Trinity Lutheran Church to hold final mass on Christmas Eve after 118 years of worship
Pastor says community's needs have changed
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," said Sarah Dymund, the Regina church's pastor.
"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."
Small beginnings and immigrant outreach
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 the Heritage neighbourhood.
The number of churchgoers 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,"
WATCH | 'This isn't a failure': Trinity Lutheran church in Regina closing after 118 years:
The decision to close the church has been hard, the pastor said, but it was made by the flock. The churchgoers voted in June to close the ministry and dissolve the congregation.
Kitz said it's been hard seeing the number of attendees shrink over the years, leading to parts of the church being sold off.
"It was like being pulled apart little by little," Kitz said.
Dymund is hopeful for the future of the building and confident in the decision.
"The thought that we can leave a legacy by choosing to close when it's a good time feels a lot more like fulfilling our mandate, our ministry, rather than failing to church well," Dymund said.
'Mission accomplished'
The process to determine the building's future is already underway.
Dymund said the congregation has tried to reimagine and re-understand their relationship with the community around them.
They've provided outreach services to people in need. They partnered with Indigenous Christian Fellowship, which makes approximately 500 sandwiches a week to hand out.
Dymund and her flock also created the TLC Pantry after the COVID-19 pandemic began, providing groceries and other essentials to those who need them. It is still going today.
Also the building's former parish hall has been leased since 2020 by MayBell Developments, which converted the space into a daycare.
These services are set to continue even when the main doors are closed. The church is in the process of spinning off the pantry as its own non-profit entity.
There's also a plan for the current parking lot to be used for tiny homes and second-stage housing for women fleeing intimate partner violence.
The rest of the building is now on the market.
Dymund hopes a faith-based or community outreach organization will make good use of the space.
"I think when we frame it more as like our mission has been accomplished, right?" she said.
LISTEN | Regina's 118-year-old church decides to close down:
'A celebration'
Dymund remains focused on the church's final service on Christmas Eve.
She said many in the congregation have fond memories of the service over the years. That's why it seemed like the perfect way to go out.
Kitz says she is hopeful many will turn out for the event.
"I would like to hope it's going to be a celebration and a joyful occasion," Kitz said.
The service will include German carolling, the building's organ and even a cello.
"It's all that stuff that everyone really loves and holds on to, as they're precious memories of Trinity. They have the chance to get that one last time," Dymund said.
Trinity's final service begins at 7:30 p.m. CST on Dec. 24.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
With files from Janani Whitfield