Trinity Lutheran Church to hold final mass on Christmas Eve after 118 years of worship
CBC
It has been 118 years since Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church's congregation first gathered to worship.
On Christmas Eve, they'll come together for a final time.
"Honestly, that is the cycle of life, right? We're celebrating the birth of Jesus as we're also celebrating the end of our ministry," pastor Sarah Dymund said.
"Even in life, we are in the midst of death and even in death, we are in the midst of life, and it's a constant cycle."
The current structure at 1909 Ottawa St. is the third building the church has operated out of. The congregation can trace its origins back to 1906, just a few years after Regina officially became a city, in a private home in what is now Regina's Heritage neighbourhood.
The number of church growers quickly outgrew the first building. A new church was built in 1913 and primarily served German Lutherans.
As attendance swelled to more than 700 people — mostly German immigrants and refugees from the Second World War — they needed a new space.
The current building opened in 1960, providing services in German and English.
For many it has provided a second home. Carolyn Lakustiak Kitz, a longtime congregant, calls the church the "cornerstone of my life."
Kitz said generations of her family — from her grandparents all the way down to her great-grandchildren — have been baptized as members of the congregation.
"[The closure] is very painful because I've been such a long time member and gone through so much of my life in that church," Kitz said.
"I lost two husbands and this is as painful."
At its peak the church was serving well over 1,000 people, according to Dymund, although those days have long since passed.
"[The church] was constructed when what the people in this neighborhood needed was a great big Lutheran Church," pastor Dymund said. "Now, ideally, we'll find out what this community needs from this building,"
WARNING: This story details allegations of child abuse.
It’s been hard to keep track of how many legal challenges and active court proceedings the United Conservative government has tried to quash or pre-emptively block in the last six weeks, but let’s try to tally:
Margaret Walker, the emcee of a Waterloo vigil commemorating the victims of the Montreal massacre, doesn't feel enough is being done to reflect on the killings and address gender-based violence.
The P.E.I. Humane Society says it is doing far more fundraising than it used to, and rising expenses — including the cost of animal medications — are a big reason why.
Ottawa is staring down a court-ordered deadline to submit a new plan to reform the on-reserve child welfare system, as a group of First Nations leaders and children’s advocates prepare a competing proposal.
An underpass revitalization project that was meant to pay tribute to the people of Parkdale has instead deteriorated into “a garbage dump,” according to nearby residents.
A young man has been charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm after a fire at a frat party near Western University that injured five sorority sisters, including two seriously, late Tuesday night.
The massive deal to combine one of Hollywood's oldest studios with a streaming giant hasn't even been approved yet, but it's already riling multiple related industries and politicians concerned about monopolies and media concentration.
Mi'kmaq chiefs and a former Nova Scotia justice minister are criticizing the provincial government for directing police to crack down on illegal cannabis, saying the order undermines relations with Indigenous Peoples.
For years, there has been “glaring inequity” in the way the province has allocated the millions of dollars in its county roads budget, according to Department of Transportation Minister Chuck Chiasson.
Six months after passing a law aimed at making it easier for new grocery stores to open, Manitoba's premier says lower grocery bills could be on the horizon.
Timothy Smith was acting in self-defence when he punched Landon Waddell, and shouldn't be found guilty of manslaughter, his lawyer says.
Thoroughbred horse racing at Vancouver’s Hastings Racecourse is ending after more than a century, with the operator announcing Friday it will no longer run a racing season at the historic facility.