ANNIVERSARY CONCERT: Our Savior’s celebrates 75 years of worship

BY JACKIE BUSSJAEGER INTERIM EDITOR

CIRCLE PINES — Achieving 75 years is no small feat, and Our Savior’s Lutheran Church invites the whole community to celebrate the milestone at an anniversary concert, which will be held at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 11 at the church.

The concert will feature a blend of contemporary pop and religious musical selections, given by members of the Cornerstone worship band and the Agapetones Jazz Ensemble. The concert will include tunes from “The Blues Brothers” and “Grease,” as well as a few classic jazz standards.

The performance will be preceded by a wine and appetizer fundraiser from 4-6 p.m. with a $10 cover charge, but the concert is a free event for the whole community.

Our Savior’s Lutheran Church (OSLC) has become known for its well-developed musical programs over the years. It regularly holds an 8:45 a.m. traditional music service and an 10:45 a.m. contemporary service, giving members of the community the choice to attend whichever style of worship they connect with the most.

Pastor Craig Hanson, assisted by a dedicated team from the congregation, has put in many hours to extensively research the long history of the church in preparation for the big anniversary.

In 1947, the site of the church was an empty field—a humble beginning, and one that felt just right to church founders. Carl and Ethel Manthey donated the 2 acres of land where the church was originally constructed, and their daughter Darlene Hults was the first person baptized in the church. The original church was hand-built by members of the congregation and the larger community. Prior to construction of the church, services were held in the local schoolhouse.

It was originally named the Community Lutheran Church, but officially organized as a congregation of the Lutheran Free Church in October 1947. At that time, the congregation was composed of 24 members.

A few years later, the church changed its name to Our Savior’s Lutheran Church because it had a similar name to a nearby church, confounding the local post office into mixing up deliveries. With a new name, OSLC was ready for a new era of growth.

The first full-time pastor was Charles Crouch, who left his home in South Dakota in 1951. He and his wife Nora lived in a trailer house on church property. However, tragedy struck when Crouch was killed in a farm accident less than seven months later.

That was when Rudolfs Krafts came to OSLC. Krafts and his family were immigrants from Riga, Latvia, who were forced to leave their homeland amid the political and social turmoil of World War II.

“He was very open, very welcoming, an outward-reaching person because of his background in Latvia, where he smuggled Bibles in as part of his ministry,” said Hanson.

He became known as a very welcoming and creative personality. There is even a story that he would go to the local bar and recruit people to come lend a hand on construction of the church.

“I think people found him quite earthy, in that he was willing to go to their house and have a beer with them,” Hanson said. “You know, most people don’t think pastors have beer.”

After Krafts’ death, his widow,

Ermina, continued to live in the parsonage for the rest of her life, supported by the congregation. Benoy remembers bringing her kids to help with some yardwork on the property, where Ermina would hand out fullsize candy bars to the children.

Pastor George Johnson, who served in the 1990s, also left quite a big imprint on the community.

“He was another pastor who made sure that if a visitor attended the church, they were contacted during the next week,” Hanson said.

“Everyone who knew him had an experience like that,” said Pat Benoy, who with her husband Dwight has been a longtime member of the church. Johnson played a large role in drawing the Benoy family into the faith community.

During that era, OSLC hosted a Community Table event, inviting anyone from the community to come in once a week for a free meal. At that time, the church also developed a strong relationship with a nearby mobile home community, providing meals and a place for youth to spend time after school while their parents worked. A summer lunch program and then a backpack ministry program followed, providing children with a backpack full of school supplies in the fall. Benoy estimated that the church has given away nearly 500 backpacks within the last year.

“I think this congregation gained a strong history in working with youth,” said Hanson. “That’s both junior and senior high, both in terms of what I would call a youth program, fun-and-game kind of things, but also the confirmation program here. Many people were drawn to the congregation because of it.”

It was certainly the case for the Benoy family, who took part in the Sunday school, youth club and confirmation programs. Through the years, youth have traveled to visit other communities through service trips to Detroit, South Dakota and Tijuana, Mexico, to name a few.

The music program remains one of the biggest draws to the congregation. In years past, OSLC put on youth musicals and traveled to other congregations to give performances. Many of the performers in the upcoming concert once participated in these traveling shows.

COVID-19 hit the church hard, as it did for most faith communities, but OSLC has adapted to the times and is starting to see a resurgence. Before the pandemic, a yearly Agape Feast brought the community together to share in food and good music, but that event was put on hold the last few years. The Feb. 9 concert is one way of bringing a large music event back to the community.

“We’re pretty excited about things going forward right now,” Benoy said. “We thought this would be an opportune time to take a look at some areas that would help our church grow.” readers ar e hereby informed that all dw ellings advertised in this newsp ap er are available on an equal oppor tunity basis To complain of discrimination call HUD toll free: 1-800-669-9777. The toll-free number for hearing impaired is 1-800-927-92 75 hardware distributor. Looking for locksmith experience or exp. working with different key manuf. and cylinders.

As a result, the church has developed a Legacy Fund campaign to help the facility keep up with the times and serve all members of the congregation. The wine and appetizer event before the concert will go toward supporting these goals. Updates will include handicap accessible restrooms, audio/visual enhancements for services, online worship improvements, replacement of old windows and modifications for comfort and access to the sanctuary.

“We’re trying not only to do fundraising for our project, but to celebrate the 75 years of history we have here, and to try to have some fun with it,” said Dwight Benoy.

EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY, all real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Fair Ho using Act which makes it illegal to advertise “any preferen ce limitation or discriminat ion based on race co lo r, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or nationa l origin, or an intention, to make any such preferen ce limitation or discrimination.” Familial status includes children under the age of 18 livin g with parents or legal custod ians; pregnant women and peop le securing custody of children under 18. This newspaper will not kn owingly accept any ad vertising for real estate which is in violation of the law.

If you enjoy meeting people, solving problems and helping businesses grow, this may be the perfect opportunity for you. Press Publications seeks an organized and creative professional multimedia rep to promote and market the business community through our products in print and digital. Sales experience is helpful but training is provided to

Weather Tidbits

Brought to you by WeathermanWatson.com

Yahoo, we’re two-thirds through the core winter months. For the most part January was a fairly mild month, finishing about 5º warmer than normal. January was also a very snowy month. I totaled 22.1” of snow, bringing my seasonal total to 54.8”. While we might think we’re over the winter hump, February could still bring us some very cold temperatures. The next two weeks will be very telling in which direction we’re headed. If we can come out of this current Arctic flow and back into Pacific flow, we’ll enjoy a milder period; otherwise it won’t be until late February when milder temperatures become the normal.

Note: My 2023 weather calendar is available at Lake Country Bookseller in Downtown White Bear Lake or visit WeathermanWatson.com to order. Thanks for your support!

Centerville Tidbits

After holding a public hearing on the city’s 2022 thin overlay project, the City Council tabled action on formal approval of the assessment rolls, after a question came up during the hearing about a letter announcing assessment amounts. During the summer of 2022, the city undertook a thin bituminous overlay project in the Hunter’s Crossing (2nd and 3rd Additions) and Pleasant Marsh neighborhoods, as well as on Progress Street, north of Main Street. Adjacent property owners have been assessed a portion of the costs at a proposed rate of $650 per lot for residential parcels and $6.50 per front linear foot for commercial and institutional parcels. The total amount to be assessed is $118,891.50, with the city assessing itself $7,286.50. Property owner assessments and resulting income to the city’s street fund from those assessments amount to $111,605. The project was completed in October.

One seat remains open on the Parks and Recreation Committee. This committee meets on the first Wednesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. in council chambers. On the Planning & Zoning Commission, one seat also remains open. That commission meets on the first Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. in council chambers.

Costs for fertilization and weed control will increase by 6.5%, now that council approved the 2023 contract with TruGreen in the amount of $7,629.06. TruGreen has provided fertilization and weed control services for the past 20 years, weathering the city’s request for bids from other contractors in 2019. At that time, the only other bid was 58% higher than the city’s 2018 costs, with increases promised for 2020 and 2021. TruGreen had not increased their prices since 2019, and staff recommended the city stay with that contractor and accept their 2023 prices.

The homeowner at 1844 Old Mill Court will be able to move the retaining wall on his property between 4 and 5 feet to the east in an effort to shift the development’s public trail to the east. The trail will subsequently be located farther from the property owner’s home. With this shift, it is appropriate for the easement to be moved as well. The Planning and Zoning Commission held a public hearing and recommended approval of a new recorded easement and the vacation of the existing easement. All costs of moving the wall and recording the easement would be the responsibility of the property owner.

The Centerville Elementary PTA Spring Festival, scheduled for 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. May 21, received approval of a special event permit.

Council adjourned the meeting to enter into closed executive session to determine the asking price and to develop or consider offers or counteroffers for the sale of city-owned portions of Block 7 of the original plat of Centerville.

The council next meets at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 8, at City Hall, 1880 Main St.

L oretta Harding