Ship built in 1890 from the North Side Church

Ship from West Side Church

First Lutheran Church was founded in 1865 by Norwegian Lutheran immigrants. Prior to 1919 when First built its present sanctuary, the congregation had two church buildings—the North Side Church and the West Side Church . Two buildings were necessary because there were no bridges across the Chippewa River for many years.

The congregation observed the Scandinavian tradition of hanging a ship in the “nave” (main body) of the sanctuary in both church buildings. The word “nave” is a Latin word for “ship.” The comparison between a church building and a ship was made as early as AD 375 in Christian history. Norwegians were seafaring people, and the presence of a ship symbolized the journey of faith in the calms and storms of life and the abiding presence of God.

The ship on the pulpit side is a model of a Norwegian Naval Battleship made by Rudolph Stebenfeldt and his son and presented to the North Side Church in 1890. Peter Bromellem reconditioned the ship in 1955 for the 90th Anniversary of First Lutheran and a later restoration was completed by Keith Youngberg. No information is known about the ship on the organ side of the sanctuary other than it hung in the West Side Church . We believe it is a Norwegian merchant vessel. It was restored in 2003 by Bob Evans formerly of Bayfield, Wisconsin.

In honor of our Norwegian heritage and the saints upon whose faith and witness we found our present day ministry, the two historic ship models were hung in the sanctuary of First Lutheran Church on November 22, 2004.