BILLINGS (AP)
A country church with a long history now rests on a new foundation, in an urban setting. Faith Lutheran Church was moved from Box Elder to Billings in a 21-day span that began on Sept. 12. The building placed on a foundation Monday will be the centerpiece of a senior-citizen residential complex planned by St. John’s Lutheran Ministries. “I wish the foundation had fit a little better,” Duane Ostermiller said after positioning the 89-year-old prairie church that he moved 277 miles. Nonetheless, the fit will be OK, Ostermiller said Monday. Kent Burgess, St. John’s president and chief executive, said the move cost about $88,700. He anticipated a bill of about $60,000 and has raised almost that much. Plans call for the white church to open in June. Efforts to restore its 1917 appearance are ongoing. Work remaining includes installation of temporary heating; electrical and plumbing improvements; installation of new windows; and floor refinishing. Also planned is work on the steeple, presently on the ground. Ostermiller expects to place the steeple on the church this spring. Burgess estimates completing the project will cost at least an additional $100,000. He plans to seek donations of materials and labor. “We’re going to be using volunteers wherever we can,” Burgess said. “What we really need now is shingles and siding” resembling those used decades ago. St. John’s plans to begin building the senior complex next summer on about 7 1/2 acres donated by Atonement Lutheran Church. The land is part of a 27-acre tract that Atonement bought years ago and plans to use as the site of a new church. People who worshipped in the historic church when it was in Box Elder decided there no longer were enough congregants to warrant keeping the building there.
