It’s a steeple, church and congregation that has been a staple in the Norborne, Mo. community for nearly 150 years.
“This congregation was formed in 1869, so it will be celebrating its sesquicentennial next year,” said Pastor Kim Scharff, Norborne Lutheran Church.
It’s a church that dug its roots shortly after the community did. The building that stands today was built in 1890. With its age starting to show, the community and congregation stepped up in the form of some much-needed renovations - project that found funding in only a matter of weeks.
“It started maybe five years ago,” said Chuck Lichte, a member of the church. “We talked about renovating the Jesus statue, not knowing where it would be going from there.”
It’s the latest transformation helping to revamp the beauty of a building nearly 130 years old.
“The renovation that you see now was one that was completed just about 8 months ago,” said Scharff.
The renovation was focused on inside the church’s doors, where the church wore colors and features that represented a look from the 1960s.
The congregation hired an architect who specializes in traditional church architecture. The goal was to get back to the church’s heritage—a church formed by German immigrants.
From refinishing the pews with retro coloring to putting in new floors, the church came with a new look.
“That’s kind of what we were after, getting back to the original church,” said Lichte.
It’s a renovation that kept cornerstone pieces of the past, while securing the building’s future.
“I think the remodeling actually was an indication of the feeling that there is a future for this congregation and this community,” said Scharff.
