# @dmregister on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/Dce3_RoDM1d
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/69721469-dmregister-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/2e010125f6.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-08-26T00:00:21.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Des Moines Register (@DMRegister) — https://gondola.cc/DMRegister

## Caption

One at a time, Pastor Steve Struecker and members of his northwest Iowa church remove sacred items from the Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church during a service marking its closure nearly 150 years after opening.

First, they carry out the font where the town's children had been baptized for decades. Then the lectern, followed by the altar’s missal, candles, communion cup and cross.

Lastly, the church itself is shuttered.

Zion and its sister, Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran in nearby Livermore, are among dozens of churches closing across Iowa, unable to sustain themselves as congregations shrink, pastors become harder to find and financial support dwindles.

Tap the link in our bio for more on this story.

#Iowa #ruraliowa #ruralchurch

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 137
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- **Comments:** 15

## Tags

ruralchurch, iowa, ruraliowa

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