Lakota, North Dakota
Serving the Lakota Area since 1883, The Church of the Good Shepherd was laid out in 1893 during the westward push of Jim Hill's Great Northern Railway. With the railroad came Episcopalians, settling in an area where most of the residents were Scandinavian and Lutheran.
In contrast to the Lutherans, whose churches were stark white, The Episcopalians built their church from field stone which was hauled to the site by oxen drawn stone boats and dressed by stone mason George Groves.
The Caines family, immigrants from England, brought a little bit of home to the Dakota prairie when they pledged and subscribed to the building with its hewn stone walls, belfry and imported Victorian stained glass windows that are reminiscent of English churches.
While Good Shepherd's exterior is ornate, it interior is plain. Most of the furnishings were handmade by parishioners. Only the alter is in the Victorian style. Candles were used to illuminate the building until electricity was installed in 1910. And when construction of an undercroft was deemed necessary in the 1950's parishioners dug the basement by hand, laid the block walls and finished the floor with concrete.
Services at The Church of The Good Shepherd are held on the 2nd and 4th Sundays with Lay Ministry and Cannon 9 Clergy conducting the services. Service is at 10 AM.
Contact Dave Starkweather at 701-343-2712 orJim Daws at 701-259-2335 for information.
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