Little Church in the Country

We attended a wedding last fall where daughter Stephani and husband Cullen were both in the wedding. The church was a little country church in southern Minnesota that doesn't have weekly services, but is still used for weddings and such by the families that take care of the church and cemetery. The brides family had grandparents and great grandparents that were early members of this little Lutheran church. Her great-grandfather helped to build this church.

The flag on my blog header is a 48 State flag. It hangs on the South wall of the church. This 48 Star flag was used from 1912 through 1959. The flag that Steph and Cullen are standing by, is on the north wall across from the 48 Star flag, and the stars show the number of members from this church that were gone to WWI, and the horizontal stars indicate the number of members that did not return. I can only imagine how hard it was for those families of this small community to have sent their loved ones to war; and not to ever see them again. Their bodies are probably some of the many soldiers (over 104,000 in both WWI and WWII) that are buried on foreign soil. With the flags still hanging there, you know how important it was for those that went to church there. With the flags hanging where all could see - they were reminded each time they were there of the fathers, brothers or uncles that were gone to war. There were no telephones to call home weekly. They were lucky to be able to send a letter occasionally. None of the modern conveniences we have today.

This little church has the origianl lantern fixtures hanging from the ceiling. The old carpet on the floor has that smell of "dusty old". The front of the santuary is original. All so beautiful. These early settlers did a wonderful job of building this little church. There is a balcony in the back, with a couple of rows of seats.
Would they have used that for a choir or maybe just overflow. I don't think the church would hold over 100 people. The old pump organ still works-but I'm not sure how many people today could play it. I'm sure the old organ really "sang" when it was played.