Lögberg-Heimskringla - 01.08.1978, Page 7

LOGBERG-HEIMSKRINGLA, HATIÐARBLAÐ AGtJST 1978
7
FIRST LUTHERAN CHURCH, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Founded August 11, 1978.
Thc picmre oj ihc thrcc churchcs wuspainied in 19JS. hy Dr. A. Blondal, of Winnipeg.
A ceptury of faitþ
FIRST LUTHERAN CHURCH CENTENNIAL
plete the transition from a
predominantly Icelandic to
an English-speaking church.
Regular Icelandic c h u r c h
services continued to be held
until 1968.
I)r. Valdimar J. Evlands, 1938-1968
Winnipeg’s First Lutheran íeadership of the orthodox
Church celebrates its lOOth Icelandic churches in Amer-
birthday this year. ica has been termed “both
It was on August 11, 1878, long and memorable.” Under
that a group of Icelandic set- his guidance and direction,
tlers in Winnipeg gathered
together in the home of Jon
Thordarson to form a con-
gregation. First Lutheran
Church has come a long way
since then.
That first congregation, a
forerunner of today’s, was
known as the Trinity Con-
gregation. The first service
was held August 18, 1878
under the leadership of Dr.
Jon Bjarnason, the first or-
dained minister in America.
Church services for the
first few years were spora-
i
4, 1
to accommodate the growing
church population and the
general westward shift of
the Icelandic population in
the city. Unlike the first two
buildings, this one was not
built f r o m scratch, but
bought instead.
The rise of a second gen-
eration of Icelanders in Win-
nipeg gave voice at this time
to a growing demand for the
use of English in church
services. Up until this time policy and service in North
they had been held entirely America.
Another highlight of his
years as pastor was the
burning of the church mort-
gage on March 24, 1944. The
traditional burning ritual
was accompanied by an un-
mistakeable pride in the ac-
complishment.
In 1962 the Icelandic Luth-
eran Synod, which had been
founded in 1885, became af-
filiated with the Lutheran
Church in America, another
step in the direction of inte-
gration of Lutheran Church
church services are almost
totally in English with Ice-
landic services held once a
month under the leadership
of pastor Ingthor Isfeld.
Plans' for the celebration
of the church’s centennial
are well underway. A Cen-
tennial Homecoming dinner
is being planned for Satur-
day, October 7 at the Holi-
day Inn. A detailed history
of the church is b e i n g
prepared f o r publication.
Church members, young and
old, are invited to join in
the celebrations.
Today’s church on Victor
Street is a long way from
the gray building at Nena
and McWilliams. But with-
out the latter, the present
church would never have
come into being.
l)r. Jon Bjarnason, 1884-1914
the First Lutheran Sunday
School, begun in 1884, grew
to include almost 400 stu-
dic, based on the availability dents in the early 1890s. He
o a "1inister and of a loca- was also responsible for the
tion for the service.
formation of a Luther
eciding that the congre- League in 1895, as well as
gation needed a full-time leading the field in confront-
mmister of its own, a call ing the church issues of the
was sent out to Rev. Bjarna- day
1884WThaatCCsame thG Call+^n ^ SUCCeSS°r W3S Dr' umgs
. That same year the Hjorn B. Jonsson, son of one Tcelanders and
waT chaTeTTT'T °f the pioneers of 1876’ Wh° different nationalities.
changed to First came fr0m Minneota, Minn.
in Icelandic.
Morning services in Eng-
lish were instituted in 1923
and by the early 1930s, Eng-
lish was the only language
heard used in the Sunday
School classes.
The demand for English
was attributed in large part
to the high incidence of ra-
cial intermarriage. Both Dr.
Jonsson, and later Dr. V. J.
Eylands, were to comment
on the large number of wed-
dings performed between
persons of
The present incumbent at
the church, Rev. J. V. Arvid-
son took over the charge in
1968, after spending one year
as associate minister under
Dr. Eylands. T o d a y the
Pastor John V. Arvidson, 1967-
And it is exactly that his-
tory of construction, coope-
ration and faith in the future
that is being celebrated this
year.
S.W.
Compliments of
s
to take over his new charg
He was to remain at Firs
Lutheran Church until his
death in 1938.
Dr. Bjorn B. Jonsson, 1914-1938
Lutheran.
One of the first tasks for
the congregation was the
construction of a church
building at the corner of
what was then McWilliams
Avenue and Nena Street.
Modern readers know it as
the corner of Pacific Avenue
and Sherbrooke Street.
The construction was com-
pleted in 1887 at a cost of
some $4,000.
But it did not take too
long for the congregation to
expand to the point that a
new building became neces-
sary. A second church was
built on the northwest cor- Dr. Jonsson’s term as pas-
ner of Bannatyne Avenue tor at the church was high-
and Sherbrooke, completed lighted by two events or
in the summer of 1904. conditions: the move to yet
This second church build- another church building and
ing cost about $25,000 and the introduction of English
had a seating capacity of into the chureh service.
around 1,000. The church was moved to
“Séra Jón,” as Dr. Bjarna- its present location on Victor
son was affectionately called street near Sargent Avenue
by the members of his con- in 1921. Dr. Jonsson gave the
gregation, continued to serve first service at the new
the church until his death in huilding on September 25 of
1914. President of the Ice- that year.
landic Lutheran Synod for This final move reflected
23 years, Dr. Bjarnason’s both the need for more space
The need for English be-
carne evident in the ladies’
aid group of the church as
well. The senior ladies’ aid
group, formed in 1884, used
Icelandic only as its langu-
age of business. A junior
group was formed in 1931,
this one to allow younger
women whose working lan-
guage had become English
to participate in the work of
the church.
Dr. V. J. Eylands became
pastor at the church in 1938,
a position he held for 30
years until his retirement in
1968.
Coming from the congre-
gation at Bellingham, Wash.,
Dr. Eylands helped to com-
(Stlbarí 3F«ttrraI Sjomea Híb.
First Street, Gimli
and
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