A Wisconsin church was destroyed by a tornado. The congregation came there for church anyway

ARGYLE, Wis. — “We are going to be okay.”

The Rev. Dan Bohlman, pastor of Apple Grove Lutheran Church that was destroyed Saturday by a tornado, told this Sunday morning to more than 100 people gathered near what little was left of the 129-year-old church building during a worship service to grieve its loss.

The crowd convened just to the left of the rubble, some visitors crying with others somberly soaking in Bohlman’s words as he began the service. Attendees clapped when Bohlman said all would be well. They later sang hymns and songs like “Amazing Grace,” prayed, took communion and shared memories regarding Apple Grove.

“This is a time when we stop depending on our own powers,” Bohlman said.

Instead, he said, visitors should turn their faith toward a higher power.

Bohlman, who has been pastor of Apple Grove for just over three decades, said after the service that the church has been a “home for a lot of people and their entire lives.” Generations of people have belonged to the church, and have celebrated weddings, funerals, confirmations and other occasions there too. Apple Grove was a community gathering space not just for church members, but for everyone.

Six years ago, Bohlman said, Apple Grove merged with Argyle Lutheran Church.

“We can just meet at Argyle for the foreseeable future,” he said.

‘It’s heartbreaking’

As the service continued, Nancy and Kenneth Johnson, both of Argyle, listened to Bohlman speak with tears in their eyes.

While Kenneth and Nancy aren’t members of Apple Grove, Nancy said she was confirmed there, and that the church was a place she found peace growing up. Her mother and father were longtime members.

“My oldest daughter got baptized here,” she said, her voice breaking.

“It’s heartbreaking,” she and Kenneth each said.

Aaron Erickson, of Yellowstone, said he and his family would sometimes visit Apple Grove for services. He’s not a member, but “my wife and I cried” when they found out the church had been destroyed.

When the service ended, Pamela Rosenbrook, who grew up in Argyle but lives in Illinois, and her family were visiting her father’s gravestone in a cemetery behind the rubble to pay their respects to both him and their former gathering space.

Apple Grove has been part of her family for five generations, said daughter Jackie Yaun, of Browntown. They were joined by Jackie’s daughter, Madisyn Brandt, of Browntown, and grandmother to Yaun Doris Schlem, of South Wayne.

Schlem said she was in disbelief when she first heard of the news of the church being leveled by the tornado.

“Everyone was welcome,” Yaun said. “It’s a loss for the whole community.”