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“Everything we own is on wheels,” said Ingrid Iverson, president of the Fellowship. “Everything from hymnals to children’s toys has to be taken out and put away every Sunday.”
No more.
The congregation purchased the building at 401 West Ave. S., formerly Blaschke Funeral Home, this spring and hopes to have the first phase of construction and remodeling finished by Sept. 9.
They’ll hold their first service in the unfinished space at 10 a.m. Sunday.
“We exist every single day,” said Kim Cobb, a board member and former president of the fellowship, which formed in 1951. “We just didn’t have a place to show that before.”
The decision about whether to rent or find a permanent home is shared by other churches in the area, all started since 2001.
The Rev. Chris Crye said Neighborhood City Church, which he founded in 2001, plans to begin a $350,000 fundraising campaign toward purchasing a building in the next year.
The Evangelical church, which grew out of a response to the growing ethnic diversity of La Crosse, now meets at Lincoln Middle School.
“We know the building isn’t the church — the church is the people,” Crye said. “But I’ve come to appreciate having a place or a building that’s yours, that you identify with ... It really does give a sense of community.”
The Rev. John Splinter, who started the non-denominational Point of Grace Community Church in 2003, has a different approach.
His congregation meets in Holmen High School. If membership ever outgrows the space, he said they’ll start a second church and continue to rent.
“We’ve been able to start off with more staff and more horsepower as a church because we put our money into staffing and into ministries rather than into bricks and mortar,” said Splinter, founder and pastor of Point of Grace.
Splinter said the church joins with other congregations or uses their facilities when needs arise.
With about 60 people attending Sunday services, Bridge of Life Lutheran Church, which began in 2001, has outgrown the space where it meets in the Seven Bridges Bank building in Holmen, Wis., said the Rev. Steve Meyer, pastor.
The congregation is deciding whether to build on land it owns across the road from the bank or to rent space. Bridge of Life has met in schools and in a daycare center in the past.
“We’ve wrestled with staying in a smaller space and adding multiple services,” said Meyer, who came to the church three years ago from a 2,000-member congregation in South Dakota. “There’s something about having a larger group that you get a critical mass and energy coming together.”
While starting a church comes with challenges, such as having fewer members to draw on for help, it also has advantages, Meyer said.
“Part of a new church, you’re not worrying so much about maintaining a building as you are building a ministry, and changes can happen quicker,” Meyer said. “You have the opportunity to help establish the DNA of a place.”
Meyer also has considered taking part-time work so the church, which is funded by members, grants, and the support of other congregations in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, would have more financial freedom.
The Rev. D. LeRoy Sua and the Rev. Curtis Miller, United Church of Christ ministers, founded the non-denominational Hope United Church in December 2006. Both are chaplains at Franciscan Skemp Medical Center.
Their congregation meets at Three Rivers School, and they said they have no plans to look for permanent space.
“These empty buildings that stand here during the winter while people are homeless, we are going to stay away from that,” Sua said. “The building model is too hierarchical and there’s a lot of money and heating of buildings that’s not a good use of resources.”
Churches at a glance
- Bridge of Life Lutheran Church, ELCA, 60 members, 9:30 a.m. Sundays, 6:30 p.m. outdoor service Wednesdays, Seven Bridges Bank building on Hwy. 35 about 2.5 miles north of Holmen, Wis.
- Hope United Church, non-denominational, 25 to 35 members, 9 a.m. Sundays, Three Rivers School, 901 Caledonia St. (meeting this Sunday at Red Cloud Park)
- Neighborhood City Church, Evangelical, 110 members, 10 a.m. Sundays, Lincoln Middle School, 510 S. Ninth St.
- Point of Grace Community Church, nondenominational, 115 members, 9:30 a.m. Sundays, Holmen High School, 1001 McHugh Road, Holmen, Wis.
- Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of La Crosse, 100 members, Unitarian Universalist, 10 a.m. Sundays, 401 West Ave. S., meets at other locations during the summer.
Joe Orso can be reached at (608) 791-8429 or jorso@lacrossetribune.com.
