinavian immigrants flooded into Minneapolis and St. Paul in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As they put down roots, they established scores of congregations and other religious institutions for worship, service, and fellowship. Many of these places have vanished, but a number of the “descendants” survive, even as their Scandinavian origins are now obscured or hidden. In this slide presentation, we’ll look at some of the earliest congregations through the heyday of the late 1800s-early 1900s and at current buildings and places related to the Scandinavian immigrant traditions.

I can adapt this presentation to emphasize a specific Scandinavian group or to focus on either Minneapolis or St. Paul; I can also tell the story of a particular Scandinavian congregation’s locations and buildings.

Sacred Space: Historic Churches of the twin cities

In this virtual tour of landmark churches in Minneapolis and St. Paul, we will consider the worship spaces of various denominations, meet some important church architects, and see a variety of different styles of building over the past 150 years.

Churches of St. Anthony Park

Like other thriving neighborhoods around the Twin Cities, St. Anthony Park has a mix of residential, commercial, and institutional spaces. This presentation focuses on the many places used for religious purposes in St. Anthony Park, starting in the 1880s with the community’s oldest churches.