December 7 marked 100 years and a day since several Lutheran families held their first religious service in a borrowed home on Ulysses Street NE.
The service came about through the mission pastorate of Rev. Richard Gerberding, who had conducted a survey of the spiritual needs of people in the Waite Park neighborhood. Three months later, Mount Carmel English Lutheran Church was formally chartered with 45 members. On Sunday, December 7, 2026, the church’s staff and congregation celebrated its centenary with a 9:30 a.m. service and a luncheon in the church’s basement.
Pastor D Foy Christopherson used his sermon to draw parallels with the life of Mt. Carmel church with the events of the world from 1925 on; he noted that the festival of Christ, again, was just being established as a result of the Great War and the collapse of confidence in all the kingdoms of Europe.
“Pearl Harbor was still 17 years in the future; Opportunities for women, for minorities, for LGBTQ+ folks were limited. Opportunities for immigrants were limited. We would say that their oppression was the norm. Straight, white, English-speaking men shaped the world according to their experience,” he said.
“European Lutherans had come over to the new world, to the historic land of the Dakota and elsewhere were settling here,” he continued, adding that schools to accommodate the Sunday school movement were yet to come, and there was no internet, no computers, no voicemail and no cable — just the Postal Service.
He reminded the guests that, when the church was formed, the Vatican II reforms, which inspired the modern Ecumenical Movement for congregations of various faiths, had not yet gone into effect. It was “Just Protestant versus Catholic, and no Martin Luther King.”
He ended the sermon with the words: “Today, we still build on this foundation of people who prayed and loved without limit. Today, all are welcome; Mount Carmel is one hundred, so let your lights appear, and may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace humility that you may abound in hope by the power of God.”
Former Congregation Council member Karen Moeller, the chair of the anniversary activities, got everyone seated at the dozens of tables in the basement and thanked the people who had worked to make the anniversary possible, including staff members, caterers, and “church basement ladies” who produced the many bowls of Jell-O. Christopherson, affectionately known to the congregation as “Pastor C,” got a round of applause, and diners were treated to a performance from the
“Church Basement Ladies” character “Vivian Snustad,” who got laughs from everyone as she made gentle fun of Lutheran stereotypes like taciturnity and consuming lutefisk, Jell-O and Kool-Aid.
“Vivian Snustad” put on a show in the church basement for diners at the anniversary lunch. (Mark Peterson)
20th-century growth
In December 1926, with the support of the United Lutheran Church of America (ULCA), the Mount Carmel congregation dedicated a new church building, just off St. Anthony Parkway. Within a year, they joined the ULCA and their new pastor, Reverend Herman Schmid, preached his first sermon in April 1927. He also handcrafted the church’s altar, lectern and pulpit.
Like most other institutions, the church had to weather the Great Depression. Schmid and his family lived on the church’s second floor and food baskets were handed out to nearby families on holidays. By the time Schmid responded to another pastor call, in 1940, Mt. Carmel’s congregation had tripled. As an English Lutheran church with a more liberal doctrine and a detachment from any specific nationality, Mt. Carmel attracted people from other denominations. That growing church turned to its new pastor, Rev. Carl Almer, who advocated living a “Christ-like life.” When the United States entered World War II, Almer counseled male church members about the military and resigned his ministry in early 1943 to become an Army chaplain.
After the war ended, the church’s congregation continued to grow, nearly doubling in seven years, and more room was needed for worship and classrooms. Mt. Carmel became more active in the local community, with church basement movies, smorgasbords, ice cream socials and annual picnics. With the expanding membership, a new facility was planned, and in 1948, the congregation voted to begin fundraising to build the present church, which was dedicated in May, 1950.
The original Mt. Carmel Lutheran on St. Anthony Blvd. (Minnesota Historical Society)
Contemporary challenges
As the church began to grow in the mid-sixties, several more staff members were hired, and in 1964, the Mt. Carmel Lutheran Church in Minneapolis Foundation was created to receive and invest in gifts and provide financial support for scholarships, building projects and managing expenses. At the same time, adjoining suburbs were expanding, and churches had to contend with aging congregations and welcoming a greater participation of women in the churches’ operations.
In 1985, Rev. Carolyn Keller became the first woman to minister to the congregation at Mt. Carmel as associate pastor. She was followed, in 1998, by Reverend Carol Garman who became the first woman at Mt. Carmel to become Senior Pastor. In 1989, the Mt. Carmel Child Care Center opened to care for pre-school children.
Karen Moeller noted a challenge the church faces today: the loss of members who may stay at home during services. She said there are so many outside events and activities that would, in times past, have never taken place on a Sunday. “Churches today are competing with stores being open, major sporting events, youth sports and activities being held on Sundays. Another is that people now have the opportunity to livestream the services and watch from their homes,” she said.
But she noted that Mt. Carmel is actively involved with Feed My Starving Children; Meals on Wheels; Every Meal; Little Kitchen; Plymouth Christian Youth Center; Peace House; Neighborhood Clean Up; Global Barnyard; Boy Scouts; JOY Group; and Befrienders. She reminded that church members are still distributing Thanksgiving food baskets to needy families, an effort that, she said, “Began during the Great Depression and continues to this day.”