A Norwegian-Rooted Congregation on Leonard Street
Our Savior's Lutheran Church sits on the north side of Leonard Street in West Salem, Wisconsin, a town of roughly five thousand people in the La Crosse County part of the Coulee Region. From its location just a few blocks off the highway that runs through town, the congregation gathers under the steeple of a brick church building that has stood on the site since 1921, still serving as the worship space more than a century later. The church belongs to the La Crosse Area Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and describes itself in plain terms: a family of faith made up of the youngest, the oldest, and everyone in between, welcoming all without reserve or judgment.
Around 180 people gather in the sanctuary on a typical weekend, and another fifty or so join the congregation online through livestream or recorded video. Together, that makes Our Savior's a mid-sized congregation in a small town, drawing members from West Salem, Bangor, Rockland, Mindoro, Barre Mills, and the surrounding La Crosse area. The tone is friendly and unhurried, the welcome is meant to be felt the moment someone walks in the Leonard Street or parking lot entrance, and the congregation has built a reputation over more than a hundred years for serving its neighbors through food ministries, summer lunch programs, community events, and global mission partnerships.
Worship at Our Savior's
Worship is central to life at Our Savior's, and the rhythm of the week is shaped by three weekend services. Saturday worship begins at 6 PM, Sunday services are held at 8 AM and 10:30 AM, and the 10:30 AM Sunday service is also livestreamed on YouTube so that members who cannot attend in person can still share in Word and Sacrament. The 10:30 AM recording is posted online right away, and DVDs of the service are even delivered locally for those without internet access.
The worship style is liturgical, drawn from the historic patterns of the Christian church. Worshipers hear the Word of God proclaimed, sing hymns of praise, pray together, share the peace of Christ, and gather around the altar for Holy Communion. The bulletin guides visitors through the entire service so that no one has to guess what to say next or where to find a hymn. Holy Communion is celebrated every weekend at Our Savior's, and gluten-free wafers and grape juice are available alongside the bread and wine. Children are always part of the gathered assembly and are welcomed forward for a blessing if they are not yet receiving communion. A cry room is available though rarely used, and activity bags for younger children sit outside the worship space for any who need them.
While the basic shape of worship stays the same from week to week, the details shift with the seasons. The fourth Sunday of each month is set aside as the "Festive Fourth," when the S.O.S. (Saints of Our Savior's) Band leads the music for all three services that weekend, bringing guitars, drums, and a full rhythm section to the liturgy. Late August or early September brings Gospel on the Green, an outdoor service held at the Lions Shelter across the street from the church, with the S.O.S. Band once again providing the music and a community meal following the worship. Midweek Advent and Lent services, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, Thanksgiving Eve worship, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday's Tenebrae, and Easter morning round out the seasonal calendar.
The Roots: From Norwegian Settlements to a Merged Congregation
Our Savior's history reaches back to 1856, when Pastor H. A. Stub of Coon Prairie came to the area to serve the large number of Norwegian immigrants who had settled in the coulees around West Salem. He organized four congregations, one of which was the La Crosse Valley Lutheran Church, located in Larson Coulee northwest of town where County M meets Gills Coulee Road. That congregation belonged to the Synod Lutheran Society (Scandinavian). Its first trustees were Gunnerius Simenson Aanrud, Christian Larson Hulberg, and Jens Christofferson Stammerud.
In 1885, a second Norwegian congregation formed in the area. Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church, affiliated with the United Norwegian Lutheran Church, was served first by the Rev. Rasmus Anderson. Salem purchased the old Presbyterian church building from the Lake Neshonoc village site for $229.25 and, in 1892, moved the building to the present Leonard Street North site.
On February 2, 1918, the two congregations merged to form Our Savior's Lutheran Church, becoming a member of the Norwegian Lutheran Church of America (later the Evangelical Lutheran Church). The merger agreement specified that any new church building would be built in West Salem. Pastor Ole Ottersen, who had served both predecessor congregations, was called as pastor of the new merged congregation. In 1920, a new brick church was constructed using materials salvaged from both former buildings (one of which had originally been the Presbyterian building) along with new materials; the cost was $25,000, and the building was dedicated July 10, 1921. As the church's own history notes, the new structure was essentially an "ecumenically recycled congregation."
Pastor Ottersen served the merged congregation until his retirement in 1942, having spent 33 of his 50 years in ministry in West Salem. He was buried in Neshonoc Cemetery in West Salem. After him, the church was served by a long succession of pastors. From 1918 to 1954, Our Savior's shared a pastor with the congregations in Burns Valley and Mindoro, but by 1954 the congregation had grown enough to call its own full-time pastor. The first associate pastor, Mitzi Miyamoto, was called in 1997 in response to continued growth, and associate pastors have served alongside the senior pastor ever since.
In October 2012, the congregation called a clergy couple, Pastors Jonathan and Jean Schmidt, who began their work at Our Savior's on January 1, 2013. They continue to serve together as the pastoral team today, more than thirteen years into their joint ministry.
The Building and Facilities
The 1920 brick church that has been the congregation's home for over a century is still its primary worship space, with a parish education unit and the present chancel in the sanctuary added in 1956 at a cost of $110,000. In 1991, additional fellowship space and a parking lot were added at a cost of about $600,000. In 2015, a building adjacent to the parking lot was acquired and demolished to make room for more parking, and in 2017 the church building itself was remodeled and refreshed. At that time the parsonage was sold, and a portion of the back of the parsonage lot was retained to provide a play area for children and youth.
Visitors will find three entrances to the building: off the alley and parking lot, off East Avenue, and on Leonard Street. The Leonard Street entrance includes an elevator serving both the upper and lower levels, and restrooms are located on both levels next to the elevator. There is street parking along Leonard Street and a parking lot behind the building. After the recent organ project in 2024, a new organ now serves the worship space, having replaced the previous instrument after 32 years of faithful use.
Across the parking lot, on the back of an empty lot, sits the Prayer Labyrinth, a walking path laid out for prayer, meditation, and listening to God. The labyrinth was built as a Senior Exit Project by Kessler Goodenough, with Tim Jones as his mentor, and was blessed by the congregation on October 28, 2018. The path is open to the public and is described by the church as a place to withdraw from the busyness of life, meet Jesus at the center, and then return to the world to live as a disciple.
Pastoral Leadership
Our Savior's has been served as a clergy couple by Pastors Jon and Jean Schmidt since January 2013. Pastor Jon grew up near Buffalo, New York, and suburban Chicago, and is the son, grandson, nephew, cousin, and spouse of a pastor. He graduated from Northwestern University and the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, and was ordained in 1986. Over his career he has served congregations in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and northern Wisconsin, most recently in Gladstone, Michigan, and has served on the boards of Wartburg Theological Seminary, the Synod School of Theology in two different synods, and LuMin (Lutheran Campus Ministry).
Pastor Jean grew up in suburban Chicago, graduated from Valparaiso University with a degree in Home Economics and Secondary Education, and worked for years as a Patient Relations Coordinator at Loyola University Medical Center before entering seminary. She completed her studies at Wartburg Theological Seminary in 2009 and was ordained that same year; her first call was to a small congregation in Perkins, Michigan. She currently serves as Dean of the West Conference of the La Crosse Area Synod and as a member of the Synod Council, and she also serves on Gundersen Health System's Institutional Review Board.
Pastors Jon and Jean were married in 1999 and adopted their daughter, Rebecca, from Novosibirsk, Russia, in 2002. The family enjoys bike riding, cross-country skiing, watching sports, listening to music, and visiting small wineries.
Music and Worship Arts
Music is woven throughout the life of Our Savior's. The Senior Choir, made up of around twenty singers of all ages, rehearses on Wednesday evenings from September through May in the church balcony and shares special music at the 8 AM and 10:30 AM services three Sundays a month, with occasional Saturday appearances. The Handbell Choir, under the direction of Laurie Noelke, performs for special occasions throughout the year and is always open to new ringers. The S.O.S. (Saints of Our Savior's) Band, a group of professional musicians who volunteer their time, leads worship on the Festive Fourth weekend each month, bringing contemporary arrangements to the liturgical service. Sunday School children sing several times a year, including Christmas programs and a Mother's Day offering, and instrumental musicians of all ages share their gifts for special occasions throughout the year.
The music staff includes Linda Berg, Director of Music and Worship Musician, who serves as organist and pianist, accompanies the Senior Choir, plays in the S.O.S. Band, and accompanies special music. Linda joined the congregation in 1988 with her husband Gary and plays for services each week, having started playing piano at age 9 and organ for church services at age 16. Laurie Noelke, who holds a bachelor's degree in instrumental music and a master's in Servant Leadership, directs the Handbell Choir and serves as assistant worship musician. Joey Barnett joined the congregation as Choir Director on September 9, 2026, taking over after the unexpected death of Eric Sorenson.
Christian Education and Discipleship
Education has been central to Our Savior's from its earliest days. Sunday School meets on Sunday mornings from 9:15 to 10:15 AM, September through May, with classes for children age 4 through grade 5 that include time for singing together. Children receive Bibles at the start of their Sunday School years and again in third grade. First Communion instruction is offered in fifth grade during late winter or early spring, with parents joining the children for two sessions that include making a small ceramic chalice and baking communion bread. Children already receiving communion from another tradition are always welcomed at the table, and families who feel their child is ready earlier are encouraged to talk with the pastors.
Confirmation at Our Savior's is described as "discipleship building" for grades 6 through 8, with classes meeting on Wednesdays under the direction of teachers and the Director of Youth Ministry. The 6th grade year covers the sweep of the Bible from Genesis through Acts, led by Corey Sjoquist. The 7th grade year turns to catechetical instruction, drawing on Martin Luther's Small Catechism to explore the Sacraments, the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, and what it means to be a Servant Leader. The 8th grade year continues with the Apostles' Creed and culminates in the Affirmation of Baptism, a service at which young people confirm the promises made at their baptism.
Wednesday afternoons are busy at the church. After confirmation instruction, middle school students are invited to OSAP (Our Savior's After School Program), a time to hang out, play ping pong or video games, do homework, and share a free dinner at 5:30 PM together before heading home.
Adult learning includes a Wednesday morning Bible study at 9:30 AM in the Library, with a Zoom option available for those who want to join from home. The Ruth Circle, the women's Bible study group of WELCA, meets on the third Monday of the month at 9 AM, with locations that vary month to month. New studies form as interest arises, and the church encourages anyone curious about studying the Bible to get in touch.
Outside the walls of the church, Our Savior's partners with Sugar Creek Bible Camp in Ferryville, Wisconsin, the ELCA-affiliated camp that has served the Coulee Region for generations. Each summer, around 25 children from the congregation attend Sugar Creek, and the congregation provides camperships to help families with the cost.
Women's Ministries and WELCA
Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (WELCA) is an official function of every ELCA congregation, and at Our Savior's the women's ministries operate under that umbrella. The Ruth Circle, the women's Bible study group, meets monthly for study and fellowship. The Dorcas Sewing Circle gathers every Wednesday afternoon at 1 PM to tie quilts; the group produces over 300 quilts a year, a few of which stay in West Salem for local needs and most of which are shipped overseas through Lutheran World Relief. The Mary and Martha Prayer Shawl Ministry meets regularly in the church library to knit and crochet shawls and chemo caps, praying over every completed shawl and blessing them in worship before they are sent out into the community and around the world.
The most visible women's ministry event is the annual Norwegian Dinner, held the first Saturday of November. Featuring lutefisk, lefse, meatballs, potatoes, rutabagas, cranberries, and homemade Norwegian desserts, the dinner draws over 300 people each year, with close to 100 volunteers working together to prepare, serve, and clean up. The Norwegian Dinner has been a tradition since 1925, when it raised $66.62; today, every dollar of profit goes to ministries and programs that work to change lives locally and around the world. The first Saturday in November is set aside for lutefisk and meatballs as much as for the cause it supports.
Care for the Community
Our Savior's is known throughout the West Salem area for its care for neighbors in need. The Care and Share Food Pantry, a community venture supported by many congregations, organizations, and individuals, has been located in the lower level of the church building since 2002. Open on Saturdays from 10 AM to noon, the pantry serves families and individuals from West Salem, Bangor, Rockland, Barre Mills, and Mindoro. Twelve board members and many volunteers keep the pantry running on donations of cereal, canned goods, peanut butter, and fresh produce during the summer months.
Since 2014, the congregation has partnered with the Boys and Girls Club and other community organizations to run "Feed Our Children," a summer lunch program that provides balanced meals to children twice a week through the summer. Lunches are served by pickup, delivered, and given to the Boys and Girls Club, reaching over 150 children twice a week and adding up to more than 3,000 meals each summer. The program is supported by corporate sponsors including Linda's Bakery, Hansen's IGA, La Crosse County Dairy Producers, and Subway, and partners from other congregations including St. Teresa's, the West Salem Presbyterian Church, and Prince of Peace Lutheran.
Each August, the Corn Roast brings the congregation and the wider community together at the Lions Shelter across from the church for an evening of roasted corn, hot dogs, watermelon, and homemade dessert. With close to 600 meals served in a typical year, the Corn Roast is a gift to the community with no charge and no donations accepted. The June Dairy Days festival the first weekend of June is another community partnership: the church and St. Teresa's together run the food booth, and over a hundred volunteers help feed festival-goers. The funds raised are split between youth ministry and the ELCA World Hunger Appeal.
The congregation also partners with Sleep in Heavenly Peace, a national nonprofit dedicated to ensuring children have beds; in 2024, more than 70 volunteers built 36 beds in a single morning, and the church has continued to host similar events in subsequent years.
Senior Ministries
Senior ministries at Our Savior's are built on the conviction that older members are not only to be cared for but also to be given opportunities to serve. OWLS (Older Wiser Lutherans) is a group for anyone over 55 that gathers for guest speakers, tours, and fellowship over coffee. Senior Connection brings seniors together on the second Tuesday of each month for conversation and support. Classroom Grandparents are matched with Sunday School classes and stay with those classes as the children grow up, building intergenerational relationships.
Pastoral care extends to those who can no longer easily leave home. Pastors Jon and Jean visit homebound members regularly, bringing Holy Communion, scripture, prayer, and conversation. Home communion teams carry the sacrament from the altar to members who cannot attend worship in person. Each month the pastoral staff visits Lakeview Health Center at 10:30 AM and Salem Terrace at 1:30 PM on the third Thursday to share a worship service with Holy Communion. A Card Ministry reaches out to seniors and homebound members several times a year, with worshipers invited to sign cards bearing 20 to 40 signatures. At Thanksgiving, bags of treats are prepared and delivered to homebound members as a reminder that they are not forgotten.
Mission Endowment Fund and Global Outreach
The Mission Endowment Fund, established more than twenty years ago, holds over $500,000 in assets and distributes close to $20,000 each year to outreach efforts both near and far. Gifts to the fund are placed in the ELCA Pooled Trust and invested professionally; the earnings, not the principal, are given away each year after approval at the congregation's annual meeting. Recent distributions have included gifts to Greene Park in West Salem, the Boys and Girls Club Snack Fund, Random Acts of Kindness in West Salem schools, New Horizons in La Crosse, St. Claire Health Mission, St. Claire Mobile Clinic in Sparta, the Warming Center in La Crosse, the Clothes Closet at Our Savior's in La Crosse, Covenant House, International Health Partners in Tanzania, LuMin, Sugar Creek Bible Camp, ELCA World Hunger, and the congregation's own capital needs.
Beyond the endowment, Our Savior's gives over $32,000 a year in mission support through the La Crosse Area Synod and the ELCA, joining with roughly 80 congregations in the synod and nearly 10,000 congregations across the ELCA in supporting new mission starts, missionaries, campus ministries, chaplains, peace and justice advocacy, and the church's colleges and seminaries. Each year the congregation sends about 200 quilts to Lutheran World Relief, supports Lutheran Social Services of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan, and gives to ELCA World Hunger, which channels roughly three-quarters of its funds internationally and one-quarter domestically.
The congregation also supports LuMin, the Lutheran Campus Ministry that serves UW-La Crosse, Viterbo University, and Western Technical College from the Common Ground building in La Crosse. Our Savior's commits over $4,000 a year to LuMin along with leadership support, as Pastor Jon has chaired the LuMin board in the past.
Beliefs and the Sacraments
Our Savior's teaches the historic Christian faith as Lutherans have confessed it for five centuries. Lutherans at Our Savior's are described as members of the larger body of Christ that includes Catholics, Methodists, Baptists, and non-affiliated Christians; as people completely reliant on the grace of God for salvation; as baptized once for the forgiveness of sin; as active in communities of faith who regularly receive Holy Communion; as claimed by God, marked with the cross of Christ, and sealed with the Holy Spirit; and as servants within family, church, and community.
Lutherans at the church believe in one God made known in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They confess that God the Father created and sustains all things, that God's Son in the person of Jesus Christ came into the world to bring salvation through his death and resurrection, and that God's Holy Spirit continues to call, nurture, and renew. The Bible is received as the inspired Word of God, the story of God's relationship with God's people, and the living Word that reveals God's salvation through Jesus. All people have worth and dignity because they are created in God's image, and yet each person falls victim to human weakness and sin. Salvation is by grace through faith, received in Holy Baptism and strengthened through Holy Communion and the people of God who gather in worship.
Holy Baptism is the entry point into the Christian life and into membership in the Body of Christ. Lutherans baptize infants because Baptism is God's work, not the baptized person's response, and they do not rebaptize. Holy Communion is celebrated every weekend at Our Savior's, with bread and wine (and gluten-free wafers and grape juice available), and laypersons regularly carry the sacrament from the altar to those who cannot attend. All baptized Christians who understand that Jesus Christ is truly present in the bread and wine are welcomed at the table.
Leadership and Governance
The Congregation Council directs the ministry of the congregation and helps discern the vision for its mission. Members are elected by the congregation and meet once a month. The current council includes Brenda Skittone (President, 2027), Jeff Haldeman (Vice President, 2028), Tiffany Janisch (Secretary, 2027), Trudy Drugg (2028), Jerry Greeno (2027), Kyle Hehl (2029), Mya Koudelka (2029), Mike Larson (2029), Amy Rasmussen (2028), Dan Steele (2029), and Scott Thompson (2028), with Pastors Jon and Jean serving as ex officio members.
A number of standing committees carry out the congregation's ministry: the Administration Committee, Altar Guild, Education Committee, Endowment Committee, Green Thumb Committee, Outreach Committee, Property Committee, Scholarship Committee, Senior Ministries Committee, Social Committee, Stewardship Committee, and Youth and Family Committee. Together these teams reflect the Lutheran conviction of the "priesthood of all believers," in which every member is a leader in faithful discipleship.
Becoming Part of the Family
Membership at Our Savior's comes about through baptism (whether as a child or an adult), confirmation for young people who are not already members, transfer from another Lutheran congregation, or a new member class offered periodically during the year. Visitors do not need to be members to participate in activities or ministries. People interested in learning more about the church are encouraged to contact Pastor Jon at pastorjon@oursaviorswestsalem.org or Pastor Jean at pastorjean@oursaviorswestsalem.org.
For those visiting for the first time, dress is casual and comfortable. The building is accessible, with an elevator at the Leonard Street entrance, restrooms on both levels, and plenty of parking behind the church. The 10:30 AM Sunday service is livestreamed on YouTube, and DVDs are delivered locally to anyone without internet access. Children are welcome in worship, with a cry room available and activity bags outside the sanctuary.
More than a century and a half after Norwegian immigrants gathered in the coulees around West Salem to worship in their new language and new land, Our Savior's continues to gather in the same spirit. The language of the sermons and hymns has changed; the steeple and the altar have not. The faces around the font are different; the promises are the same. In a small Wisconsin town along the La Crosse County edge of the Coulee Region, the people of Our Savior's Lutheran Church still come together to be fed, to be sent out, and to share what they have received.