Last Lutheran Church

* **Name:** Joseph Stump Lutheran Worship Center (official) "Last Lutheran Church" (informal)
* **Type:**Church
* **Affiliation:**Evangelical Lutheran Church of North America - Northwestern Minnesota Synod
* **Location:**619 Broadway N, Fargo , RRDMZ  58102
* **Style:**Expressionist
* **Completed:**May 2032
* **Architect:**Matanebi Design Associates
* **Capacity:**Can seat a congregation of nearly 1500 in its main sanctuary
* **Senior Pastor:** Reese Ellingboe (since 2065)

### History

When the waters of the Awakening receded to their current boundaries , they left behind a wake of devastation. Generations-old landmarks washed from the face of the earth, whole districts of homes and businesses rendered almost uninhabitable by the flood waters. Among those hit by the natural and supernatural disasters were First Lutheran Church in Fargo and its neighbor across the street, the Cathedral of St Mary. While the first version of the Group began rebuilding the shattered downtown into what would become the Block, the newly-formed Greater North Dakota Synod began a massive renovation that turned into a total rebuilding of an entirely new structure on the place where the old one once stood (in parallel with similar efforts by the Diocese of Fargo that would lead to the creation of the Dormition of Mary Cathedral, which opened later the same year). Groundwork was begun by the first Bishop of the Greater North Dakota Synod, Rev. Emily Aadland, who wanted to make a statement about the resolve of the Synod in the face of the major changes ongoing in the world. Her successor as Presiding Bishop, Rev. James Mackie, had been her point man on the rebuilding project and threw his full support behind it, bringing in one of the rising stars of architecture at the time, Roger Matanebi , from Seattle to design the new church. Matanebi, not yet the head of the Neonist  architectural movement, modeled the church on another Lutheran church half a world away, the famous Grundtvig's Church in Copenhagen in the newly-formed Scandinavian Union . It is considered an off-beat choice slightly out of line with the architect's later work and is still studied by architecture students for its connection with him. Construction was completed through Mackie's fundraising efforts (which continued even after his term as Bishop, aided by the teaching position he took at Concordia  after). It was named after Joseph Stump, who had been President of Northwestern Luthern Theological Seminary during its brief stint in Fargo in 1921. Doors opened in late-spring of 2032, ironically during a late-season flood, so that barriers had to be erected around the structure for the opening ceremony, a circumstance that Aadland, in her opening remarks, pointed to as a sign of the dedication of the Synod and of the people of the Red River Valley.

### Interior

The interior, inspired by Gothic architecture and comparable in size to the neighboring Dormition of Mary Cathedral , fits a congregation of 1500. Some five million yellow bricks, were used for the edifice. In its floor plan, the interior resembles that of a typical Gothic church with a nave, two lateral aisles and a small transept. Its proportions are also Gothic: a long, narrow nave, an extremely high ceiling, the columns which rise up to pointed arches and the ribbed groin vaults above the nave and aisles. But it is the yellow brick and the lack of ornamentation which contribute to the Gothic verticality while adhering to the minimalist aesthetic, inspired by the interior of Grundtvig's Church. A major renovation in 2059 and a smaller refurbishing in 2068 have softened the initial stark minimalism of the interior as Church leaders have striven to make the building a less-intimidating, more-accommodating place. Given pride of place are its two organs: The one on the north side of the nave near the chancel is a high end Fuchi-Electrosound LS-030 digital organ, which was installed in 2031, the facade being designed by Roger Matanebi himself. It has 14 stops, two manuals and a pedalboard. The much larger Walcker Orgelbrau Pipe Organ at the western end of the nave was added in 2045 with a facade designed by Matanebi's apprentice, Janine Volgy. It has 55 stops, four manuals and a pedalboard. The largest of its pipes weighs 425 kg (937 lb) and, with a length of 32 feet (11 m), is the longest organ pipe in the upper midwest. The local composer and Musical Director of the church Michael Redell (from 2036 to his retirement in 2070) was noted for his use of both the digital and physical organs to great effect together.

### Astral

In the late 2020's-early 2030's the field of astral architecture was still in its infancy, Roger Matanebi was still forming his theories of structure and astral space and worked out some of those theories when building Joseph Stump Memorial. While not unusual today, Matanebi's use of algae mats and natural unworked stone in the basement was on the leading edge for its time and because of that the basement storm shelter provides protection not just from physical but also magical storms (housing over five hundred locals for several days during the Great Manastorm of 43). Additional astral security is provided by the mages of the Principia, who often have a few Watcher Spirits keeping an eye on the place.

### Matrix

The Church last major refurbishment in 2068 included a complete overhaul of its Matrix systems, including the installation of a Fairlight Camelot-7 mainframe. As the largest Lutheran church in the area, a large amount of money and information passes through their hands, including medical records from parishioner visitations and money not just from congregation giving, but also to and from the various grants, charities and NGO's they support and are supported by (including donations from Concordia alumni and support for various social causes). Because of this, they also maintain a Premium-level Matrix security contract with TrixSec, BSI's Matrix security team.

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