Winnipeg church holds final service before donating building to non-profit started by congregation
About 100 attend last service at Lutheran Church of the Cross on Arlington Street Sunday
A church in Winnipeg's West End is expected to be redeveloped into housing for seniors, after being donated to a housing non-profit as its congregation dwindles.
The last service at the Lutheran Church of the Cross on Arlington Street before it closes its doors to worshippers was Sunday — a bittersweet occasion for people like Pastor Kolleen Karlowsky-Clark, who served at the church from 2010-15 before retiring.
"This was once a very vibrant, full congregation, and times change," Karlowsky-Clark said. "But we celebrate the years of good ministry out of this place."
The building and its land were gifted to Arms of the Cross Housing, a housing non-profit created by the church in the 1970s. The non-profit, which also helped develop a neighbouring building with affordable suites, plans to redevelop the church into homes for dozens of seniors.
Mervin Bauming, vice-president of the Arms of the Cross board, said by the time the church closed, it had a small congregation of about 20 people who came to church on Sundays and lacked the volunteer base it needed to keep going.
This past weekend's final service saw closer to 100 congregants, which Bauming said was "the largest crowd we've had here in years."
"To me it's like a funeral, you know, the death of the church," he said Sunday. "But it's a very happy day for me. I feel better now than I did before the service."
While the church could have sold the building, the neighbouring seniors' facility needed the space for its parking, Bauming said.
Shannon Wiebe, an architect with 5468796 Architecture in Winnipeg and research lead on affordable housing project Shared Ground, which is working on the project with Arms of the Cross, said plans for the church include adding elevators and levels to the high-ceilinged worship space.
She said it will be challenging, but the building's modern design will make the transition easier than some church conversions.
"What's happening here is a really beautiful transition story for them, but it's also an emotional day," Wiebe said. "We're excited for those next steps — and there's definitely many more stops to go."
Drawings and a zoning review have been put together and some grant funding has been secured, while building assessments and feasibility studies will be done in July, she said.
The number of housing units isn't finalized yet, but so far it ranges from 29 to 38 units that will be prioritized as affordable units for seniors. Capital funding is still needed to complete the work, and it might be a few years before the first tenants can move in, Wiebe said.
Jason Zinko, who grew up attending the church, said he has mixed emotions about the change.
"In some ways, it's saying goodbye to the church that formed me," said Zinko, who's now the bishop for the Manitoba Northwestern Ontario Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada.
"In some ways, though, I think this is a congregation that has been moving towards today for a while, and I think that them deciding to give their building and give opportunities to another organization to do something with the building and impact the community — I think there's some really hopeful things with it, too."
Zinko said there are 11 Lutheran congregations left in Winnipeg and the surrounding area, and he expects some Lutheran Church of the Cross members will go to other Lutheran churches in the area.
With files from Radio-Canada’s Victor Lhoest