A House Still Under Construction in La Crescent
The church's own statement of identity is plain and unhurried: "We are people rooted in the Word, inspired by the cross, making God visible by welcoming, sharing and serving." On North Hill Street in La Crescent, Minnesota, Prince of Peace Lutheran Church has been practicing that welcome since 1959, when a small band of mostly twenty- and thirty-something Lutherans gathered in an elementary school gymnasium, sang "Holy, Holy, Holy" out of a red hymnal and began imagining a spiritual home in what was, at the time, an apple orchard. Six decades later, the congregation still calls itself "a house still under construction" and describes itself as "a cauldron of imagination, where the fires of justice burn."
A House Still Under Construction
Prince of Peace was founded in 1959, an era the congregation's own history describes as conservative, Cold War-haunted and segregated. In that climate, building a liberal Lutheran church in a small Minnesota town was, in the words of the parish's own telling, "a prophetic, radical, sacred, faithful thing." The first pastor, Pastor Holy, processed down the aisle of the borrowed gymnasium, and the first favorite hymn was "I Love to Tell the Story."
In the 1960s, members stabilized the startup congregation through cultural upheaval, worshiping with the red Service Book and Hymnal under Pastors Holy, Fransen and Knudsvig. The 1970s and 1980s brought construction of the present sanctuary, deliberately built larger than needed, "with room around the communion table for more." Pastor Baardseth greeted each sermon with "Grace and peace!" and the congregation sang "Beautiful Savior" out of green hymnals.
The 1990s and 2000s added space for a preschool, a youth room, meeting rooms and offices. The hymnal turned blue, and "I Was There to Hear Your Borning Cry" became the favorite, especially the line "not too old, no longer young." By the next decade the hymnal was cranberry-colored and the favored song was "You Are Mine," with its reminder, "do not be afraid I am with you."
The parish history closes with an invitation: "Now that you have read some of our story it is our hope that you would add your voice to our story."
Sundays at Nine, Wednesdays at Six-Fifteen
Worship at Prince of Peace centers on a single Sunday morning service at 9:00 am, with Holy Communion celebrated each week. A second, more experimental gathering happens on Wednesdays at 6:15 pm, "a holy experiment in relaxed and approachable worship for everybody" that engages "our whole selves in traditions, symbols, songs and stories of faith." Holy Communion is shared on the first and third Wednesdays of the month, and a congregational supper is served once a month before worship.
From June through early September the Wednesday service pauses for the summer; Sunday worship continues year-round. Recordings of Sunday worship are uploaded to the church's YouTube channel for those who want to participate from home or watch at their convenience.
What Worship Looks and Sounds Like
The sanctuary is rooted in Lutheran tradition. There are pews, stained-glass windows, liturgical art on and around the altar, a piano and an organ. The congregation describes itself as "a blend of traditions with ever-evolving ways to connect with God and one another," and its own description of the music is unusually wide-ranging: hymnbook songs, rhythms from Africa, Taize chants from Europe, melodies from Central America, gospel songs from America.
Two choirs support the liturgical life of the parish: Bells of Peace, the handbell choir, and Voices of Peace, the vocal choir, each enhancing worship about once a month during the fall, winter and spring. Worship is accompanied by organ or piano depending on style. A volunteer liturgical artist dresses the altar space to match the colors of each church season, layering biblical symbolism and visual explorations of God's transcendence throughout the year.
Children are always welcome in worship. The sanctuary and narthex are stocked with artist supplies and quiet toys so that young worshippers can color, draw and creatively engage with the service. The church is direct about dress: come as you are. Jeans are fine, suits are fine, and children in jerseys before their games are welcome.
Peli Preschool and Family Center
Operating inside the Prince of Peace building since 1992, Peli Preschool and Family Center is a not-for-profit ministry of the church. Peli is a year-round childcare program for infants through four-year-olds, meeting and exceeding Minnesota state licensing standards with teacher ratios of 1:4 for infants, 1:7 for younger toddlers, 1:10 for older toddlers and preschoolers. Hours run 7:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday. Programs include infant care (six weeks to twelve months), two toddler rooms, a 3K program and a 4K school-readiness program.
Director Haley Osborne, a La Crescent native, has led Peli since 2019. The Peli philosophy treats each child as "holy and precious in God's eyes" and structures the day around the conviction that "play is the child's work," balancing active and quiet time, teacher- and child-directed activities, and structured and free play in a fenced outdoor playground.
Children and Family Rhythms
Faith formation at Prince of Peace is structured to meet people of every age where they are. The church is part of the Engaging Children Initiative through the La Crosse Area Synod, a "learning laboratory" for new ways of engaging kids in worship through the arts, movement, curiosity and Bible stories.
Faith Connect is the all-age, year-round Sunday school that meets near the end of worship most weeks, offering Bible stories, STEM activities, artistic expression, music, games, movement and service projects. JAM Club is a fall and spring after-school group for third through seventh graders. PoP @ Play meets at parks and playgrounds around the community with a Bible story, playtime and prayer. For weeks when families are out of town or caught up in sports, FaithBoxes can be requested. The Parent Cue app, available on Apple and Android, syncs with the church.
Annual traditions for younger children include the Palm Sunday Easter Egg Hunt, Bethlehem Bash during Advent, the VeggieTale Movie and Meal Nights, Vacation Bible School the first week of August, and Peli Sunday, featuring Noah's Ark the Musical. The church also supports Sugar Creek Bible Camp through camperships for any Prince of Peace camper. The Flying V Moms Group provides intentional space for mothers to connect through email, group text, Facebook messenger, Zoom and in-person gatherings.
Middle School, High School and the Wider World
Prince of Peace takes youth ministry seriously, and the church's most effective tool is Workcamp, a week each summer when middle and high school students serve people in need, train beforehand and reflect in writing afterward. Confirmation meets on Wednesday evenings several times a month during the school year for eighth and ninth graders, with a large-group session led by the pastor followed by small-group time with an adult guide. Tenth graders meet on Sunday evenings in the fall for Peer Ministry Training, a spiritual gifts inventory, personality sorter, values exercise and one-on-one spiritual direction time.
After confirmation, Connect and Reflect keeps tenth through twelfth graders connected to the church with food, games and devotions meeting once or twice a month during the school year. Peer Ministry is an intentional training program for high schoolers who want to know what to do when their friends face parental separation, eating disorders, substance misuse or relationship hurt.
Annual youth traditions include the ecumenical YNOW youth group with contemporary worship, Halloween Trick or Treat for Food (which canvasses the La Crescent area for donations to the La Crescent Food Shelf), the Advent Service Project at Rotary Lights, Baccalaureate and Senior Sunday, and serving as VBS Crew Leaders.
Care Beyond the Sanctuary
Care ministry at Prince of Peace extends beyond the building to anyone in the congregation who is hospitalized, homebound or facing a life change. A team of Parish Visitors connects members who cannot easily come to worship, and Communion can be brought to homes, care facilities and hospitals upon request. A prayer chain receives requests by email, and Visitation Pastor Rev. Kathy Ingbritsen leads both the visitation and grief ministries, especially with elders.
Weddings, Baptisms and Funerals
Prince of Peace welcomes couples for weddings. The sanctuary accommodates up to 400 guests, and the pastors will marry any couple who completes a pre-marriage course and holds a legal marriage license. The church baptizes people of any age, including infants, holding that baptism is about God's active grace rather than something earned or achieved. The congregation walks with families through illness, dying, death and the promise of resurrection, scheduling funerals, memorial services, visitation and luncheons as needed.
The Cemetery and Columbarium
The Prince of Peace Cemetery sits on County Highway 6 between La Crescent and Pine Creek, just outside town. Individual burial lots and family lots are kept in perpetual care through a fully funded Perpetual Care Trust Fund. Traditional monuments and lawn-level memorials are permitted in designated areas. The roads are kept clear of snow and ice in winter, and the grounds are accessible seven days a week from sunup to sundown. A columbarium on the grounds holds cremated remains in a setting the congregation describes as "a place of beauty and dignity where family and friends can visit and meditate."
Giving as a Spiritual Practice
The congregation describes giving as a spiritual practice, "for in giving we deepen our sense of God's near presence in our life." Online giving is available through Tithe.ly and Electronic Funds Transfer directly from a bank account; checks and money orders can be made payable to PoP Church and mailed to 21 North Hill St., La Crescent, MN 55947. The Scrip program, in operation since June 2011, has raised more than $40,000 for church ministries through gift cards for local stores like Kwik Trip, Festival, HyVee, Quillins and Woodmans.
Other giving options include honorarium and memorial donations (with a General Fund, Building Fund, Endowment Fund, Cemetery Fund and designated or undesignated Memorial or Honorarium options), gifts of appreciated assets or stock, IRA qualified charitable distributions, gift annuities, gifts of life insurance, and the PoP Mission Endowment Fund, whose earnings fund mission projects beyond the church doors. The Building Fund supports long-term maintenance of the facilities.
Leadership
Rev. Libby Howe serves as Lead Pastor. A native of Ohio, she was ordained in 2002 and previously served two congregations in De Soto and Ferryville, Wisconsin, then worked for over twelve years as Director for Evangelical Mission and Assistant to the Bishop across the ten counties of the ELCA La Crosse Area Synod, before serving as Congregational Support Coordinator for Peace and Justice Ministries with the Wisconsin Council of Churches.
Rev. Anna Sorenson serves as Associate Pastor. A native Minnesotan, she has spent the last twelve years serving congregations in rural Wisconsin and, with her husband Jacob, co-owns Sacred Playgrounds, an organization that supports camps and congregations through research and training. Rev. Kathy Ingbritsen is Visitation Pastor, celebrating forty years of ordained ministry in 2025 and focusing on homebound members and grief ministry.
Kendra Wieser is Director of Faith Formation, with deep roots in the congregation since 2011 and experience as a Sunday School music leader, Bells of Peace ringer, Drum Circle participant and Peli volunteer. Beth Gonia is Youth Director, a lifelong member of Prince of Peace who joined the staff in 2021. Haley Osborne directs Peli Preschool and Family Center. Maria Higgins is Music Director, bringing more than thirty years of experience and an appreciation for music of all styles. Michelle Tetzlaff has served as Office Manager since 2001.
Prince of Peace Lutheran Church is a congregation of the La Crosse Area Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, located at 21 North Hill Street in La Crescent, Minnesota, where Sunday worship at 9:00 am and Wednesday worship at 6:15 pm continue to gather a congregation that calls itself a shalom home, and a house still under construction.