Hillsdale (WQOW) - A Barron County church held service outside Sunday, and broke ground where they hope to hold service in the future. The 135-year-old New Scandinavia Lutheran Church in Hillsdale was destroyed by arson back in 2010. Today the congregation took turns digging in the same place where the old building once stood to celebrate a new church's beginning.
"There are members who remember this their whole life, four and five generations. But now this is a huge step forward," said Pastor Bob Friese.
A special service was held Sunday, outdoors on the spot where the New Scandinavia Lutheran Church stood for 135 years. It was destroyed by arson in December of 2010. Two people were sentenced in the case to several months in jail.
"A few of us have spoken with the two young men. With Jesse Unruh and his parents, and then separately with Lucas Schultz and his parents. We've talked about healing, we've talked about our pain, we've talked about how we want to move on. And that's been tremendous. We have forgiven these young men, and we are moving on. We've invited them to come and join us at any time knowing they're still going through healing. We want the best for them, so that's been a huge thing," Friese said.
On Sunday, congregation members took turns digging for a groundbreaking on a new church, one that will have stained glass and other features from the old building.
"Original oil lamps, from the church, those are over 135 years old. Years ago, they had been rewired to be electrical. They've both been repaired so we can use them again, they'll be used somewhere in the sanctuary. So even though the church will look a lot different, those will be great reminders, especially for the generations that have been here," said Friese.
The new building will be just one story instead of three, and will be more handicap accessible.
"For us to all gather, back on this space, to be actually here again and to shovel some dirt and have the groundbreaking is a huge step for us," Friese said.
"We hope that we will use the building on Christmas Eve for a service. We won't be able to move in yet, but the building should be to the point where we can use it for a Christmas Eve service, because for years that's what's happened on Christmas Eve. We have a special service at this church. So that's our goal hopefully," said Friese.
While the congregation waits for the building to be completed, they will continue to join another church down the road for services. Friese says the project is still slated to cost under one million dollars.
