Community of Renville, Minnesota, takes a 'leap of faith' for its future home of the arts

Jul. 26—RENVILLE

— Small communities in west central Minnesota know how to save and repurpose historic buildings that other communities smash to bits.

A country schoolhouse became the

Village Arts School in Milan

. New London rescued the 1921-vintage

Little Theatre

as a playhouse for community theater and events. Granite Falls transformed the

K.K. Berge

building from a structure to be demolished as flood-vulnerable into an arts gallery with a coveted view of the Minnesota River.

The next act belongs to the community of Renville.

The community's first church is now the first-ever home of the Renville Friends of the Arts organization.

"If you're willing to put time and effort into it, it can happen. You can't say that about every place," said Tamara Isfeld, an artist and educator in Granite Falls, of the ability of small towns in this region. She was among a panel of people from throughout the region who have saved and repurposed older buildings for new roles.

They gathered in what was once the United Methodist Church in Renville on July 19 to share their ideas with the building's new owners on how to repurpose the building for arts and the community.

"It's economic development," said

Patrick Moore,

of Montevideo, who has played a role in building restoration throughout the region, starting with the Milan Village Arts School.

"It's a leap of faith for us because we know it's an old building and it needs work," said Bev Raske. At age 85, she is the current and longtime president of the Renville Friends of the Arts.

The 21-year-old organization she leads took ownership of the church just over a week ago for $1. Raske said the group wants to transform the church into a place where they can hold plays and concerts and more. She's already dreaming about possibly staging a Christmas pageant.

The portion of the church where everyone gathered this past week was originally built in 1885. The church was expanded in subsequent years.

It was turned to face north and moved east to accommodate an addition in 1901, according to a county history. Its original 1907 Estey Organ with 12 ranks and 628 pipes was updated in 1983 with the gifting of a Wicks organ by the Mission Covenant Church of Willmar.

The church has long been recognized for its beautiful stained-glass windows, and for its service area with the pipe organ and upper balcony seating. The seats in the balcony were salvaged from Renville's original Opera House before it was demolished many years ago.

Raske is among those who were once members of the church. She remembers attending services with the pews packed with worshipers.

"That was my church. Just the thought of it being torn was almost more than I could handle," she told the West Central Tribune.

Church membership had declined in recent years, and the COVID-19 pandemic dealt the final blow. The church counted just a dozen or so congregation members when they decided to put it up for sale about a year ago.

Raske said the church is in relatively good shape as a building, but will certainly need "a little TLC" to be adapted to its new role.

She is optimistic that the community of Renville, population 1,287, has the volunteers needed to help make this project happen. She also believes that the building and its beautiful interior will in itself be an attraction to bring audiences into its doors for plays and activities.

The community of Milan, with a population of fewer than 400 people, paid $50 and was able to rally the support needed to save the 1915-built District 95 country school and make it an arts school that now attracts hundreds of students each year.

Moore said it requires community members willing to work together, and possibly most important of all, residents of all ages. Bringing volunteers of different generations together is the "yeast and bread," he explained. "It really makes things rise."

As for raising the funds needed, Moore said "money is not the problem." His experience has shown him that the money will flow to those groups who demonstrate they are committed and having fun in pursuit of their goal.

Raske said the first goal as the building's new owners will be for the Friends of the Arts to recruit supporters and funds to make this new chapter in revitalization happen. The group can be contacted through its Facebook page or by mail at

Renville Friends of the Arts

, PO Box 65, Renville MN 56284.