On May 19, 2002, with the Rev. Daniel Preus, First Vice President of the
Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod as the dedicatory speaker, the members of Lamb
of God Lutheran Church in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, joyfully and gratefully
dedicated their new house of worship.
For over ten years, an elementary school cafeteria served as their house of
worship. Owning very little and using their ingenuity, the members of Lamb of
God (the average age of this congregation is approximately 20 years and has a
baptized membership of 150), had to improvise. Their temporary altar was a
table adorned by a bed sheet, on which liturgical symbols had been sewn, with
a borrowed cross in the center. After a period of time, woodworkers in the
congregation built a portable altar. Congregations around the Synod donated
their old paraments to Lamb of God.
This young and growing congregation also received beautiful pieces of
communion ware from congregations within the So. Wisconsin District. For one
reason or another, some of these congregations found they no longer had need
of some of their pieces, and needless to say, Lamb of God was perfectly
willing to take the unwanted pieces off of their hands. . . a host box, a
chalice and two flagons.
A decade is a long time for any mission congregation to survive without a
permanent home. Every time a worship service was held, it was necessary to
roll the altar out of storage, ready the cafeteria for a worship service and
at the close of the service, reverse the procedure. Over the course of these
ten years, the altar made close to 1,500 trips in and out of storage! And in
addition, in early years, it was necessary to set up and take down chairs as
well. Many people would not have had the fortitude and the faith to persevere
for so long, would have stopped coming or transferred to another congregation.
Not so these Christians! This house of God was built on His timetable.
In the 1960's, the South Wisconsin District purchased an advanced mission
site on Green Bay Road and in 1996, Lamb of God purchased the site in
preparation for a new house of worship and other facilities.
Rev. Ron Rock, now a pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Tinley Park, IL,
who in 1991 was in his vicarage year, served as mission developer at Lamb of
God for the So. Wisconsin District. The Rev. Wayne Schiesow, an assistant
pastor in Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Lamb of God's mother congregation,
helped Lamb of God become a member of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod on
Reformation Day, October 31, 1993. He was subsequently called as Pastor to
Lamb of God and served the congregation until October 1997.
The current Pastor, the Rev. John M.Berg accepted the call to Lamb of God
in April 1998 and was installed in June of that year. Under his faithful
leadership, with God's blessing, along with the preaching of God's unaltered
Word, and the correct administration of the Sacraments, the congregation has
continued to flourish and grow.
God's blessing, God's unaltered Word, correct administration of the
Sacraments, faithful pastoral and lay leadership, these have remain the
cornerstone and foundation of Lamb of God Lutheran Church.
In 1999, a developer approached the congregation to determine its interest
in selling its undeveloped property. He encouraged them to look at another
piece of property. He pointed out to them that the acquisition of this
property would enable the congregation to take a giant step toward building
its own house of worship, as well as suggesting the many other assets this
piece of property offered.
After prayerful and careful deliberation, Lamb of God sold its first parcel
and purchased this new site in May of 2000. This property included a
preexisting and relatively new pre-school building, along with ample parking
space and open land in back of the facility.
With the aid of a Lutheran architect, the pre-school was redesigned to
house their new house of worship, office space, classrooms, kitchen, etc.
Formal groundbreaking was celebrated Aug. 12, 2001 and work began in earnest
in early September.
As with all new facilities, particularly with a House of Worship, basic
furnishings are needed: Altar, pulpit, chancel rail, baptismal fount, etc.
Rev. Berg had been advised that the old church building of St. Paul Lutheran
Church in Union Grove, Wisconsin was still standing. The congregation had
erected a new house of worship in the 1960's and some of these furnishings
might still be in the old building.
With that thought in mind, the owner was contacted, and yes, the altar was
still in the building. After being apprised of what was taking place at Lamb
of God, he said he would be pleased to donate the altar to the church, because
he needed the space for additional storage. Not only did he donate the altar,
included in his gift to Lamb of God was the pulpit, a small chancel rail and
hymn-board.
The altar was of gothic design and covered with years of grime and paint.
Upon closer inspection of the altar, it was found to be hand carved and made
up mahogany and birch. These same woods were used in the pulpit, the chancel
rail and the hymn-board. Rather than re-paint these furnishings, it was
decided to take them back to their natural woods. What a marvelous decision!
Upon entering the church, your eyes are fixed on a magnificent piece of
artwork and artifact, the altar, which takes one's breath away. The focal
point of the altar is a crucifix made by the Studios of Demetz in Italy. This
crucifix is a constant reminder of Jesus Christ's suffering and death on the
cross for our sins, and His victory over sin, death and the devil. The
Cross-should be the focal point of our daily lives. What this crucifix
represents here gives to all believers, eternal life.
As stated above, included in this gift were also the pulpit, hymn-board and
a chancel rail. A local artisan was able to duplicate the woodwork in the
rail, and a gate and another section was added to extend the rail from one end
of the chancel to the other. No baptismal font was found in this treasure
trove, but this same artisan was able to echo the design of the existing
pieces, creating a baptismal font and it is located at the entrance to the
nave.
A major question was facing the congregation.a musical instrument! A piano
was available, but Pastor Berg knew that a pipe organ would be a stronger
instrument to lead the people of Lamb of God in singing Lutheran Liturgy and
Hymnody.
The congregation had received information that a pipe organ, located at
Gethsemane Lutheran Church in Riverside, California was available, without
cost, to anyone who wanted to pick it up or pay for shipping charges.
Gethsemane needed the room for a praise band and this organ was no longer a
relevant instrument.
The pastor and officers of Lamb of God made several calls to responsible
individuals at Gethsemane. Most of their conversations were with one of its
members, a rostered clergy of the LC-MS, (who incidentally rebuilds pipe
organs and also tunes pipe organs in the Southern California area), assured
them this was a good organ and not a pile of junk. With that assurance, a
member of Lamb of God, who owns a trucking business, drove to California and
picked up the organ, valued at approximately $75,000 to $80,000.
Contacts with the Organ Department of Concordia University, Mequon,
Wisconsin brought additional help in re-assembling the organ and tuning it.
The total cost of hauling, rebuilding, relocating, tuning. etc., - $6,000. The
instrument is an Abbott & Seeker tracker-action instrument and should lead
this congregation in worship services for generations to come.
This coming autumn of 2002, Messiah Lutheran Church of Kenosha, WI and Lamb
of God Lutheran Church of Pleasant Grove, WI will open CHRIST LUTHERAN ACADEMY
on the grounds of Lamb of God in Pleasant Grove. The new academy will open
with Grades One through Three. They will make every effort to add Kindergarten
and possibly Preschool in Autumn, 2003. The plans are in Autumn of 2003 to add
Grade Four. They will continue to add at least one grade per year until Grade
Eight is added.
These congregations have established the Academy in order to support and
assist Christian Parents in this God-given responsibility. In addition to
offering a high quality elementary education with a unique specialization in
music and the humanities, they are committed to the Christian faith as taught
in the Word of God and confessed in the historic Confessions of the Lutheran
Church. Parents who believe as they do will find an important ally in Christ
Lutheran Academy and the education they offer.
The children of the Rev. & Mrs. John Berg have aptly named their new
house of worship, "The Recycled Church," AKA, Lamb of God Lutheran
Church.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT CHRIST LUTHERAN ACADEMY AND LAMB OF GOD
LUTHERAN CHURCH, CONTACT:
Rev. John M. Berg, Pastor
Lamb of God Lutheran Church
8411 Old Green Bay Road
Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, 53158
Phone: 262-697-1701
Fax: 262-697-1720
You are encouraged to log into the following websites:
www.geocities.com/log8411
www.lambofgodlutheran.org