As Faith Lutheran Church closes in Frogtown, members share memories

Another Frogtown religious mainstay is gone, but its building lives on with a new congregation. And Faith Lutheran Church will live on in the memories of its past members.

The congregation at 499 Charles Ave. held its closing service June 13, 2026. Church members will move on to other churches of their choice, rather than going through a merger.

Its longtime church building is the new home of the United Church of God in Christ. That congregation moved in from its longtime home in the Como-Dale-Front neighborhood.
Faith Lutheran is the second Frogtown neighborhood church to close in six months. St. Stephanus Lutheran Church held its closing service on New Year’s Eve 2025.

The closing service marked an end for a congregation that began in 1911. The gothic brick church’s cornerstone was laid in 1914. A gym and education wing were built later.
Faith Lutheran never had its own grade school but had a very large and active Sunday School program and other programs for parishioners. The church was part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

A vacant lot near the church was recently sold and a house is being built there.
Faith Lutheran was known for a wide range of activities in Frogtown and the greater St. Paul community. The hosting of the Recovery Café and its meeting circles will continue under the new church owner/occupants.

Before the closing service, past and current Faith Lutheran members walked through the church, its Sunday School rooms and other spaces one more time. Many exchanged handshakes and hugs. Some shed tears. Visitors took home cookbooks, commemorative plates and Christmas ornaments.

They looked at memorabilia and pictures, pointing out past clergy and church staff, family members and friends. Some of the confirmation class and church group pictures featured dozens of members, in contrast to the small congregation at the time of closing.

A small group worked busily in the Lake Gymnasium, preparing to serve a meal at day’s end.

Pastor Paul Hanson, who has served as interim pastor since December 2025, led a meaningful service. Group after group stood as he recognized those who were baptized, confirmed and/or married there.

He also paid homage to the small group who’d worked over many months to keep Faith Lutheran operating and then to work toward its closure. He praised them for taking on “a heavy, heavy burden” and leaving a place of comfort.

“This has not been business as usual,” he said.

“Today we gather for the last time as the people of Faith Lutheran Church,” Hanson said. “We give thanks for the ministry that has happened in this building, in this congregation and for the people who have been fed and nurtured in the Christian faith here. Even as we mark the end of an era in one place, we acknowledge how we are all participants in God’s mission that continues beyond this day, beyond these walls.”

But much as Faith Lutheran as a church would be missed, Hanson reminded those present that “More important than a place are the people” woven together in faith.
One person Hanson singled out was Dorothy Nowicki Grauel, the church’s longest-tenured member at 72 years. She joined Faith Lutheran at age 12.

Grauel, age 94, was in hospice when Hanson paid his last pastoral visit to her. She spoke of wishing that she could attend the closing service. Her message to her longtime congregation was “I love my church. It’s all been good.”

“She’s leaving a place and so are we,” Hanson said.

Congregation members learned later that Grauel died the day of the closing service.
Grauel’s obituary stated, “From a very young age, Dorothy has had a love for the Lord and for others. She taught Sunday School and Vacation Bible School from the young age of 13 and continued for many decades. She also served on many committees and volunteered at her home church... Dorothy celebrated all the friends and relationships that were a part of her church community.”

Many people shared stories of their ties to Faith Lutheran June 13, including Michelle and Allen Juaire. They were Frogtown childhood friends and neighbors, who grew up attending the church.

Michelle never forgot her “boy next door” crush. One day, she boarded a Metro Transit bus that Allen was driving and they became reacquainted. They married in 2009.
Like so many others they came back June 13 to tour the church and attend the closing service.

Their youngest daughter, Faith, attended the final Faith Lutheran service with her parents.