The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Selkirk celebrated their 100th anniversary on Sunday, June 9.
One-hundred forty-four people were in attendance at their centennial service.
Builders of the current Evangelical Lutheran Church laid the first cornerstone on June 17, 1924.
Two buildings preceded today’s church.
The first church was built on Rosser Ave. and the second at 329 Clandeboye Ave. where the Evangelical Lutheran Church now resides.
“They constructed the second church in 1896 but it was struck by lightning,” explained Evangelical Lutheran Church Council Chair Kelly Lewis.
The second church burned to the ground on Sept. 7, 1919.
Construction of the current church began May 20, 1924.
“The laying of the cornerstone was June 17, 1924.” said Lewis. This was the official event that Evangelical Lutheran Church celebrated in June.
Lewis explained that the Evangelical Lutheran Church was founded by a small group of Icelanders in 1889. The first was service was held Nov. 6 of that year.
“There are not a lot churches of that age in Selkirk,” Lewis added. She later mentioned that despite the church’s age, there is no historic designation.
“We need to have the original everything,” Lewis said.
The present church has had to replace the windows, but other than that the building has remained intact.
Evangelical Lutheran Church was built with the help of several volunteers and costed around $12,000.
Presently, members of all nationalities attend the services at the Evangelical Lutheran Church.
June 9’s service brought some special faces to the centennial celebration.
MLA Richard Perchotte and his wife Janice were present.
“Vilhjalmur Wiium, the Consulate General of Iceland attended the service and brought greetings.” said Lewis.
The Consulate General acts as the relations between Icelandic communities in Manitoba and Iceland.
The special anniversary brought a lot more people to the Sunday service than the Evangelical Lutheran Church typically sees.
“It was lovely to see a full church.” Lewis said.
Special events also occurred on June 9.
Evangelical Lutheran Church members from Good Shepherd Lutheran Church joined them on their special day.
Members from the Selkirk chapter of the Icelandic National League choirs’ sang two anthems for the sermon.
Over 20 choir singers united to sing to verses of Amazing Grace in Icelandic as well.
“This was the first time Icelandic has been spoken in the church in a long time,” explained Lewis.
She added that the Icelandic National League taught the singers the words and correct pronunciation.
“It was honouring feeling the language back in the church,” said Lewis.
Artifacts and old images were on display to share Evangelical Lutheran Church’s history.
To conclude the centennial celebration, a lunch was held in the Evangelical Lutheran Church’s hall.
Members got to mingle and share memories.
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Selkirk host services each Sunday for members. Visit selkevan.ca for more details.
Record Photos Submitted
