Trinity Lutheran Congregation may be the only Minnesota church that commemorates Easter twice each spring — once for its American-born members and another for its East African Orthodox members with a different religious calendar.
Trinity stands out for other reasons. It's the only Christian church in a Minneapolis neighborhood known as "Little Mogadishu." It has survived without its own chapel for 50 years. And it has become a civic and spiritual anchor in the Cedar-Riverside community, opening its doors to Christian and Muslim neighbors — including as a temporary home to a mosque.
Oh. And it's 150 years old next week.
"We have an amazing history to celebrate," said Pastor Jane Buckley-Farlee, recalling how the once stern Norwegian Lutheran parish morphed into a multicultural neighborhood center welcoming people of all faiths.
"The world is changing, the church is changing," she said. "This is the future."
The Rev. Deb Stehlin, a director at the Minneapolis synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA), marvels at Trinity's niche and staying power. The Cedar-Riverside area was once home to at least a half-dozen churches, as northern European immigrants poured into the community in the 1800s, she said. Trinity alone remains.
"There's no other place in our synod that has that story," Stehlin said. "I think it's pretty remarkable what they're up to. Pastor Jane has been walking those streets for 20 years, building trust relationships with the Muslim and East African communities ... and Pastor Alem [Asmelash] has been a valuable cultural connector."
Asmelash came on board part-time a decade ago with an unusual skill set: speaking Amharic and Tigrigna from his birthplace in Ethiopia, Swedish and Norwegian from growing up in Scandinavia — and English. Open up a Trinity church bulletin and see the result.
