Minnesota Prairie Roots

WHEN A CHURCH CLOSES or relocates into a new space, what happens to the former house of worship? That depends on the community, the market, the condition of the building and more.

In Vesta, the old St. John’s Lutheran Church was repurposed into apartments when my home congregation constructed a new sanctuary on the southeast edge of town in the early 1970s. In Faribault, where I have lived since 1984, a boutique, craft and gift shop, Nook & Cranny, fills the old St. Lawrence Catholic Church. In nearby Dundas, craft beer is served inside a former historic chapel at a brewery aptly named Chapel Brewing. Up in Fargo, North Dakota, St. Mark’s Lutheran Church is now home to the Sanctuary Events Center, where I attended my friend Hannah’s wedding and reception.

Then there’s the old All Saints Catholic Church in Lakeville a half hour to the north along Interstate 35. In 2001, the vacated massive 1932 brick building became the Lakeville Area Arts Center Performing Arts Building. If an aged church is no longer a church, then I can think of no better reuse than as a center for creativity, a sanctuary for creatives.

Often these old churches have been built by skilled craftsmen who’ve incorporated art into the construction. Stained glass windows. Sculptures. Ornate wood carvings. Repurposing a church as an art center seems reverently fitting.

Recently I visited the Lakeville arts center inside that old Catholic church. The worship space has been transformed into a theater, complete with 300 tiered seats rising high in the long, narrow building. Stained glass windows remain, a visual reminder that parishioners once gathered here.

Today concerts and live theater take place here. And in other parts of the building are art galleries, rehearsal and meeting rooms and more. I think the saints would celebrate this usage of their sacred space in the absence of a place of worship.

As I meandered through the arts center, viewing student art featured in gallery exhibits, other art and those stained glass windows, I felt the spirit of creativity.

Outside, sculptures like “Bruce the Moose” and a “Creative Endeavors” mural visually mark this as an arts center. The artwork is part of Lakeville’s public art scattered on the grounds and about town.

Next to the performing arts building, creatives also gather in the former Alternative Learning Center, now home to the 11,000 square foot Fine Arts Building. Inside are ceramics studios, classrooms for glass, fiber arts and painting, rehearsal space, student galleries, an art shop, and more.

I love the arts. And when I discover a place like the Lakeville Area Arts Center, I feel connected as a creative myself. The arts ought always to be celebrated. They entertain us, move us, speak for us, allow us to express ourselves, bring us together in community and, oh, so much more.

Personally, I cannot image my life without writing and photography, my creative outlets, my life’s work. Or, more correctly, my life’s passion because neither ever feels like work.

TELL ME: What are your thoughts on the arts and/or on repurposing of a vacated church into an arts center or something else?

© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling