Concept

Christ Church Lutheran (Minneapolis, Minnesota)

Summary
Christ Church Lutheran is a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in Minneapolis. Its buildings—a sanctuary with chapel (1949) and an education wing (1962) designed by Finnish-American architects Eliel Saarinen and Eero Saarinen—have been internationally recognized, most recently in 2009 as a National Historic Landmark by the U.S Department of the Interior. The congregation was established in 1911 as part of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, but left in the 1970s as part of a dispute that led to the formation of the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches, which in turn was among the founding denominations of the ELCA. The Rev. Miriam Samuelson-Roberts currently serves as lead pastor, with the Rev. Erik Haaland as associate pastor. The congregation is also served by its cantors, the Rev. Robert Buckley Farlee and the Rev. Martin A. Seltz. The International Style worship building was designed by the firm Saarinen and Saarinen, a father and son partnership of Eliel Saarinen (1873–1950) and Eero Saarinen (1910–1961), the project was Eliel Saarinen's last completed building. The sculptured stone panels were designed by William M. McVey (1922–1976). It was dedicated in 1949, and was acknowledged as an architectural masterpiece from the day it opened. As an early, outstanding example of modern religious architecture in the United States, it was widely published in the architectural, popular, and religious press, and provided inspiration for countless modern churches that were to be built in the 1950s and 1960s. Noted conductor Osmo Vänskä said of the church that "It's a good place to play. The acoustics are good for music—for chamber music—and it's a good place for the audience to listen. It's a place not only for the congregation but also a venue for concerts." The congregation opted to go with the design after finding that their plans for a traditional Gothic Revival building would be too costly. In 1946 a new pastor, Reverend William A.
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