The sanctuary in 1960 shortly after it was completed and dedicated. The interior is reminiscent of a ship’s hull with its sweeping, open design creating a spacious, two-story effect. The unique architecture not only evokes a maritime feel, but also enhances acoustics, making it an ideal venue for music enthusiasts. Photo: Chester Fredon
Edina landmark church is celebrating 75 years of faith and fellowship.
As Pastor Paul Pettersen readied for retirement last summer, he couldn’t help but reflect on what he would miss most from his 14 years at the helm of Edina’s Normandale Lutheran Church, and it all boiled down to one thing: the people.
“I’ll miss the sound of people together having coffee and doughnuts,” he says. “The sound of people’s voices sharing life. It’s fellowship, but sometimes fellowship doesn’t seem like a strong enough word. This is a powerful community of God’s people loving each other through all that life brings.”
In the 75 years since its inception, people have been at the heart of Normandale Lutheran’s mission and the key to its longevity. Through worship, the church has nourished its members’ souls and then sent them out in the world to serve. “There is a passion here for making a difference in the world,” Pettersen says.
History
The idea of Normandale Lutheran Church took root in 1948 when the Rev. Dr. P.O. Bersell, president of the Augustana Lutheran Church, suggested a congregation for Edina. A community survey revealed that there was enough interested families in the area, and a location at the southwest corner of Normandale Road (now Highway 100) and Valley View Road was identified. At the time, Edina was a suburb of less than 10,000 residents, but as one of the last stops on the streetcar line from downtown Minneapolis, the city was poised for rapid growth.
By 1950, the Board of American Missions advanced funds for the purchase of 60,000 square feet of land in Edina, and Normandale Lutheran was readying for its first service. That service, with 84 people in attendance and the Rev. Donald C. Carlson serving as charter pastor, took place on May 14 at the church’s temporary location of Grange Hall.
The congregation gathers outside its temporary home at Grange Hall on September 24, 1950. Photo: Normandale Lutheran Church Archival Collection
On October 15, a groundbreaking for the first church building was held, and after eight months of furious construction, services were moved to the new building. That building would eventually become church offices, classrooms and the first chapel. Construction on the current sanctuary began in 1959 with the first services held there in September 1960.
Architect Carl Graffunder described the building as “frankly contemporary and functional. A sense of strength and permanence is given through the very straightforward use of materials.”
The church’s exterior in the early 1960s. Photo: Dick Palen, Edina
Brent Malcom, the church’s director of operations and finance, says the sanctuary’s interior is reminiscent of the inside of a ship. The two-story, open design lends itself to outstanding acoustics that are a consistent draw for the musically inclined. “Choirs sound amazing in there,” Malcom says.
In the ensuing years, Normandale Lutheran would balloon to a 64,000- square-foot facility with the additions of an educational wing as well as an office building, gymnasium, fireside room, chapel and offices for the Normandale Center for Healing and Wholeness. The church’s latest addition, the Trinity Commons, was completed in 2023 and consists of a new playground, a yard for outdoor gatherings and a columbarium. “The church grew with the suburb,” Pettersen says.
The evening lights illuminate Trinity Commons. Photo: Normandale Lutheran Church Archival Collection
Joanna Swanson heads up the church’s five-member Heritage Committee, charged with documenting and preserving Normandale Lutheran’s history. “We promote and provide the history of Normandale Lutheran,” Swanson says. “We take the past and look at it with a view to the future.”
The church’s exterior today is a blend of classic architecture with contemporary lines. This sight greets those who pass by on Valley View Road. Photo: Normandale Lutheran Church Archival Collection
While it can be challenging to condense 75 years of history and artifacts into a room the size of a generous walk-in closet, Swanson relies on her master’s degree from Luther Seminary, as well as her more than 50 years as a member, to help them be concise and systematic. “I know the story (history) can tell,” she says.
It’s that can-do attitude that the church has displayed over its decades of growth and development in Edina. “We can think big and dream big,” she says.
Ministry
Last fall, Normandale Preschool celebrated its 50th anniversary. Some 3,000 children have gone through the school’s doors in that time. Between the preschool and the Blessing Place, Normandale Lutheran offers programs for children from 18 months to 5 years of age. The church also offers Spanish immersion at 3-and-a-half years and a High Fives program for kids not quite ready for kindergarten.
Normandale Preschool opened in 1973. In its 51 years, more than 3,000 children have attended. This photo is from October 1996. Photo: Normandale Lutheran Church Archival Collection
“It might not be the most new and shiny, but you can feel the love and care,” Kari Warnke says. Warnke has served as the preschool director for the last three years after spending nine years as a teacher. “This place is so warm, [and] the staff is so caring. It goes toward the mission of making sure each child feels safe, loved and accepted,” she says. “If they feel that, the learning is easy.”
Preschool students take a break on their favorite log in the playground. Photo: Normandale Preschool and Blessing Place
The notion of feeling safe, loved and accepted continues at the other end of the age spectrum with the Normandale Center for Healing and Wholeness. The center was founded in 1998 with a focus on supporting seniors and their caregivers and has served more than 10,000 people to date. What started as a ministry of the church has since evolved into a community-based nonprofit, receiving its 501(c)(3) designation in 2000. (The center was named one of Edina Magazine’s editor’s picks in 2020.)
The Center for Healing and Wholeness offers a Second Saturday for Caregivers program with free education sessions and
a support group. Photo: Center for Healing and Wholeness
The Normandale Center for Healing and Wholeness is powered largely by dozens of volunteers and offers a team of social workers, group/home respite and a handful of support groups focused on healthy aging and caregivers.
“We’re relationship-based,” says Jennifer Monroe, executive director. “We walk through the journey with people. We’re getting to the tail end of the baby boomers, and we’re busier than ever.”
Monroe says they would love to replicate the center’s model outside of Edina to expand accessibility to their services. “We’re always looking for opportunities with partners to spread this,” she says.
Welcoming
Normandale Lutheran has endeavored to be a church for all, from young children to the elderly and everyone in between. Its commitment to that notion has been reaffirmed time and time again, from the launch of its racial equity and justice committee to its efforts to become a Reconciling in Christ Church, welcoming people of all sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expressions. “It was critical to our understanding of who Jesus is,” Pettersen says. “We chose to build bridges instead of walls.”
A Christmas Eve service. Photo: Normandale Lutheran Church Archival Collection
Through its welcoming statement, Normandale Lutheran affirms that “all people are created in the image of God and as beloved children of God, all are worthy of God’s love and grace.”
“It was a significant movement,” Pettersen says. “We had three years’ worth of discussion on it,” Malcom says. “It was a very difficult issue for us, but in the end, we came out stronger.”
“It became a congregational blueprint for how to deal with conflict,” Pettersen says.
The message resonated with new members like Carl and Carol Wall. “We were very impressed with Normandale’s visible welcoming statement when we were first visiting various churches in our area,” Carl says.
Bradley and Bridget Beale came to Normandale Lutheran for the music but quickly fell in love with all the church had to offer. “After attending a few services, we were impressed with the music as well as the church’s mission, alignment with our values and commitment to inclusivity, which was evident in things such as their welcoming statement and the existence of the racial justice and equity team,” Bradley says.
For longtime members like Swanson, there was appreciation for the church laying out a path that members could take at their own pace. “Society is complex, and we respect its complexity,” she says. “That covers wherever the future draws us.”
Now, as the church looks ahead to the next 75 years, Normandale Lutheran heads into the future with open eyes and open hearts. “We can love each other and disagree,” Malcom says. “If we can keep that in mind, the congregation will be served well.”
Normandale Lutheran
6100 Normandale Road; 952.929.1697
Facebook: Normandale Lutheran Church in Edina
Instagram: @normluthchurch
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