Located at 8100 Belden Boulevard in Cottage Grove, All Saints Lutheran Church and Zion Lutheran Church serve as gathering places where residents of Cottage Grove unite to worship together and share their faith, joys, sorrows, and commit to make their community a better place. Both of these congregations exemplify the timeless values of faith, service and community and stand as beacons of kindness and compassion in Cottage Grove. The central Lutheran theme is “saved by grace through faith.” It emphasizes that you can’t earn God’s favor or salvation and reinforces the Truth that God is going to love you no matter what you do.
Founded in 1964, Zion Lutheran Church sold their Church building a year ago to Christ Redeemer Church. Realizing that the campus no longer fit their needs, the vote was unanimous to sell the property. Zion Lutheran Pastor Steven Biedermann said, “We have now found a good home at All Saints Lutheran Church. We are grateful for their hospitality. We are also grateful to spend less time/money/energy working on maintaining a facility and more time/money/energy focusing ministry basics such as: supporting our staff and congregation, being generous and helping others, centering ourselves in prayer and helping other churches in the area. I am incredibly proud of Zion for selling their building even though it was a very risky thing to do.”
Pastor Steve loves his congregation’s resiliency and capacity for change. Commenting on the Church’s joys and struggles for the past sixty years, he says, “When I first came to Zion six years ago, they were mostly focused on their troubled past. Now they are less focused on who they used to be, and more focused on who God is calling them to be today.”
He is grateful for the kindness of All Saints staff and congregation. “All Saints have been incredibly gracious and hospitable hosts. They have generously given of their space and their time. They even agreed to let us hang our own worship paraments mixed with their own. Office space is a limited resource at All Saints, but the parish nurse generously gave up her small office for me and our office admin to share. We now have staff meetings together, and I help with their Bible studies on Thursday mornings.”
All Saints Lutheran Pastor Jules Erickson is grateful that her congregation can be a safe haven for those in need around them.
“All Saints is a place of grace where people can land and simply be. We have welcomed Pleasant Grove UMC, Zion, and people going through life transitions. We have gone through difficult times as a congregation and I often hear ‘sticks in a bundle are harder to break.’ I see the people under the steeple as resilient, welcoming, learning, enjoying each other, and really quite funny. I understand that a healthy community is one that contains joy; that is certainly true in this case. Laughter is carbonated joy, and you can hear it peeling around the building all week long and especially on Sunday mornings.”
Both congregations are ELCA Lutheran churches and while it is common for more than one church to share a building, it is very rare to see two of the same denomination in the same space. With two Church congregations of similar beliefs, located in Cottage Grove, the question arises, “Why not combine?” Pastor Steve answers honestly. “Although our two congregations get along well, we still have different vibes. Different types of people are drawn to our churches because of their differences in character and mission. For now, we are stronger together yet separate. As it says in Proverbs 27:17 "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another." This is true for All Saints and Zion.” He finishes, “We make each other better because we are separate yet together. We help each other define our purpose better, as each church sees itself from the perspective of the other.”
The Sunday morning services for both Churches are welcome to all with All Saints Lutheran beginning at 9 AM in person or virtually and Zion Lutheran at 10:30 AM. All Saints also has Confirmation classes at 10:15 AM on Sundays and Sunday School on Sundays at 10:30 AM, both beginning in the fall. The new Wednesday night youth group, Flames and Games, is held at 7pm on Wednesdays throughout the summer, and will be having one weekend youth event per month.
The styles of music in both congregations differs in their tastes. Zion Lutheran is blessed to have classically trained pianist, Szu-Ling, who plays for student recitals at St. Olaf during the week. While Zion Lutheran is typically more traditional in their music, they are known to periodically “dabble in contemporary music and will sometimes have guitar/bass.”
All Saints Lutheran has a varied blend of worship with traditional, contemporary, meditative, camp songs, and international songs every week and is led by Music Director Karen Pieper who has served there since 2003. Their music also includes a bell choir, adult choir, and an occasional kid’s choir. All Saints Lutheran describes the worship as eclectic, liturgical, upbeat, and joyful and states that, “Worship is inclusive of all people as we are a Reconciled in Christ Congregation.”
Both Churches host many community events and participate in various outreaches. They have a Holiday Fair in the Fall, Fare for All, Al Anon, Zion Fitness (open to community), graduations, weddings, funerals, Senior Men events, Skoolie Bus, Connect Center, Cold Weather Shelter, and Immigration activism. All Saints Lutheran is a place where people can stay for Cold Weather Shelter and if they are in between housing through Washington County, The Connect Center, and Basic Needs.
Pastor Jules grew up in a theologically conservative congregation in Eagan, where her parents and one of her brother’s family still live. Having attended Two Rivers High School, she went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from Mankato State, followed by a Master of Divinity from Luther Seminary in St. Paul, where she serves as an adjunct professor. She later obtained a Doctor of Ministry from Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago. In addition to her academic achievements, she is a facilitator for Brené Brown’s curricula and holds a certificate in Mediation Skills for Church Leaders. She was ordained in 1996, has served at All Saints since 2003 and has two goldendoodles named Crash (10) and Carsyn (8).
Pastor Steve lives in Apple Valley with his wife who is a nurse and their two daughters, Alice (8) and Violet (5). While he is primarily from Marshfield, Wisconsin and Ankeny, Iowa, he attended Wartburg College and Luther Seminary and is an eighth-generation Lutheran pastor.
Pastor Steve mentions that he appreciates the diversity of political opinions in Cottage Grove. “I love the mix of political opinions in this town. I see Cottage Grove as a very “purple” town with plenty in our congregation representing both democrat and republican ideals. In a lot of ways, I see Cottage Grove as a town driven by small town ideals that just happens to exist in the Twin Cities metro. I think a lot of people end up going to churches that echo their political agendas. I try my best to keep Zion relatively neutral politically, so that both sides would feel welcome in our community.”
Pastor Jules shares that her community doesn’t only speak God’s Word, but they live the Life of Jesus out loud. “They show up, do good, and are kind. I see them living into their mission statement: Meeting people where they’re at and connecting them with the full life of Christ.”
Pastor Steve and Pastor Jules both agree on the need for connection in their communities and that the answer can be found in the Church. “I think people are lonely. I think church can serve as a safe place for people to meet and support each other no matter what their background is. I’m especially proud of the multi-generation connections that happen at church. I think those are increasingly hard to find in any community these days,” said Pastor Steve.
“I agree with Pastor Steve,” begins Pastor Jules. “We are wired for connection and social media and an online persona does us no favors. Here we come together and share our joys and our sorrows. You can be ‘you’ at All Saints.”
Pastor Steve adds, “We might not have the programing and outreach of larger churches…there is something special about the family feeling and support you get from a small church that “feels like home.” We are a small church with a big heart.” He shares that an obstacle that his Church faces is letting people know where they are located. “I don’t think most people know we exist. We are a small church, and we are ok being a small church.”
Pastor Jules feels that All Saints is a hidden gem of goodness and grace. “I liken All Saints to the old Bartel’s Hardware store in Newport or Terry’s Hardware in Hastings. When you walk in someone greets you and helps you figure out how to repair something that is broken. We’re not a ‘Big Box’ Church; we’re here to help and do our best to meet people where they are in life.” She encourages people to “try out both congregations and see if either is a good fit.”
For more information on the services and events at All Saints Lutheran Church, call 651-459-1117 or follow All Saints Lutheran Church, ELCA on Facebook. For more specific outreach opportunities or resources, go to www.allsaintscg.org
For more information on the services and events at Zion Lutheran Church, call 651-459-3010 or email the office at office@zioncg.org or follow Zion Lutheran Church on Facebook at Zion Lutheran Church Cottage Grove, MN. You can also visit their website at zioncg.org
