Root Prairie Lutheran Church was established in 1856 and currently is a congregation of 160 baptized; 129 confirmed; with average attendance of 45. Root Prairie is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA).
The ELCA consists of nine regions, 65 synods, and nearly 10,500 congregations located throughout the USA and the Caribbean. The Southeastern Minnesota Synod of the ELCA, which Root Prairie is a member, consists of 176 congregations and 127,000 baptized people. Its geographic area includes 15 counties in the southeastern corner of Minnesota. Rev. Harold L. Usgaard served two terms as bishop from 2001 - 2013. The Rev. Steven Delzer of Faribault was installed as our current bishop on September 7, 2013. Pastor Paul Forde served as our pastor from June 2006 until August 2014. Pastor Karla Kirkeby assumed an interim pastor role in October 2014.
The Southeastern Minnesota Synod contains five conferences. Root Prairie congregation is a member of the Root River Conference. All of the congregations in this conference are located in Fillmore, Houston, and Winona counties.
In 2006 Root Prairie Lutheran Church celebrated 150 years of faith, worship, and community. Our anniversary theme was, “ROOTS from the PAST BRING GROWTH for the FUTURE”. Our roots continue to nurture and support our growth as we worship and share faith and community with one another.
We celebrate our Norwegian beginnings but also embrace the blending of many other nationalities into our congregation. From the beginning, our church has been the center of our community. We come together to celebrate all of life’s milestones – baptism, confirmation, and marriage. We also gather to support each other in times of sorrow and grief. Over the years the good Lord has blessed us with sunshine and timely rains for our crops, watched over our livestock and provided for our needs. Through it all, the roots of our Christian faith continue to provide growth for our future. We are richly blessed.
