Our Building
Central Lutheran Church in Minneapolis was founded in 1919 by twelve Norwegian-American Lutherans. The congregation’s earliest vision was “faith of the parents in the language of the children.” The congregation worshipped in English in a time when Lutheran congregations often worshipped in the language of the founding immigrants.
The present sanctuary dates to 1928 and is an excellent example of the then-popular Neo-Gothic style of architecture. Cruciform in shape with a ceiling height of some 65 feet, the room contains 1800 seats on the nave floor and galleries. The Casavant organ was installed in 1963 and is one of several significant instruments of this time designed by Lawrence Phelps.
For over 100 years, Central Lutheran has served as a faith community in downtown Minneapolis where all are welcome, no exceptions.
2018 Addition
In 2018 the congregation dedicated a new 22,000 sq ft mission forward addition that replaced the 1950s 75,000 sq ft education wing and parish house.
This project was funded by many generous donors and through a loan from Mission Investment Fund. They did a feature video on this building addition in 2023.