History
Prince of Peace has served Spring Lake Park, Minnesota and the surrounding communities of Fridley, Coon Rapids, Mounds and Blaine since its inception on October 31st, 1960. After initially meeting in a local elementary school, its first building was completed in 1961 at its current location. Two further expansions (1966, 1991) were completed bringing the building to its current size.
A great part of the history of the congregation was its Christian Day school, which throughout its 51 years of existence, educated over a thousand students. It continues this tradition with its missions support of Lutheran education overseas.
Currently the congregation is actively pursuing bolstering its Sunday morning and mid-week educational programs, its support of the Lutheran Church of Nigeria, Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO, Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, and outreach efforts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, St. Paul, Minnesota, and on the campus of the University of Minnesota.
Community
Prince of Peace maintains a small food shelf to help members and others when need arises, but also supports Southern Anoka Community Assistance (SACA), a large food shelf which serves Anoka County. It also supports Alexandra House (a home for battered women), as well as providing quilts for numerous nursing homes and nursing agencies. Many of the members of Prince of Peace volunteer at Unity Hospital, which is just across the street from the church, and assist with worship at Crestview Lutheran Home in Columbia Heights. In years past the congregation has participated in the city of Spring Lake Park’s Tower Days parade, hosted the neighborhood National Night Out gathering, as well as offered a free Bluegrass concert to the community in the summer featuring the Triple L Band of Portales, New Mexico.
Just this past year the congregation renovated an unused plot of land to the west of the church building for use as community garden plots. The retired residents of the apartment building next door are looking forward to their first gardens next spring!
For a number of years the congregation has made its spacious gymnasium available to groups such as the American Red Cross, the international award winning rhythmic gymnastics club Twins Cities Rhythmic, the Blaine Backcourt Club, and the square dancing Hotfoot Stompers.