Photo by Wanda Hanson
On Sunday, September 28, Looney Valley Lutheran Church will join together to celebrate a century and a half of its existence. Using a theme of “Yesterday we remember, today we celebrate, tomorrow we await,” the church will host a coffee hour at 9:15 a.m. followed by a special church service at 10 a.m., a noon meal of meatballs and turkey and a program at 1:30 p.m.
Three of the former pastors will be speaking during the celebration: John Wheelock, Chris Fahey, and Jan King. Arlan Henderson, the church historian will be speaking on its history as well.
The long history of Looney Valley Church began when a group of Norwegian settlers first moved to Looney Valley in 1852 from Dane County, Wis. The first organized religious society, the Looney Valley Baptist Society, served the area at the time, holding meetings in homes. In 1857 the congregation began gathering with a circuit pastor leading services. The group was affiliated with Trinity Lutheran Church of La Crosse.
Around 1871, this group of Lutherans who had come from Norway began to organize a Lutheran church in Looney Valley. By that time, the Baptist Society had ceased to exist; the Norwegian Lutherans wanted to have their own church services presented in the Norwegian language.
In 1875, the 58 souls officially established their church, naming it Looney Valley Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church. Probably one of the most unusual things about the church was its name. The church was named after entrepreneur John Looney who was attempting to establish a town nearby.
Services were held in homes and a log school house located 85 rods southwest of the current church. This school house was later moved to the Leonard Tostenson farm. Early officers of the church were Andreas Sather, Knud Sorum, Peter Wagner, Even Halvorson, Mark Christopherson, John Traff and Ben Peterson—family names that can still be found at the church.
In 1881, a new school was built and church services were held in the school house until the church was built in 1896. Land for the church was sold to the church by Peter Brandt for $1. Work on the new church was done by many of the members of the fledgling congregation. All who belonged to the congregation and had horses were asked to haul materials for the new church. Two expert stonemasons, Gideon and Oscar Traff, who were members of the church, guided the foundation work. Stone from a quarry across the valley from the church was used.
Later in 1957, the Luther League youth group created a stone cross on the hillside. It could be seen from the Stone Church which is located southeast of Houston. Airplane pilots have used the stone cross over the years as a directional finder. The church still maintains the distinctive cross.
A more recent addition to the church building in 2005 was Morcomb Hall. The fellowship hall, which provides ground level accessibility to the hall and church, new bathrooms and a modern kitchen, was named after Jim Morcomb who had helped make the hall possible.
A ladies’ group in the church decorated the new hall with two quilted banners. One of the banners depicts various biblical events of the Bible using a stained glass effect; the other, bigger banner is of a cross with quilted squares of many colors surrounding the cross.
Through the years, the church has had many organizations. WOW (Women of the Word) is the women’s group; the church has two circles as well.
In the past, the church had a bell choir; the bells belonged to a former pastor. Recently, smaller children’s bells were purchased. These bells have been used by the entire congregation to play familiar hymns.
Worship Wednesdays, consisting of a light supper followed by a Bible study and worship, focus on different aspects of the Bible. A recent event focused on Jonah.
VBS has been popular with children; 50 students from seven different nearby schools attended this summer’s session. The Sunday School classes created flower art to sell with the proceeds going to support an orphanage.
Looney Valley has long supported a medical mission service in Kenya. The church has sent people to help with construction projects as well as money. The church also supports an agency in Rochester, Teen and Adult Challenge, which is designed to help people with struggles in their lives.
A men’s group was created in 2010 and restarted after COVID. The eclectic group of 15 men who are from assorted walks of life and are not all members meets for coffee Wednesday mornings. Organizer Arlan Henderson stressed that its sole purpose is to provide fellowship and community for the men.
Annual dinners and events at the church include a New Year’s Eve pancake supper and a patriotic summer barbecue put on by the men of the congregation, an Easter breakfast served by the youth, a Harvest Festival held at the end of October and a Cabin Fever with an auction and entertainment in the spring.
Looney Valley Lutheran Church is a member of LCMC (Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ) and has 200 members. The current pastor of the church is Kari Charboneau who has served Looney Valley for seven years. According to Henderson, Charboneau is particularly adept with teaching small children. Sunday services are streamed online and broadcast in the fellowship hall as well.
Looney Valley Church encourages the community to join them as they remember yesterday, celebrate today and await tomorrow at their 150th anniversary celebration on September 28.
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