At 1660 West County Road B in Roseville, Minnesota, St. Michael's Lutheran Church is an Evangelical Lutheran Church in America congregation known for an expansive welcome that reaches people of every age, background, identity, and ability. Faithful to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the congregation gathers around God's grace for all, nurtures faith through worship, learning, music, relationships, and generosity, and sends people to act for justice and serve with others. St. Michael's is a Reconciling in Christ community, and its story stretches back to 1953, when several Lutherans in the growing suburban neighborhoods of Falcon Heights and Roseville began building a congregation together.
Sunday at 10:00 in the Sanctuary
Sunday morning worship begins at 10:00 a.m. in the Sanctuary. An usher greets arrivals and provides a bulletin for worship. Holy Communion is celebrated each Sunday, and everyone is welcome to commune. Gluten-free wafers and non-alcoholic wine are available. The offering shares gifts of time, treasure, and talents.
- Large-print bulletins are available by request.
- Spaces in the Sanctuary are designed for people who use wheelchairs or need extra room in the pews.
- Hearing-assist devices are available in the Sanctuary.
- ASL interpretation is offered on the second and fourth Sundays of each month.
- Face masks are available for anyone who would like or needs one.
Children are welcome throughout the service. Worship activity bags give children something to do in the pews, while the Prayground offers soft toys, coloring, and books for meaningful activity during worship. An adult must accompany a child in the Prayground. The nursery is staffed and available for children 3 and under.
Thirty Minutes of Evening Prayer, Plus Summer Mondays
From September through May, Wednesday Evening Prayer is held at 6:10 p.m. in the Courtyard Room, moving to 7:00 p.m. during Lent. The service lasts about 30 minutes and uses different musical liturgies supported by varied instruments. Some weeks are contemplative, while others feature global music. Holy Communion is celebrated seasonally, children are welcome, and an offering is received.
From June through August, the congregation joins Sunday worship at 10:00 a.m. and gathers for Monday worship at 7:00 p.m. in the Courtyard Room, except on holidays. Weekly video worship provides prayers and scripture readings in a PDF along with additional reflection resources, and past services are archived through online worship.
A 1953 Dream in Falcon Heights and Roseville
St. Michael's began as the dream of several Lutherans who wanted a congregation in the growing suburban neighborhoods of Falcon Heights and Roseville. Early in 1953, they gathered in the home of Howard and Miriam Johnson. A seminary intern and the Board of American Missions for the Augustana Lutheran Church helped turn that dream into an organized congregation.
The first worship service took place on September 6, 1953, in the Falcon Heights Elementary School auditorium, with 72 people in worship. The church was officially organized on December 6, 1953, when 39 adults and 24 children formed the charter congregation.
Services moved to Brimhall School in Roseville in 1954. The following year, area Lutheran churches provided the loan that allowed St. Michael's to break ground on its County Road B lot. The congregation continues to give thanks to Vasa Lutheran Church of Vasa, Minnesota, Elim Lutheran Church of Scandia, Minnesota, and Gloria Dei Lutheran Church of St. Paul, whose gifts in 1955 helped establish a strong foundation of community support, faith, and generosity.
An Expansive Welcome, Rooted in Grace
St. Michael's seeks to live out God's grace and love for all people. Its welcome includes those who have belonged to church communities before, those with no previous church experience, and those who have felt excluded by the Church because of race or ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental capabilities, financial resources, or family circumstances. The congregation is moderately sized and made up of families, couples, and singles from a variety of ages and backgrounds.
Its mission gathers around God's grace in word and sacrament, nurtures faith through learning, music, relationships, and generosity, and sends people to act for justice and serve with others in the way of Jesus. Six congregational values shape that mission:
- Expansive Welcome celebrates that God's grace and love are for all people.
- Generous Hospitality engages the community and world with open hearts and minds, offering time, talents, and resources.
- Vibrant Worship & Faith honors Scripture and the Lutheran tradition through worship, education, music, and service.
- Authentic Relationships help people experience God as they live, learn, grow, and enjoy one another's company.
- Equip in Vocation encourages people to explore their calling, passions, and questions as individuals and as a community.
- Acting for Justice and Peace calls the congregation to speak and act with and for people in need and to care for creation.
As a Reconciling in Christ community, St. Michael's seeks reconciliation, healing, and wholeness, believing that a diverse people is empowered by the Holy Spirit to live and work together for God's promised day of justice, peace, and mercy. It affirms and celebrates people who identify as LGBTQIA+. It also treats mature faith as a lifelong journey that can include questions, doubts, and discoveries. St. Michael's affirms the fullness of God's family and practices baptism for all, including infant and adult baptism. Baptisms take place during ordinary worship and celebrate a lifelong relationship with God. Marriage and funeral services are also part of the congregation's worship life.
Adult Learning That Connects Scripture and Life
St. Michael's understands faith formation as a lifelong process of questioning, learning, and growing. Its adult education offerings connect biblical, ethical, and social questions with life in the home, workplace, community, and world.
- Religion in Life is a Sunday morning learning opportunity for adults from September through May, meeting from 11:10 a.m. to noon in the Courtyard Room. Speakers from various fields explore personal, social, biblical, and ethical issues and invite conversation about how religion and faith intersect with life.
- Lunch conversation groups meet from noon to 1:00 p.m., generally on the first and second Wednesdays of the month, at restaurants or at the church. Their conversations make room for meaningful discussion.
- Thursday Morning Bible Study meets from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. from September through May. The group explores Scripture for the coming Sunday, themes throughout the Bible, and the ways biblical texts intersect with daily life and experience.
- Faith in Daily Life groups meet at noon on Wednesdays during the program year. They read books about theology, Scripture, current events, and issues facing the church and world, creating space for learning, conversation, and faith.
- The Esther Circle meets at 10:00 a.m. on the first Tuesday of each month from September through June. The Women's Circle combines conversation, study, and relationship-building.
- Desserters II Book Club meets on the fourth Tuesday of each month. The group explores a variety of books and topics, and everyone is welcome.
Sunday School Through High School
Sunday School classes meet from 9:10 to 9:50 a.m. from September through May for preschool students through eighth grade. A high school class meets at 11:10 a.m. in the Youth Room. The nursery is also available during Sunday mornings for children 3 and under, giving parents and guardians a place to play, rest, or help their children move before worship.
Preschool students are invited to meet God through play, singing, and Bible stories from the Old and New Testaments. Beginning in kindergarten, students gather in their classrooms for check-ins and Bible stories using the Path for Peace curriculum created by Shine Curriculum. They close their Sunday School time with a worship experience. Sensory stations sometimes allow students to encounter biblical stories through sensory bins, creativity, acting, and play. Quarterly service projects include care packages for local nurses, Grace Bags for people experiencing homelessness, gifts for the congregation's partner in Guatemala, and food drives.
Children's Ministry
St. Michael's Children's Ministry serves preschool through fifth grade with Sunday School and activities such as service projects, park meet-ups, and game nights. These gatherings create a safe setting for youth and families to meet one another and engage with adult leaders, while financial scholarships help children take part.
Middle School and Confirmation
Middle School Ministry for grades six through eight includes Sunday School, overnight retreats, service projects, and bonfires. The emphasis is on faith growth, friendship, safe gathering with trusted adults, and making room for friends. Confirmation for students in grades seven through nine is held on Wednesday evenings from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. It is presented as a journey of self-discovery, deepening faith, and building authentic relationships with other youth and trusted adults, helping young people understand that they live each day within God's grace and love.
High School
High School Ministry for grades nine through twelve includes a Sunday morning youth group in the Youth Room and fellowship events throughout the year. Activities range from progressive dinners and overnight retreats to game nights and kickball. Students question theology and spirituality through discussion of social media, television, movies, music, current events, and social justice. They also serve in the community, participate actively in worship, and serve as leaders in Sunday School, Bible Day Camp, and Summer Camp.
Music for Contemplation and Global Song
St. Michael's music staff includes Adult Choir Director Karen Wilkerson, Adult Bell Choir Director Charlie Preis, organist Tom Bartsch, pianist Jill Schendel, and Director of Children & Youth Music Ethan Williams. Their work supports Scripture, the Lutheran tradition, and the congregation's worship life. Music also shapes Wednesday Evening Prayer, where contemplative and global music can lead worship in different weeks.
Music is not treated as a separate activity from faith formation. It supports worship, enriches learning, and gives people a way to participate together in the congregation's Gather, Nurture, and Send mission.
Care for Joy, Sorrow, and Loss
Pastoral leadership is shared by Co-Pastors The Rev. Ali Ferin and The Rev. Brad Froslee. St. Michael's seeks to provide authentic care during times of joy and in times of difficulty, sorrow, and loss. The Pastoral Care Team offers spiritual care, prayer, and presence during hospitalization. It also makes home visits, supports people unable to attend worship, and brings Communion to them. The Befrienders is a team of volunteers who offer prayer and support through life's ups and downs.
Care also extends to families welcoming a child through birth, adoption, or foster care. The congregation offers a pastoral blessing, a meal ministry, and prayer during worship, with a flower placed on the altar in honor of the child. Growing Through Loss is a grief and loss support ministry jointly sponsored by the North Suburban Grief Support Coalition, a group of 18 churches and organizations. The coalition hosts two six-week series each year addressing both the educational aspects of loss and the support needs surrounding a variety of grief issues.
From Habitat for Humanity to Guatemala
Local outreach includes Habitat for Humanity, while St. Michael's global work includes a partnership with Cimiento Guatemala. The congregation's Sunday School students contribute gifts for its partner church, joining service projects focused on care packages, Grace Bags, and food drives. These ministries express the conviction that faith is lived through tangible care, compassion, and service.
Each summer, high school students also take a week-long service-learning trip to a different part of the country. The trips place students in service settings and extend the church's work of formation and service beyond its own community.
Giving, Volunteers, and Fellowship Across Generations
St. Michael's understands stewardship as living with gratitude for all God has given. It encourages people to use their time, talent, possessions, and money to love God and neighbors. The congregation supports the Saint Paul Area Synod of the ELCA, the national Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and Lutheran Disaster Relief Fund. Giving is available through St. Michael's online giving.
Volunteer activities are organized through Sign-Up Genius, and the church office also assists people who wish to volunteer. Fellowship reaches across generations, with opportunities for young adults who are starting careers, settling after college, or navigating life's next steps. Coffee meet-ups, game nights, women's retreats, the Patio Series, and intergenerational gatherings all create space for relationships beyond Sunday worship.
A Congregation That Gathers, Nurtures, and Sends
St. Michael's continues the work begun among neighbors in Falcon Heights and Roseville in 1953: gathering in Christ's name, nurturing a faith able to ask serious questions, and sending people outward in service. Its story joins a history of community support with a broad welcome, rich music and learning, and care for people in changing seasons of life. St. Michael's is a congregation that carries its promise of grace and welcome into worship, relationships, learning, generosity, and service.