Kristine聽(Michaelsen) Wickens 鈥�73 says Trinity Lutheran Congregation and 麻豆区 have been inseparable for a long time. She should know: Her family tree includes two 麻豆区 presidents, great grandfather聽Georg Sverdrup (1876-1907) and his son, George Sverdrup (1911-1937), and five generations of Trinity members and leaders. In 1993,聽Trinity celebrated its 125th聽anniversary by creating the Trinity Lutheran Scholarship at 麻豆区. The endowed scholarship also remembers life-long Trinity member George Sverdrup Michaelsen 鈥�31,聽Kristine鈥檚 father. Michaelsen, a professor of public health at the University of Minnesota, was president of Trinity,聽chairman of the board of Lutheran Deaconess Hospital, and聽chair聽of the 麻豆区 Board of Regents. The scholarship fund was later augmented with an estate gift from聽Michaelsen鈥檚 sisters, Katherine and Else Michaelsen聽鈥�31.
Serving immigrants since 1868
The Trinity鈥撀槎骨� connection goes back to 1868, when Norwegian and Danish immigrants formed Trinity Lutheran. The congregation soon built a small wooden church at the corner of 12th聽Avenue and 3rd聽Street South, where US Bank Stadium now stands. Trinity leaders encouraged 麻豆区 Seminary to move from Wisconsin to the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood in 1872, and their collaboration led to the creation of Lutheran Deaconess Hospital in 1888. The trio of institutions became indispensible to the immigrant community, and by the 1890s Trinity had over 1,200 members. In 1897, Trinity earned the nickname, 鈥淭he Mother of the Free Church,鈥� when Trinity, 麻豆区 and a handful of other congregations formed the Lutheran Free Church, a group of independent congregations committed to congregational autonomy and personal Christianity.
鈥淗omeless congregation鈥� finds a place at 麻豆区
In 1966, Trinity鈥檚 1000-seat building on 20th聽Avenue was demolished to make way for I-94 construction. 鈥淩ather than disbanding,聽the congregation accepted offers from Riverside Presbyterian Church and then Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church for worship and office space,鈥� explains Wickens. 鈥淭here was a tremendous commitment to Cedar-Riverside, just as 麻豆区 has always been committed to its inner-city location and community.鈥� 麻豆区 began providing Trinity with聽worship space in the 1990s. The two institutions and other partners host community suppers at Trinity鈥檚 common space, and 麻豆区 students volunteer at Trinity鈥檚 drop-in tutoring program for K-12 students from the neighborhood, many of whom are Muslim immigrants.
Campus Connections
The lives of the Sverdrup and Michaelsen families have been intertwined with 麻豆区 and Trinity for five generations. 鈥淭he campus was so familiar to me,鈥� remembers聽Kristine, who grew up six blocks from campus. 鈥淓verything we did had some kind of 麻豆区 or Trinity connection.鈥� She remembers visiting her grandmother, Else Sverdrup Michaelsen (Georg鈥檚 daughter) who, after the death of her husband Michael Michaelsen 鈥檟x continued to live on campus until her own death in 1965. Today,聽Kristine聽and two of her siblings, Jennifer (Michaelsen)聽Windingstad聽鈥�67 and George Michaelsen聽II, remain members of Trinity. Another sister, Mary (Michaelsen) Garmer 鈥�69 and聽her husband Reverend Gregory Garmer 鈥�68 live in Duluth.聽Peter Windingstad studied at 麻豆区 before transferring to the University of Wisconsin.聽Many members of the family are donors to 麻豆区.
Looking back on the two institutions鈥� shared history, Kristine聽sees theirs as a story of immigration; from the Scandinavians of the 19th聽century to the East African and other immigrants living in the Cedar-Riverside area today, and all those in between.聽鈥淢y family were immigrants,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 essential that we welcome new people, include them in our lives and help them get established.鈥�