St. John's—The Tree Church

The original tree

For generations, St. John's has been known by many of our neighbors as "The Tree Church" because of the magnificent maple tree that stood outside our south entrance for 75 years. Each autumn, people would come to admire a flaming red color that put to shame the autumn colors of any other tree that anyone had ever seen.

Its beginning

The tree had been planted by a local dentist for whom Louise Schweppe, daughter of St. John's longtime pastor, Rev. Paul Dowidat, worked. The tree grew over the years into a landmark that both the congregation members and the community looked forward to seeing in its full splendor each autumn.

The tree became so beloved, that neighbors referred to St. John's affectionately as "The Tree Church."

The storm

Everyone was saddened in the late 1990s when a storm ripped off one of the three main branches, leaving the beloved tree only two-thirds of what it had been. It still provided its vibrant colors for a few more years, but the damage had been severe.

A sad end

The addition of a parking lot as part of a major building project to make St. John's more accessible to the handicapped, brought its fate into question again. Plans were made to build the parking lot so the tree could be spared, but when a tree surgeon informed the congregation that the tree was dying and had only a few short years to live, its fate was sealed.

Reluctantly, the decision was made to cut the tree down. But the story of The Tree Church doesn't end there.

A new beginning

The first task in the groundbreaking for the St. John's building project in 2002 was the sad task of cutting down the original tree. But unknown to anyone, Martin Dowidat, son of the pastor who served St. John's when the tree was planted, and brother of Louise Schweppe, whose employer had planted the original tree, picked up a seed from it.

New life for the tree

Martin and his wife, Marian, tended that seed first in a pot, and then in their backyard until it was nearly ten feet tall. With the tree well established, the Dowidats offered it back to St. John's.

Working with Commissioner Walter Dziedzic of the Minneapolis Park Board and Michael Rainville of the Neighborhood Association, it was planted in a small triangle of parkland just south of St. John's parking lot.

New birth

Will the tree become a landmark enjoyed for generations to come? Nobody knows. But many look forward to seeing its first colors this autumn.

A fitting lesson

But the story of the tree that has long defined St. John's reminds us of the glory of God, who created such beauty in the original tree so that we might find the pleasure that so many found in it.

It reminds us of the storms through which we pass and how none of us, no matter how highly we are esteemed, can escape death.

And it reminds us of how we have been the recipients of the loving hand of a God who has rescued us from death, planted and tended us, and given us new life in him.

The future of the story

With this new, much smaller tree planted 100 feet farther from the church, on land actually owned by the park system, will St. John's continue to be known in the neighborhood as "The Tree Church?" Perhaps not. But the lessons that that tree has taught us will continue to color St. John's in appreciation for God's grace for years to come.

St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church
Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS)
610 Broadway Street, NE
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55413
Phone: 612 379-4296 | Fax: 612-379-4971
stjohnsschool@comcast.net