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Logan Square Church Restores Windows With Help of Norwegians, Community

By Paul Biasco | June 24, 2016 6:14am
 Minnekirken Windows
Minnekirken Windows
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LOGAN SQUARE — Donations from around the world have helped one of the only Norwegian-speaking church congregations in the country replace historic stained glass windows on the facade of its Logan Square church.

This week Minnekirken was able to replace three more windows.

After Logan Square Preservation raised $5,000 to cover the cost of replacing the window directly above the entryway in May, donations from within the church and the community poured in to expand the project to replace the additional windows.

"It really has been a godsend that the neighborhood has reached out," said Beverly Covyeau, the president of the congregation.

Although Minnekirken's congregation has shrunk over the years as the neighborhood and Chicago's Norwegian population have changed, many members make the commute from the suburbs and beyond, Covyeau said.

Some of the faithful will come in from out of town to hold their baptisms at the historic church, which was built in 1906.

The only other Norwegian-speaking Lutheran church in the country is in Minneapolis.

The latest round of repairs cost roughly $25,000 to replace the windows in the choir loft and the smaller windows that flank it.

The red brick church, 2614 N. Kedzie Ave., is one of the more recognizable buildings in Logan Square and plans to keep the newly restored windows back-lit to shine on the square at night.

"People from all over the country support our church and even in Norway," Covyeau said.

The church's crowdfunding campaign through gofundme.com is ongoing with hopes of repairing all the windows on the facade.

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