On the North Side Since 1856
Tucked into the Northport Drive and Mandrake Road corner on Madison's north side, Lakeview Lutheran Church has been an anchor congregation for neighbors in Wisconsin's capital since 1856. Reverend L. Habel organized the church as a sister congregation to St. John's Lutheran Church in Madison, and it was originally known as St. John's Lutheran Church of Westport. Because the surrounding maple sugar industry gave the area its flavor, the early members nicknamed it the "Zuckerbusch Kirche," or Sugarbush Church. The original constitution, written in German in 1856, is still preserved in the congregation's archives.
Before any building existed, the first families gathered in a small clearing on the hill behind what is now the campus. They set up hewn benches and an altar in the open air and joined in prayer, Bible reading, and German hymns. In 1884 the Historic Chapel was built to seat seventy people. It still stands on the grounds, equipped with heat and electricity but no running water or bathrooms, and it is used periodically for worship on the second Saturday of the month from April through October.
In 1946 the congregation reorganized under a new constitution and adopted the name Lakeview American Lutheran Church, calling its first pastor, Reverend W. Buth. Members built a parsonage in 1950-1951 largely by their own labor; that home still stands behind the church on Mandrake Road, though it is no longer owned by the congregation. The Parish Hall followed in 1952, with five rooms added in 1959 and offices added in 1966. As the congregation grew, three Sunday services became too few, and in June 1965 the members committed to a major expansion. The new Sanctuary, two hundred feet long and seating six hundred, was dedicated on September 1, 1966, and the upper-floor worship space opening onto Northport Drive has been the congregation's main gathering place ever since. Since 2024, the building has also been home to the offices of the South-Central Synod of Wisconsin.
All Are Welcome Here
Lakeview describes itself as a broadminded, hospitable congregation that demonstrates faith through compassion, support, fellowship, and social ministry. The congregation holds the Reconciling in Christ (RIC) designation and welcomes everyone of any age, race, ethnic background, gender identity, sexual orientation, political standing, economic status, physical or mental ability or disability, or marital status, Christian or not. Pastor Darin Wiebe, ordained in 1992, leads the congregation today. He previously served parishes in Tomahawk, Oshkosh, and West Bend alongside his wife, the Rev. Joy Mortensen-Wiebe, who now serves as Bishop of the South-Central Synod of Wisconsin.
Worshipers at Lakeview show up in everything from Sunday best to Packer jerseys on game day, and the congregation is open about the fact that members do not need to have all the answers to belong. The phrase "All Are Welcome" is more than a slogan: it is a long-standing hymn the community loves to sing and a posture the members say they try to live out, acknowledging imperfection along the way.
The congregation belongs to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), a denomination of nearly 2.8 million members across more than 8,500 worshiping communities in the United States and the Caribbean. Within the ELCA, Lakeview is one of 133 congregations in the South-Central Synod of Wisconsin, a body serving thirteen counties in south-central Wisconsin.
Weekend Worship in the Sanctuary and the Historic Chapel
Lakeview gathers for worship twice each weekend. On Saturday at 5 pm the community meets in the Sanctuary, and on Sunday at 9 am the same space fills for the congregation's main weekly service. The Sunday service is livestreamed on Lakeview's YouTube channel, with recordings posted afterward for anyone who wants to revisit the service.
The Sanctuary sits on the upper floor of the large building on Northport Drive and can be reached through glass doors behind the building or through the doors that face Northport. During warmer months the Saturday 5 pm service occasionally relocates to the 1884 Historic Chapel on the second Saturday of the month, from April through October.
Worship centers on the promises of Jesus and God's work in and through the community. Prayers, thanksgiving, and the meal at the Lord's Table are central. Holy Communion is celebrated every week, and the table is open to everyone, regardless of church membership or Lutheran background. Grape juice and gluten-free wafers are available, and children are welcome both in the pew and at the table.
Singing Together: The Music Ministry
Music has a long place in Lakeview's life, going back to those first German hymns sung outdoors. Today the Lakeview Choir is led by Musical Director and pianist Lynn Najem, who has served the congregation since June 2008. Najem accompanies services, funerals, and weddings, directs the choir, and welcomes new voices throughout the year.
The choir rehearses on Thursdays at 7 pm in the Sanctuary from September through May. No audition or previous experience is required, just a willingness to sing praises and, members say, a tolerance for the director's jokes. Past choirs have added anthems, led Palm Sunday music, and shaped the congregation's experience of Holy Week.
The Lakeview Food Pantry
The most visible ministry born on Lakeview's campus is the Lakeview Food Pantry, which has been serving households on Madison's north side since the early 1980s. It operates out of the church parking lot on the Northport side of the building as a drive-thru and walk-up pantry, with cars and neighbors pulling up each Monday afternoon to receive groceries. On average, the pantry serves around fifty households a week.
Volunteers from the congregation and the wider neighborhood make the pantry run. Food comes from congregation funding, community donations, the federal The Emergency Food Assistance Program, and Second Harvest Food Bank. The pantry is open on Mondays from 4 to 6 pm during daylight saving time and from 2 to 4 pm the rest of the year. Financial gifts to the pantry can be made by check to "Lakeview Food Pantry" or through a dedicated giving page.
Learning for Every Age
Christian formation at Lakeview runs across generations. Sunday School is offered under the leadership of Sunday School Superintendent John Dyar, and Marilyn Miller serves as Director of Faith Formation. Adults gather in two regular settings: Bible Study on Wednesdays at 10:30 am, and Adult Forum in the Fellowship Room on Sundays at 10 am following worship. The forum's opening fall study walks through the ELCA's newly adopted social statement, "Faith and Civic Life: Seeking the Well-being of All."
Fellowship Around Food and Games
Much of Lakeview's life happens around a table. A monthly Senior Lunch and Euchre Tournament draws members and neighbors to the fellowship hall, beginning with lunch at 11 am before cards. The Lakeview Book Club meets on the first Monday of the month at 6 pm in the Fellowship Room, and the Knots of Love knitting and crocheting group gathers on the third Tuesday of the month at 1 pm in the Library. Both groups welcome drop-ins.
Annual traditions include a chili cook-off, a pie and dessert auction, and the recurring toilet-paper pass on Rally Sunday, where rolls of TP are collected for the food pantry. Spring and fall cleanup days, the Lakeview Lawn Care Club, and the Properties Committee keep the campus in shape while making room for good-natured work and laughter.
The Red Cross and a Free Thanksgiving Dinner
Lakeview has hosted American Red Cross blood drives for more than thirty-seven years, with volunteers, donated treats, and regular quarterly collection days scheduled Tuesday afternoons throughout the year. Each November the congregation hosts a free Thanksgiving dinner open to everyone in the community, with carved turkey, homemade stuffing, real whipped potatoes, yams, cranberries, coleslaw, rolls, and pumpkin pie. The dinner has grown into a much-anticipated tradition that brings together dozens of cooks, servers, and guests from across Madison's north side.
Baptisms, Weddings, Funerals, and the Lakeview Cemetery
Lakeview hosts baptisms, weddings, and funerals, with the Lakeview Pastor typically officiating and guest clergy welcome to assist. As a Reconciling in Christ congregation, Lakeview welcomes same-sex couples who wish to be legally married in Wisconsin and offers an Affirmation of Household Covenants policy for couples who do not wish to enter into a legal marriage. Weddings and funerals are held in the Sanctuary or, for smaller gatherings, the Historic Chapel.
Behind the church buildings, the Lakeview Lutheran Cemetery continues to be stewarded by the congregation and is open from sunrise to sunset. Grave decorations are cleared on April 1 and October 1 each year.
Welcoming the Next Chapter
Members speak often of the relationships that hold Lakeview together: weddings and baptisms and funerals shared across decades, Bible study friendships that deepen year by year, and the weekly rhythm of food pantry Monday that ties the building to its neighborhood. Whether someone shows up looking for a meal, a choir to join, a baptism for a grandchild, or simply a place to ask the big questions of faith, Lakeview's welcome is the same one it has offered on the hill since the Sugarbush days: come as you are, and you will be greeted warmly.