On the northern edge of DeForest along River Road, just south of South Street, Norway Grove Memorial Lutheran Church is an Evangelical Lutheran Church in America congregation known for relaxed worship that blends five centuries of song, from familiar hymns to contemporary praise. Its sanctuary carries Scandinavian details from the church's Norwegian roots, while ministries for children, music, food access, home building, and fellowship extend into DeForest and beyond.
From Norway Grove to River Road
The story of Norway Grove Memorial begins with Norwegian immigrants in the townships of Windsor and Vienna. The first Norwegians arrived in 1844, and many families from Sogn, Norway, followed during the next three years. The landscape's hills, woods, and creeks reminded them of home, and the region became known as Norway Grove. J. W. C. Dietrichson organized the Norwegian Lutheran congregation in 1847, which is the church's formal founding. The Old Stone Church, dedicated in 1861, became its first church building and served as a cornerstone of community life for decades.
A second building followed in 1902 as the congregation grew. From 1883 to 1890, Norway Grove shared a pastor with Burke Lutheran Church, and the two formed a joint parish in 1905 that continued until 1953. In 1949, members voted to move into the Village of DeForest and merge with DeForest Lutheran Church, but the decision did not unite everyone. Members who opposed the move withdrew in 1950 and formed Norway Grove Memorial Lutheran Church. Walter H. Kampen became its first minister, construction began in 1951, and the church on River Road was completed in 1959.
The third church on River Road was followed by a major addition completed in 1992, creating space for fellowship, education, and offices while improving accessibility on both floors. A partnership with Faith Lutheran Church of Morrisonville supported ministry from 1973 through 1984, and 1985 brought the congregation's first female pastor, Kathryn Groenewold Franzenburg. During the pandemic in 2020, worship moved online and livestreaming became part of the church's life. The sanctuary's Scandinavian design remains a visible link to the founders and their descendants.
One family left an especially strong mark on Norway Grove's early history. The Preus family supplied pastors across four generations. H. A. Preus preached his first sermon in Norway Grove in 1851; in 1876 he ordained his oldest son, C. K. Preus, who later became the responsible pastor while his father served as assistant. Across the family, Preus pastors served the congregation for a total of 70 years. Their succession is one of the most concrete links between the founding generation and later church history.
Sunday Worship at 9:00 A.M.
Each Sunday at 9:00 a.m., the congregation gathers at 820 River Road for worship both in person and online. The blended service combines contemporary and traditional liturgy and music and typically lasts about an hour. Visitors considering a first worship service can wear casual clothing; the congregation simply asks guests to come as they are. The parking lot sits behind the church up a slight hill, and the main entrance is also at the back. The church stands on DeForest's northern edge, just south of South Street.
On arrival, a greeter welcomes each person and invites them to wear a name tag like other attendees. Guests may sit wherever they like and follow the service on the sanctuary screen. Bulletins or music brochures may be offered on some Sundays. Wheelchair accessible spaces are in the middle of the sanctuary, and coffee with cookies is waiting in the Friendship Room after worship.
Music carries much of the worship experience. The congregation draws from five centuries of song, pairing beloved hymns with contemporary praise led by the Praise Band. The tone remains meaningful without being formal. Scripture centered sermons are down to earth and focus on hope, guidance, encouragement, and the place of God's Word in ordinary life. The result is a worship style that joins Lutheran song rooted in the church's history with fresh expression.
The church year gives worship a seasonal rhythm. Ash Wednesday begins Lent with the imposition of ashes, followed by soup suppers and midweek Lenten services. Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter continue the sequence. Summer brings outdoor worship and a picnic celebration, while Christmas Eve services use candlelight, carols, and the story of Christ's birth. These gatherings carry the same relaxed, participatory spirit as Sunday morning. Past services and other videos are available on the church's YouTube channel.
Many roles support the Sunday rhythm. Members serve as greeters, assisting ministers, communion preparers, fellowship hosts, and counters, with volunteers assigned to different Sundays. The choir, Praise Band, soloists, and ensembles supply music, while practical service lets many members share worship in ways beyond singing or teaching.
Little Grove and the Young Church
Children are intentionally part of the congregation's worship life. Little Grove occupies the back left of the sanctuary and gives young families a place where children can move, play, explore, and use activities suited to their age while remaining near the larger service. Children can hear the songs, prayers, and message without being expected to sit still. Busy Bags at the back of the church give little hands something to hold. The arrangement treats wiggles and curious voices as part of family worship rather than interruptions, allowing parents and children to participate together.
JAM, short for Jesus and Me, is religious education for children from age three through sixth grade. A class combines a Bible story with crafts, games, music, prayers, and service projects, so learning is both explanatory and active. Projects have included assembling food for Blessings in a Backpack, connecting the classroom to the church's wider commitment to children who face hunger. The curriculum places Scripture, prayer, music, and service in the same setting.
Older youth in grades seven and eight can join a two year confirmation program prepared jointly with Burke Lutheran Church. The first year surveys the stories of God's people in the Hebrew Scriptures and New Testament. The second year studies Lutheran worship, the Small Catechism, the Church Year, and Lutheran history. Classes generally meet once each month during the school year and in June, with families rotating the evening meal and parents staying for class. Students also serve as leaders in reading lessons and leading prayers at midweek Lenten services.
Each summer, Sugar Creek Bible Camp brings a day camp ministry to Norway Grove for children in first through sixth grade. There is no fee, and lunch and snacks are provided. Campers move among Bible study, worship, indoor and outdoor games, music, crafts, skits, and songs. Because the camp comes to the church, families can participate in a shared summer experience centered on faith, friendship, and fun.
Music Across Five Centuries
The Praise Band and vocal ensemble draw musicians from middle school through adult age. They perform contemporary Christian and traditional material, with practices held before Sunday worship. New singers and instrumentalists are welcome, including beginners, and there are no auditions for membership. Their energy gives the blended service a direct contemporary voice while the congregation's hymns and choir preserve a broader musical inheritance.
The Chancel Choir has about 15 members and sings at least once each month from September through May, with added performances during Lent, Easter, Advent, and Christmas. Rehearsals are Tuesday evenings at 6:30 p.m. during those months. A Music JAM gathering follows worship on the second Sunday of each month, while soloists and small ensembles contribute prelude, offertory, and communion music. Bill Dickman serves as Music Director, and Elaine Jaeke directs the Choral and Tone Chimes program. Their combined work makes music a ministry in which youth and adults, experienced musicians and newcomers, can all take part.
Food, Homes, and Care Beyond the Church
Norway Grove describes outreach as extending Christ's love beyond the church through work that meets immediate needs and long term community goals. The congregation's mission of being energized by the Holy Spirit and empowered by God to learn and serve is visible in several partnerships, some local and some farther from DeForest.
An intergenerational Habitat for Humanity team has traveled from Norway Grove to Marquette, Michigan, every summer since its first dedicated trip in 1998. A 1997 volunteer experience in Billings, Montana, inspired the group, which formed around three aims: serving people with dignity, sharing faith, and learning building skills. The team has helped build more than 70 homes for Marquette families and has been backed by hundreds of congregation and community members who contribute time, funds, and encouragement. Volunteers of different ages work together, making the trip both a construction project and a shared expression of the church's outward mission.
Norway Grove also supports Blessings in a Backpack, a program that sends nutritious food home with students enrolled in free or reduced price lunch programs. Volunteers pack and distribute backpacks on Friday afternoons during the school year, helping children have food over weekends and school breaks. The effort grew from a local initiative into a broad community program, and Norway Grove's young learners take part by assembling backpacks. The practice joins education with service in a direct way: children learn about hunger while helping other children face it.
Norski Nibbles provides sack lunches during the summer at DeForest Fireman's Park, Western Green Park, and Lake Windsor Park. Norway Grove volunteers take part for two weeks each summer, delivering lunches in coolers and handing them out from 11:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. The simple schedule places a healthy meal within reach of children who are already enjoying the parks. Food, outdoor play, and neighborhood support come together in a ministry children can also see and understand.
Each week, the congregation contributes food to a local pantry, and donations can be left in the Food Pantry Box behind the church. At Christmas, the Giving Tree places an ornament on a tree for each older adult in assisted living and nursing care. Members select an ornament, purchase the suggested gift, and return it wrapped for that resident. The practice turns the Christmas season toward people who might otherwise be overlooked and keeps the congregation's definition of Christian service concrete.
Stewardship supports both local relationships and wider Lutheran work. Online giving can direct gifts to the operating fund, building fund, youth programs, or other ministries, and the monthly Noisy Offering collects spare change for a changing mix of local and global needs. Examples have included Sugar Creek Bible Camp, Norski Nibbles, Blessings in a Backpack, Lutheran Disaster Response, the food pantry, Habitat for Humanity, and ELCA World Hunger. Members may also direct Thrivent Choice Dollars to the church. ELCA World Hunger connects giving with food, clean water, sustainable agriculture, training, and other responses to hunger around the world. Giving online makes these forms of support available from home.
Books, Breakfasts, Walks, and Handwork
Adult learning and fellowship take several forms. Norway Grove Book Club meets once a month, usually on the third or fourth Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. in the Fellowship Room. Its selections tend toward inspirational nonfiction and are shaped by participant interest. The club welcomes people who have read the entire book, only part of it, or none at all, making discussion and friendship more important than finishing every page. Music, books, and service connect the congregation beyond Sunday morning.
The Men's Group gathers Saturdays at 7:30 a.m. at DeForest Family Restaurant. Men of all ages, friends, and neighbors are welcome for relaxed conversation, encouragement, and faith centered fellowship. Participants use the Master Builders Bible from Lutheran Men in Mission as a guide. Meeting away from the church building gives the group a casual setting and a regular rhythm for supporting one another and caring for the surrounding community.
OWLS, meaning Older, Wiser Lutherans, meets for breakfast every Monday at 9:00 a.m. at Norske Nook. The group welcomes retired people, those still working, and anyone in between who values good food and conversation. The Church Walking Group offers another regular gathering, with walks at 9:00 a.m. near the bridge on Innovation Drive. People of all ages and abilities are invited, and the pace can be brisk or relaxed. These groups show that fellowship at Norway Grove can begin at a breakfast table, continue along a path, and remain open to neighbors as well as members.
Craft Days bring together people who quilt, knit, crochet, make cards, or pursue other creative hobbies. Participants bring their own supplies and lunch, work without interruption, and share conversation in a setting designed for generous time together. The Greeting Card Ministry adds a quieter form of care. Eleven members make handmade birthday cards and send thinking of you notes to people who are homebound or in need of encouragement. These simple ministries turn creativity and attention into lasting congregation care.
Lutheran Faith in Daily Life
Norway Grove describes itself as Lutheran and rooted in the teachings of Martin Luther. Its central statement is that God's love and forgiveness are pure gifts, not achievements earned by human effort. Through Jesus Christ, people are forgiven, loved, and called to live with gratitude. The congregation values the Bible, church traditions, and ways of thinking about faith that include and respect all people. That welcome extends to people of every faith and background, and no prior experience with church is required to join worship. The stated vision is to embrace new ways of walking faith in an ever changing world, while the mission remains: Energized by the Holy Spirit. Empowered by God to learn and serve.
The Church Council consists of elected members who provide leadership, prayerful direction, and oversight, working alongside the staff and congregation. Committees support growth and newcomer connections, property and building care, technology and livestreaming, finance and stewardship, and education from JAM through confirmation and adult learning. This structure gives practical shape to the congregation's pledge to nurture faith and share God's love. Rev. Carol Baumgartner began serving as Interim Pastor in December 2024. An ordained Lutheran minister with 34 years of experience, she has also served congregations of different sizes, shared ministries, and hospice chaplaincy. Her leadership continues the long succession of pastors associated with Norway Grove, a congregation that has counted 33 pastors across its history.
At Norway Grove, history is visible in the Scandinavian sanctuary and carried in the memories of descendants of the founding settlers, but it is also active in Sunday worship, JAM classes, choir rehearsals, shared meals, walks, food collections, and home building projects. The congregation holds its beginnings and its present work together: rooted in a Lutheran confession, relaxed in its welcome, and committed to learning, worship, service, and fellowship in DeForest.