A Century on the Banks of the French River
French River Lutheran Church sits along Ryan Road, about six miles northeast of the Duluth city limit and a short distance from the North Shore of Lake Superior. The setting is the one the founders chose a hundred years ago, and the church still gathers people under the same general covenant of welcome that brought Swedish and Finnish homesteaders together in 1924.
The congregation's mission statement asks members "to live and love as God commands, accept His grace, and share the Good News." Pastor Kimberly Sturtz, who was called to French River in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in January 2021, leads a staff and council that describe their ministry as "making holy waves with Christ at our center." The phrase shows up in newsletters, on the welcome page, and at the close of their history, where members commit to "making waves in the holy with Christ at our center for the next 100 years (or more!)."
How a Swedish Lutheran Church Took Root in Clifton
The French River area was first touched by French River Mining Company explorations in the late 1850s and then by large logging operations that lasted until the great fire of 1918. A raised log causeway, used for rafting timber out to the lake, stood about half a mile west of the river until the 1926 fire erased it. When the timber was gone, immigrants from Sweden and Finland settled the land, raised families, and worried about the spiritual needs of a community that had no permanent roads and depended on freight boats for supplies.
Meetings that would become French River Lutheran began in homes and at the Bloomingdale School (now the North Shore Community School). Pastors from Bethany and Bethel Lutheran in West Duluth traveled north to preach, and it was a seminarian, Pastor C. J. Silfversten, who guided the small group toward organization. The congregation was officially bound together on July 2, 1924, in the home of Walfred Hendrickson, with a scripture reading from John 8:12. Its first name was the Emmanuel Evangelical Swedish Lutheran Church of French River, and it began as a sister congregation of the Minnesota Conference of the Augustana Lutheran Church, with twenty-four communicants and twenty-seven children on the charter roll.
The first church building took a long time to raise. Plans were drawn long before the Great Depression, but construction did not begin until 1934, and the finished church was dedicated in 1944 on a corner of Anderson (now Paul Road) and Ryan roads, on land donated by Einar Hendrickson. Pastor Philemon Smith and the Board of American Missions helped push the congregation toward a full-time ministry. Ground was broken for a new building on Ryan Road and Scenic Highway 61 in 1952, and on August 8, 1954, after a farewell service at the old church, the basement of the new sanctuary was consecrated. Most of the labor was donated, and the total cost was roughly $60,000. Pastor Marvin E. Greene became the first full-time minister called to the new site.
From Basement Worship to the Timberkyrka
In 2004, the church broke ground again for a larger narthex, a youth room, a fireside room, a new pastor's office, a main office, an elevator, a remodeled kitchen, and a two-story alcove on the lake-facing side that opened up space for high holy days, funerals, and weddings. A windowed children and parents room and a larger Sunday school classroom were also added in the fellowship hall. The next generation of building came during the pandemic. When outdoor and parking lot services replaced indoor worship, the congregation realized that the land around the church, beautiful as it was, lacked a covered gathering space. A large monetary gift in 2022 made it possible to plan one. Phase I of the Timberkyrka, an open-air timber frame worship and gathering space, was completed in 2023, with the same spirit the founders had brought to the first church: this place and this faith are for the continued invitation and welcome of the surrounding community.
The parsonage next door has had its own long history of small improvements: a 1980s expansion that added four bedrooms on the main level, a 1997 kitchen remodel, new siding in the late 1990s, a new front patio in 2022, and patio pavers and new side stairs in 2023.
Sunday Worship by the Seasons
Worship at French River Lutheran follows the rhythms of the North Shore calendar. From Labor Day through Memorial Day, Sunday worship begins at 10:00 a.m., with Sunday School for children starting at 10:45, right at the close of the service. From Memorial Day through Labor Day, the whole congregation moves an hour earlier, gathering at 9:00 a.m. The summer hour leaves room for outdoor services, sometimes marked as "Outdoor Contemporary" or "Outdoor Blended," and for the regular hymn sing Sundays and special days such as Rally Sunday in September, Pollinator Sunday in early summer, and Graduate Sunday in May. Once a month, on the fourth Sunday, worship is led by the youth alongside Pastor Kim.
Music changes with the season too. The congregation's regular pattern is liturgical worship led from the organ and choir loft. Once a month, the Riversong Rising contemporary band takes over, and during the summer the band often plays outdoors under the Timberkyrka. A Hymn Sing Sunday each month invites the congregation to request favorite hymns, and Healing Services are held quarterly within Sunday worship. Communion is celebrated every Sunday, and baptisms are received whenever they are needed - on a regular Sunday morning, surrounded by the congregation that will help raise the child in faith.
For those who cannot attend in person, services are livestreamed on the church's YouTube channel and remain available as recordings.
Faith Formation from the Backpack Blessing to Confirmation
Children and youth are woven into the life of the congregation at every age. Each September, the Blessing of the Backpacks and Rally Sunday mark the return to Sunday School, which runs from mid-September to mid-May, with curriculum from Sparkhouse of Augsburg Fortress. Children receive Bibles in October, and Vacation Bible School usually fills the second week of June. The Sunday School is led by Kim Marks with a team of rotating teachers who share the Sunday commitment. Materials are organized in advance so that volunteer teachers can serve without extensive preparation.
Older children who have outgrown Sunday School but are not yet in confirmation gather on Wednesday evenings for Fish Force, a small group for fourth through sixth graders that meets from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. for check-in, Bible connection, games, and snacks. Confirmation itself is a four-year program for sixth through ninth graders, meeting Wednesday evenings from 6:45 to 7:45 p.m. during the school year, with a focus on Biblical faith and the Lutheran theology of grace. The congregation also supports the Middle School Gathering, Cardia Deo, and Voyageurs Lutheran Ministry camp, helping send young people to wider Lutheran formation opportunities.
Adults have their own rhythms of study. A weekly Bible Study meets Monday evenings from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m., working through various books and connecting scripture to daily life. "What's Up Wednesday" and "Sup Sundays" are occasional gathering nights that invite the wider community in to learn about other people's journeys and how those stories connect to a larger sense of God's creation.
Three Ways to Make a Joyful Noise
Music ministry at French River Lutheran is intentionally varied. The FRLC Choir, led by Organist and Choir Director David Fiebiger, rehearses on Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m. in the choir loft from fall through spring, supporting the liturgical life of the church each Sunday. Fiebiger is described as a lover of traditional liturgies and harmonic choral music, with a personal soft spot for the music of Queen, the Moody Blues, and David Bowie.
The French River Ringers bell choir, directed by Elda Hein, rehearses on Sunday mornings about once a month, before playing in worship. No prior musical experience is required. The Riversong Rising contemporary band, led by John Kronstedt, rehearses on the second and third Thursdays at 5:00 p.m. in the sanctuary and leads worship on the contemporary Sundays each month and throughout the summer under the Timberkyrka.
The Hospitality Team, Prayer Shawls, and a Long-Running Book Club
Worship at French River Lutheran is supported by a deep bench of lay volunteers. The Altar Guild prepares the church for services, weddings, funerals, baptisms, and Holy Communion under the leadership of Lynne Compton. Ushers, trained and coordinated by Phil Strom, greet people at the door and help services run smoothly. Lectors of any age read scripture and the prayers of the people, with a sign-up sheet at the Welcome Center in the narthex and Skipper Sironen as the lead coordinator. Acolyte training is available for young people old enough to carry the light of Christ into the service.
Beyond Sunday morning, the Hospitality Team organizes the church's annual rhythm of events: the National Night Out neighborhood gathering on the first Tuesday of August, Rally Sunday in September, the Adopt-A-Highway roadside cleanups in early October and again in late April or early May, Trunk or Treat in October, Turkey Bingo in November, the Scandinavian Festival in December, the Scandinavian Dinner in February or March before Lent, Easter Breakfast, and Graduate Sunday in May.
The Sunshine Ministry, led by Carol Surine, sends cards of encouragement for anniversaries, birthdays, holidays, and sympathy. The Prayer Shawl Ministry knits and crochets shawls that begin and end in prayer; they are given to people undergoing medical procedures, recovering from a loss, sitting with grief, marking a milestone, or simply in need of comfort. The Scrap Happy Quilters, led by Peggy and Sandy Dahlberg, sew items for graduates, for people in need, and for sale at church events.
The Prayer Chain, coordinated by Babs Strom and Carol Surine, lifts up daily prayer requests from members and the wider community, with long-term needs placed on a special list that is prayed for daily. The French River Readers book club has met continuously since 2004, gathering on the third Thursday of each month - at 1:00 p.m. from November through April and at 7:30 p.m. from May through October - usually in the Fireside Room. Members choose books by consensus, share a snack, and, in a long-standing tradition, collect children's board books each November and share appetizers and a game each December.
Looking Beyond the Walls
The Outreach Team coordinates a year-round ministry of invitation. Bread of Welcome brings loaves to new neighbors in the community. Red Cross Blood Drives are held in the fall and spring, and a Red Cross Babysitters Course for youth twelve and up is offered the same seasons. National Night Out brings neighbors, local law enforcement, firefighters, and EMTs together around a community dinner on the first Tuesday of August. Music Under the Timberkyrka, held on Wednesdays in the summer, brings local live music to the church grounds.
French River Lutheran has committed to being "the ramen soup church," pledging to donate one hundred packages of ramen soup each month to the Churches United in Ministry (CHUM) food shelf in downtown Duluth. Wicker baskets in the narthex receive non-perishable items that volunteers deliver to CHUM. Regular volunteers also help hand out food at the Two Harbors Area Food Shelf on Tuesdays, and each fall the congregation hosts Turkey Bingo, a fundraising evening whose grand prize is a full Thanksgiving dinner, with all proceeds going to the food shelf.
Members also support the Seafarers Twin Ports Ministry, an ecumenical hospitality ministry for seafarers visiting the Ports of Duluth and Superior, by assembling ditty bags, knitting caps and scarves in dark colors, and collecting gently-used men's clothing, books and magazines in multiple languages, and homemade cookies for the residents of the seafarers' center. Days for Girls sewing days, organized through the church in memory of member Deb Adams, produce reusable menstrual kits for women and girls around the world.
The church is a member of the EcoFaith Network of the Northeastern Minnesota Synod and tends a Pollinator Plot on its grounds that supports bees, butterflies, and other insects as part of a synod-wide creation care effort. The Kindred Paths Nature Preschool uses an indoor classroom at the church as a base for year-round outdoor learning in the woods, on the beach, and along the river; the preschool is a separate organization but shares the church's natural setting.
Becoming a Member
Joining French River Lutheran is a six-step journey that begins with simply attending worship. Anyone interested in membership meets with Pastor Kim, attends two one-hour New Member Classes - the first focused on basic Lutheran teaching for those without a Lutheran background, the second on the life and ministries of French River Lutheran - and is received as a member during a Sunday service followed by a New Member Fellowship. About six months later, the pastor checks in to see how things are going and to talk about further ways to connect, grow, and serve. Holy Baptism is offered to anyone who has not yet been baptized, and parents seeking baptism for infants are encouraged to visit with the pastor.
The Good Samaritan Fund and Many Ways to Give
Members and friends support the church's ministry through the offering plate on Sunday morning and through a wide range of other options. Automatic bill pay through a bank or credit card, checks mailed to the church office, donations of stock as a transfer in kind, qualified charitable distributions from a traditional IRA for those seventy and a half or older, and planned legacy gifts through a will are all listed on the Giving page.
The Good Samaritan Fund is a designated benevolence fund that allows donors to direct part of their giving to outreach chosen annually by those who have funded it. The Memorial Committee receives gifts in memory or in honor of loved ones and disburses them, with council approval for amounts over $500, to one of several funds: Altar Guild, Choir and Music, Designated Funds, Fireside Room, Flooring, Library, Maintenance, Office and Computer, Organ and Bells, Parking Lot, or Undesignated.
The church also awards two scholarships. A $1,000 post-secondary scholarship goes to confirmed, active high school graduates of FRLC who are attending a college or university. A seminary scholarship of up to $2,000 is available to FRLC members enrolled in an accredited seminary degree program, with the annual amount matching designated donations from congregation members over the previous twelve months.
The People Who Keep the Doors Open
Pastor Kimberly Sturtz, a 2015 Master of Divinity graduate of Wartburg Theological Seminary, leads the congregation alongside a small staff and a council of elected members. David Fiebiger serves as Organist and Choir Director, Elda Hein as Bell Choir Director, John Kronstedt as Riversong Rising Contemporary Band Leader, and Kim Marks as Sunday School leader. Council members, listed on the contact page under the leadership of Council President Beth Hendrickson, share in the oversight of worship life, learning, witness, service, and support called for in the congregation's ELCA-aligned constitution, last updated in the spring of 2023.
The standard office hours are Monday and Thursday from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., though visitors are encouraged to call ahead since hours can vary. A private Facebook group supports member communications for those attending FRLC regularly, and the congregation publishes a monthly newsletter called "The Parables," along with weekly bulletins and a monthly calendar.
On the North Shore of Lake Superior, between the historic timber country around the French River and the long pull of Scenic Highway 61, French River Lutheran Church continues the work its founders began in 1924 - gathering for worship, raising up children and youth in the faith, singing in three different musical styles, and looking for ways to extend welcome, food, prayer shawls, and steady presence into the wider community of Duluth and the Twin Ports.