Old Trondhjem Church, Lonsdale, Minnesota.
Credit: Laurie Sommers
Another board president, Paul Berge of the Swedish
Zion Preservation Society, heard the story of Vidalin’s suc-
cessful letter campaign at Partners’ training program and
was encouraged to undertake a similar fundraising effort
for its stone church, located near Souris, North Dakota.
Berge describes the training he attended as a critical step
toward understanding its role in the surrounding commu-
nity. Unlike some of the other churches in the cohort, Swed-
ish Zion Lutheran Church stands alone in the fields—it has
no city or town in its immediate vicinity.
“One of the things that excites me the most was the
[asset mapping] exercise from the training session. We sat
down with a blank piece of paper and listed all the gifts of
our congregation or organization and the things that we
could offer,” Berge says. “For us it’s difficult. We don’t have
heating, plumbing, etcetera. We’re more restricted than
those that have more of a modern facility…[But] we have so
much more to offer than indoor plumbing and electricity.
We have history and this heritage, and that excites me as
much or more than anything else— realizing what we do
have to offer to the community and to outsiders.”
Interior, Bethany Lutheran Church, Covington, Michigan. Credit: Laurie Sommers
SACRED PLACES • SUMMER 2019
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