124-year-old brick church a reminder of St. Joseph of the Lakes’ roots

The parish of St. Joseph of Rice Lake had been incorporated for a mere four years in 1895 when its first church, made of wood, was destroyed in a windstorm that hit what is now the city of Lino Lakes.

Perhaps inspired by its builder patron, the fledgling parish now known as St. Joseph of the Lakes decided its next church would be built to last.

Twenty farmers — many of them immigrants — donated their skills and money to construct a brick church where, 124 years later, members of the parish’s 2,200 households still come occasionally to pray. “If you were a farmer, you could do anything,” said Clemence Robinson, 82, a longtime parishioner whose parents were also parishioners.

The German, Polish, Czech, French and Irish immigrants had their Catholic faith and farming in common in an area that is now part of Anoka County.

Before their parish was established, the farm families traveled about 7 miles east to attend Mass at St. Genevieve in Centerville, then a French-Canadian parish. Because few of the families spoke French and they wanted to worship closer to home, they asked the pastor, Father Joseph Goiffon, for their own parish.

St. Joseph began as a mission parish, sharing St. Genevieve’s pastor. Its name might have been influenced by Father Goiffon, whose name was Joseph, said Father Michael Anderson, the current pastor. Parish boundaries extended west to what is now St. Paul in Ham Lake and St. Timothy in Blaine, northeast to St. Peter in Forest Lake and possibly south of what is now St. Odilia in Shoreview, he said.

After rebuilding after the 1895 windstorm, parishioners settled into the brick church off Elm Street next to the parish cemetery, which remained the center of parish life for 65 years.

Robinson remembered celebrating the March 19 Solemnity of St. Joseph with a parish ham dinner. “We always celebrated when I was growing up,” she said. “It was a big to-do when we had St. Joseph’s Day.”

By the early 1960s, the parish needed a bigger church. Masses were held in a nearby school gym until 1963, when the parish built a “temporary” church it intended to eventually convert into its own school’s gym. That school opened in 1964, but closed eight years later for lack of funding and enrollment, according to a parish history book, “The First 100 Years.”

In 1997, the parish built another brick church — its current one, Father Anderson said.

By the mid-2000s, some parishioners didn’t see a future for the little brick church, in poor condition from lack of use. The parish’s Knights of Columbus Council 9905 restored the church, which is now used for daily Mass. During the pandemic, its doors have been open daily for those who want to pray, Father Anderson said.

“There’s something about coming back to your roots and restoring yourself into this history that goes all the way back to the 1800s when we celebrate Mass in that church,” he said.

The parish now celebrates the March 19 feast day with prayers at Mass. During this Year of St. Joseph, the parish is planning special liturgy prayers for the May 1 feast of St. Joseph the Worker. At Sunday Masses, the parish prays for St. Joseph’s intercession for the Archdiocesan Synod process underway, Father Anderson said.

A concrete statue of St. Joseph holding the Christ Child at the old church’s entrance and another statue inside remind parishioners of their patron. A large white statue of St. Joseph holding the Christ Child stands in the cemetery, and one of the Holy Family is found near the main church’s sanctuary.

Having St. Joseph as a patron is “a comforting thing,” Robinson said. “He took care of Mary and Jesus,” she said. “He had a big task and he carried it forth.”

Father Anderson said he appreciates the saint’s subtlety. “He put his trust in a God, who told him some impossible things, like Mary was pregnant with the Son of God.”