The Icelandic Canadian - 01.06.1967, Page 66

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THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Summer 1967
1917, in co-operation with the Ladies’
Aid “Solskin”. Ingolfur was not a large
club, in terms of members, but it was
one around which much of the life of
the Icelandic community revolved. In
the 1930’s it became one of the found-
ing members of the Scandinavian
Central Committee. In 1946 it merged
with the social club “Isafold”, which
had been set up in 1940, to form the
social-cultural society “Strondin”.
The Ladies’ Aid “Solskin” was esta-
blished in November, 1917, by a group
of Icelandic women. The members
worked to assist the needy members of
the Icelandic community. During the
1920’s these women worked hard on a
project to build an Icelandic com-
munity center in Vancouver. Property
was purchased and money collected
for this center. However, during the
hard years of the 1930’s there were
many families and individuals who
were in desperate need of assistance.
The money collected for the center,
as well as the funds realized from the
sale of their property, was used to aid
them. The ladies of “Solskin” gave of
their time and energy, as well as
money, to the old folks home which
was established in 1947. Since then the
members of “Solskin” have continued
to support and work for the old folks
home and their contributions towards
the success of the home are deeply ap-
preciated. Today as they prepare to
celebrate their fiftieth anniversary,
the Ladies of “Solskin” can look back
with pride on half a century of honour-
ed achievements.
During the 1930’s and 1940’s there
were many other small groups and
clubs active in the Icelandic com-
munity. Among these one might name
the Icelandic Choir, which later be-
came the Choir of the Icelandic Luther-
an Church; the Icelandic Badminton
Club, which was active for many years,
and the women’s social and charitable
club “Ljomalind”, which was set up
during the 1930’s and which was active
for many years. Another organization
of importance to the Icelandic com-
munity was the Blaine Committee, set
up in 1942. This Committee sponsored
the annual Icelandic Day Picnic, which
is held every summer in the Peace
Arch Park in Blaine, on the Canada-
United States border.
In 1917 the minister serving the Ice-
landic Church in Blaine began to give
service to a small congregation of Ice-
landers in Vancouver. This congrega-
tion did not survive, being disbanded
during the early 1930’s. In 1941 the
Icelandic Synod sent the Rev. Runolfur
Marteinsson to Vancouver to establish
a new congregation. His work met
with success and in 1944 the Icelandic
Lutheran Church of Vancouver was
formally established. In the early
1950’s, during the ministry of Rev.
Eirikur Brynjolfsson, a building pro-
gram was initiated and completed in
1956 with the dedication of the Ice-
landic Lutheran Ghuroh. During its
history the church has been served by
many dedicated ministers and laymen.
Mention must be made of the members
of the Women’s Auxiliary of the
church who have worked hard and suc-
cessfully for their church. In 1963,
when the Icelandic Synod merged with
the United Lutheran Church of Am-
erica, the local Icelandic Lutheran
church became the Lutheran Church
of Christ. But the change in the name
has not brought about significant
changes in the membership of the con-
gregation; most of the members are
still of Icelandic origin.
During the 1940’s the Icelandic Can-
adians in Vancouver turned their at-
tentions to the needs of their old-
timers. Their considerations led to the
establishment of the Icelandic Old