Surrounded by farms and located 20 miles from Sioux Falls, Norwegian immigrants settled in Canton in 1868, founding Lincoln County’s first Lutheran congregation. A second Norwegian Lutheran church formed in 1872, and the two merged in 1902, when one church building was moved next to the other, with a shared wall removed to create a single sanctuary. When the current Gothic Revival church was constructed in 1908, it was designed without a center aisle, carrying the legacy of the joint churches by encouraging members to join as one whole rather than separating into their original congregations. Featuring intricate woodwork, a sanctuary with original stained-glass windows, and a high vaulted ceiling, the church was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.

Today, Canton Lutheran Church serves the community through its collaboration with the Canton Area Ministerial Association, a group of churches working together to help those in need. One program of the Ministerial Association is the Lincoln County Food Pantry. Housed at Canton Lutheran Church for over 40 years, the pantry serves individuals and families facing food insecurity. Established to meet a growing need, the pantry has evolved from a small local effort to a vital community service. The pantry continues to grow; recent visioning sessions identified the need to expand pantry operations through greater storage capacity and accessibility improvements.

A National Fund grant of $185,245 with $185,245 in matching funds raised by the congregation will allow Canton Lutheran Church to complete restoration of the original stained-glass windows in the sanctuary.

Photo by Brent McCown