Always Renewing!

Ours was a United Church (congregation) before there was a United Church (denomination).   The desire for Union had been expressed in the west long before the denomination was finally achieved June 10, 1925.

Ours was an outreach effort to the neighbouring town of Fort Garry, sponsored by Augustine United Church in the big city of Winnipeg in 1921.  The first services were held November 6th of that year, in a corridor of General Byng School.

A small church building was soon erected on the corner of North Drive and Pembina Highway. Stories abound about the wood stove warming the room, children playing on the lawn outside, water being carried into the facility by hand.

One winter, the first small building was raised up onto skids, and hauled to the current congregational site on Point Road, a few blocks away.  One member, a child at the time, recalled crying as she looked out her window, and saw the original church building sliding down the street.  She thought her community church home was being taken away for good.

In fact, the first building continued to be used, as it adjoined the new sanctuary that was soon built to house the booming population in the postwar period.

At left, the original church structure can be seen just to the left of the bell tower that rises over the facility.

Eventually, with the next stage of construction, that earliest shelter was moved once again to become the Hungarian United Church downtown.  Recycling was understood long before today!

The Baby Boom filled the church with children, and led to the development of the Christian Education wing, seen at left beyond the steeple and cross that for many years dominated the silhouette of the church.

By 2008, the tree beside the entrance completely obscured the steeple, and deteriorating wood and concrete, and the entrance expansion required the steeple be gently and lovingly, removed.  The living tree has been preserved as a symbol of our Tree of Life.

Changing times have led to changing demographics.

Yet, the congregation's commitment to spiritual growth, investment in young people, passion for outreach ministry and loyalty to seniors means the church continues to have a valuable influence in what is now a suburb of Winnipeg.

Come see for yourself - you are welcome!