History of Vang

History of Vang

Vang Church was part of a large Norwegian settlement in Goodhue, Rice and Dakota Counties. A large parish formed in 1856 and later divided into district churches based on farm location and the valley where the families came from in Norway. In 1862 this large 32 square mile parish was divided into district churches: Valdris (Vang and Gol), Tyske Grove (Valley Grove), Ostre Sogn (Holden), Zumbrota (Lands and Minneola). They remained part of Holden parish and their records remained at Holden until they had their own constitution. The district churches began building their own buildings, Valley Grove started building in 1862 and Vang in 1863. These building projects stopped during the civil war and were finished after the civil war.

Vang's church was dedicated in 1868. It was a wooden building 30 x 40 feet with a 20 x 20 sacristy. In 1874 a bell was purchased and a steeple topped with rooster weather vane, the rooster is a Lutheran tradition from Europe. The bells' inscriptions are all in Norwegian. The Bible verse Psalm 96 in Norwegian, sing to the Lord, bless his name, tell of his salvation from day to day. The bell was rung before and after services to welcome people to worship and after services and tolled when someone died (# of years).

 Norwegians

Norwegian was the language of the church for almost 70 years  (meetings and services). In 1928 the congregation voted to have 4 English services per year. In 1932 they voted to have half the yearly services in Norwegian and half the services in English. By 1944 Pastor Egge held only one Norwegian service and Pastor Blikstad only had an occasional Norwegian service.

Constitution of 188Vang remained part of Holden until 1880 when their constitution was approved and Holden deeded the land to Vang Church. 

Vang’s New Church

In 1894 it was decided that Vang’s original church was too small (holding 250 people max) and a new church needed to be built. The old church was in the cemetery and there was no room to expand so the church moved one mile north to its present location. Olaf Hansen a deaf architect from Faribault designed the new church in 1896 and it was completed in 1897. The church did not have the traditional long central aisle pointing toward the altar and pulpit. Vang was built with a central gathering space that gives a sense of community. It has high soaring ceilings and has the shape of a Greek Cross. This mimics features of Norway Stave Churches and the Vang Church in Valdres Norway. The windows around the altar were stained glass. The side west windows were clear or opaque and let in a lot of light for a bright airy feeling. (There are some pieces in the tower.)

In 1894 it was decided that Vang’s original church was too small (holding 250 people max) and a new church needed to be built. The old church was in the cemetery and there was no room to expand so the church moved one mile north to its present location.

 Changes to the Church

By 1926 the Ladies Aid had grown too big to hold events in homes. The ladies got the congregation to raise the church and add a full basement under the church for a kitchen and meeting area. In the 1930’s they used room dividers to make spaces for Bible School and Sunday School. Prior to 1932 Vang held parochial school in Vangs district (in Norwegian) with instructions in Bible reading, reading, grammar, dictation and music. It did not have Sunday School then.

The interior walls of the church were plaster covered by wallpaper. At some point the walls and ceiling were covered by decorative tin (possibly 1926). In 1930 new stained glass windows replaced the opaque or clear glass on the south, west and north sides of the church. In 1970 the church added a Sunday School addition on the south side of the church. It was designed by Robert Quambeck. The design of the flat roof below grade building was chosen because people didn’t want any obstruction of the original church structure and golden glow from the large stained glass windows. In 2010 after many plans and drawings for a handicapped access and Narthex a workable plan was accepted. Again the design was selected because it didn’t affect the old structure or stained glass windows.

 Symbolism in Sanctuary

We have seen the beauty of the church whenever we are here, but there is symbolism involved with our decor.

We sit as a community under the cross and in the shape of a cross. Looking at the altar we see a copy of the Danish sculpture of  Christ. Originally there was a sign at the base of the cross (in Norwegian) of Mathew 11-28 - "Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest."

The altar has seven stylized crosses that could represent Christs, seven statements from the cross, or the seven days of creation. The windows are beautiful, but are also filled with symbolism. On the east the round windows with the open bible (bases of the church) and lilies representing resurrection. As you walk around the church and look closely at the windows there are many symbolic features in the glass. The bell is rung at the close of each service with three sets of three tolls, representing father, son and holy spirit. 

Vang Today

There are many pieces of Vang Church history that are very interesting, but Vang is a living changing congregation. At our founding Vang was strictly a group of Norwegian Lutheran farm families. Today there is a blend of the past and present. There are descendants of the founders who are in the seventh generation of membership. As the area has changed new families have joined that are not farmers, Lutheran or Norwegian; and they have enriched our church life.

We are reaching out to our surrounding community. One of our outreach projects is food insecurity. We participate in food drives and collect food for needy families. Last year we donated 800 pounds of produce from our church garden to local food shelves. We participate in Feed my Starving Children, Baby Supply Drive, Christmas Sharing and Habitat for Humanity. Our youth cook and freeze meals in the church kitchen, that are delivered to community members in need. We sponsor ELCA Youth Gatherings, Vang Family Ministry team sponsors; Wednesday evening community activities which are open to the public including; bingo, game nights, cookouts at the garden, movie nights, etc.

Vang has a Community Chest organization, where donations are given to the pastor and funds are provided to people who have emergency needs. We cooperate with eight rural churches annually to sponsor  and mentor an intern pastor from Luther Seminary. Vang sponsored a church mission trip to the Texas/Mexican border, to learn more about immigration issues. We can’t forget to mention our annual Lutefisk Dinner that we are widely known for. We are presently sponsoring an auction on July 26th at Vang, to raise funds for a three year old boy who is struggling with Cancer Treatments.

Steeple Vang Churches Beauty

Vang Churches beautiful steeple is in need of major repairs. There has been water damage to the structure over the last 127 years. We have applied for a matching fund grant from the National Funds for Sacred Places. It is a two part application where a letter of intent is filled out and the fund selects about 30 churches to fill out the full application. Last year out of 365 churches Letter of Intent applications Vang was one of 34 to fill out the application, but we were not one of the 16 selected to get a grant. We resubmitted a letter of intent application in February and were again selected to fill out a full application for 2023. It is due July 16th with selection for grants announced in October. We would then begin a capital campaign to raise matching funds. Thank You for coming to visit and learn about our congregation here at Vang Lutheran Church.