Church and art: Separate branches are woven together

Joel Koyama, Star Tribune

The Rev. Jen Nagel spoke to the Lyndale UCC and Salem Lutheran congregations inside the Intermedia Arts building on Lyndale Avenue.

A struggling arts venue and two temporarily homeless churches find a cooperative solution to their problems.

By JEFF STRICKLER, Star Tribune

Last update: April 6, 2009 - 12:24 AM

It was the answer to their prayers. Cash-strapped Intermedia Arts opened its doors Sunday morning to two churches needing temporary homes.

Waving palm branches as part of a Palm Sunday processional, the members of Salem Lutheran Church and Lyndale United Church of Christ paraded through south Minneapolis to the arts venue at 2822 Lyndale Av. S. For the next 16 to 18 months, the two churches will pay a combined $1,000 a week to Intermedia Arts, which had been facing a $100,000 budget shortfall.

"It will be good for Salem Lutheran, it will be good for Lyndale UCC and it will be good for Intermedia Arts," said the Rev. Jen Nagel of Salem. "It solves our [space] issues while providing much-needed support to a local arts organization."

After arriving at their new home, the churches held a joint service in the Intermedia Arts theater. On future Sundays, Salem will go first at 8:30 a.m., with Lyndale following at 10:30. Salem will continue to hold its 10:30 a.m. jazz services in Intermedia's gallery area.

"The room has good sound-proofing," said the Rev. Don Portwood from Lyndale UCC. "We've tested, and we're confident we can do both services simultaneously."

Nonetheless, everyone will need to be flexible, he said -- starting right away. This is Holy Week, a time when churches hold midweek services, including Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.

"It will be a little different for us, but we'll make it work," promised Theresa Sweetland, Intermedia Arts executive and artistic director.

Salem Lutheran and Lyndale UCC have a mutual operating agreement but remain separate congregations. They've been sharing the UCC church, at 810 W. 31st St., Minneapolis, for two years while Salem's old church on the corner of 28th Street and Lyndale is being renovated. The plan is to move into that building, which is being revamped to have two separate sanctuaries, by the end of next year.

The original plan was to move directly from one space to the other. "We were told that it would take at least 18 months to sell our current building, so we listed it with a Realtor," Portwood said. "We got an offer the next month."

With the real estate market floundering, they decided to sell while they had the chance.

Most of the churches' property will go into storage. Things such as hymnals that they'll need regularly are ending up in members' garages, but the inconvenience is worth it, Nagel said. She compared it to a relationship in which "my stuff" and "your stuff" finally becomes "our stuff."

"The fact that Salem and Lyndale are making this transition together will be a big help," she said. "It will be good for us to be in a neutral space where neither of us has been before."

Jeff Strickler • 612-673-7392

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