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Celebrating 150 years

Subhead
Faithful group gathers at Blue Mound Lutheran Church for annual service
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By
Mavis Fodness

When church elders closed Blue Mound Lutheran Church in 1976, they vowed to meet once a year for renewed faith and fellowship.
On Sunday about 100 former parishioners, their family members and interested friends gathered for the annual fall festival. This year they celebrated the 150th anniversary of the church’s founding.
The Rev. Gary Klatt, retired pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Luverne, officiated at Sunday’s service.
He painted a picture of rural Minnesota in 1872, when the church was founded. He described the wilderness that was southwest Minnesota and the efforts families took to developed the area into fertile farmland. The work was hard.
“They didn’t have a lot but they had hope and faith,” he said. “God led the way.”
Many descendants of the 22 founding families of Blue Mound Lutheran Church attended the service.
A few of them serve on the Blue Mound Cemetery Association, which keeps the cemetery surrounding the church on 150th Avenue in Vienna Township mowed and handles burials. The association also keeps the church in good condition for an occasional wedding and the annual September service.
Dick and Dolly Remme have been association members since the church closed.
Several Remme relatives are buried in the cemetery including Dick’s parents, grandparents and great-grandparents.
“I feel the loyalty for my folks and respect for the church,” Dick  said.
Other association members include Dick’s brother and sister-in-law, Dave and Lynn Remme, along with Betty Hamann, Ray and Elaine Hansen, Randy and Vicky Smook, Patti and Wes Pierson, Illa Biteler and Kathy Versteeg.
Versteeg is not a former church member, nor did any family members attend the rural church. She and her late husband, Nolan, farmed a half mile east of the church.
As neighbors, they attended the Blue Mound Lutheran Church’s annual service and felt welcomed.
“We knew the people there,” she said.
When Nolan died in 2013, he had chosen to be buried in the Blue Mound Cemetery, which can be seen from his former farmyard.
Blue Mound Lutheran is no longer just for former members but for anyone who celebrates God and all his goodness.
Dick Remme encouraged young people at Sunday’s service to find it in their hearts to continue the cemetery association and keep the church and cemetery viable for future generations.
“We are not young anymore,” he said. “There aren’t any qualifications (for association membership).”
Those who are association members see that the church is worth preserving.
“There is something special about Blue Mound Lutheran,” said Dolly Remme. “The Lord has looked over the church. It looks just like it did when we left it in 1976. It’s a wonderful, peaceful place.”
Those attending the Sunday service were invited to share memories before moving to the church basement for a catered meal.
Tom Solberg received a round of applause for sharing of an observation.
“This is a beautiful location and a beautiful church, but what makes it special is the people,” he said.

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