Salem English Lutheran was one of the first Lutheran congregations of its kind west of Chicago to worship in the English language. While other Lutheran congregations were deeply tied to specific ethnic backgrounds and languages (such as Norwegian, German, Swedish, and Danish,) from its start Salem was a congregation of diverse backgrounds. This diversity and a desire to worship in the language of the neighborhood is still part of Salem’s calling. As the neighborhood has evolved, Salem strives to speak the “language” of our area and offer an authentic way of being Christian.
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The Salem congregation began in 1890.  By 1904, parts of the current facility were built with significant additions added every few decades. The last addition, the west education wing, was added in 1963 to accommodate an extremely large congregation of several thousand. Prior to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), Salem was part of the Lutheran Church in America.

The era of “urban flight” began before the 1963 addition was complete, and many Salem families moved to the promise of the suburbs. Over the years Salem’s population declined and it struggled to regain momentum and pay for an increasingly costly and unsustainable facility. Out of necessity, at the beginning of 2006, Salem’s congregation voted to follow the Spirit’s call to a renewed and transformed understanding of itself and its ministry. On October 29, 2006 (Reformation Sunday,) Salem celebrated a long history in its building and with festivities closed the Salem building. The congregation would continue, but the facility was shuttered to save money and allow for time for plans to grow.
In 2005, before shuttering the building, Salem did two very important things. First, they voted to become a Reconciled in Christ congregation. Doing the work to understand radical welcome, they submitted a new welcome statement to Lutherans Concerned (now Reconciling Works) and became a truly welcoming community for the LGBTQIA+ community in south Minneapolis. 
The second thing Salem did in 2005 was approach a nearby neighboring congregation, Lyndale United Church of Christ at 31st and Aldrich, for a conversation about partnership. Each congregation faced similar issues of a shrinking congregation and a large and unsustainable facility (Salem’s building was 44,000 square feet; Lyndale’s was around 27,000 square feet). The week after closing Salem’s building, Sunday, November 5, 2006 (All Saints’ Sunday), Salem began worshipping and basing its ministry from the building of Lyndale United Church of Christ at 31st and Aldrich. Their partnership grew with a shared Sunday School, youth program, and some shared justice and community life activities. At that point the two congregations shared several staff member (child care staff, a youth minister), and they worshiped together approximately four times each year. During these years in the “wilderness,” Salem and Lyndale moved from Lyndale’s building (when it was sold) to Intermedia Arts.  

In the spirit of transformation during the “wilderness” experience of transition, on January 19, 2008, Jen Nagel was ordained in an Extra-ordinary Ordination and installed as Salem’s Pastor. At the time of her Ordination, Jen had served Salem as Pastoral Minister for four and a half years. Pastor Jen wasn’t able to be ordained by the ELCA because of its ban prohibiting the ordination and service of those who identify as LGBTQIA+ and who were in a partnered same-sex relationship. However, in late 2007 the people of Salem were ready to have a settled pastor (rather than an interim pastor leading them through a time of transition) and they voted to call Jen from her position as Pastoral Minister to ordained pastor of word and sacrament. Since the ELCA wasn’t able to affirm the ordination at that time, an extra-ordinary ordination was held in a long tradition of Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries. In a wonderful and long overdue move by the ELCA at its churchwide assembly in 2009, the policies changed and in the fall of 2010 Pastor Jen Nagel was welcomed onto the roster of the ELCA.

Toward the end of the “wilderness” time, as plans to break ground on the complete renovation of Salem’s building were moving forward, First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) joined the partnership that had been forged by Salem and Lyndale UCC, and together the three churches adjusted and finalized plans for what would become SpringHouse Ministry Center.  At Christmas in 2011, all three partner congregations moved into this shared ecumenical ministry center that would change the future of ministry for all of them. The move into the newly renovated and reimagined space began a new era of transformation that continues today and includes an innovative understanding of our church building, leadership, and congregational culture in collaboration with our partners in ministry, ​Lyndale United Church of Christ and First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ.) 

In 2015, Salem paused to celebrate 125 years of ministry in south Minneapolis and beyond. With a look back at over a century of worship, service, and fellowship, they said “yes” once again to moving forward with a continued spirit of renewal and reformation. 
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In 2016, Salem bid farewell to Pastor Jen and moved into yet another period of transition resulting in the calling of current pastor Rhonda Hlavinka. Over the past 10 years Salem has continued to grow into its collaborative ministry at SpringHouse, with an increase in shared staff, ministry, and community. They navigated the Covid pandemic with a major shift to livestreaming and hybrid worship that continues today. They stood with their south Minneapolis neighbors after the murder of George Floyd and during the events that followed. Salem and all of SpringHouse continue to live into their identity as radically welcoming, and work together toward justice in the neighborhood and the world.