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Estevan's Trinity Lutheran Church celebrates a century of ministry

Trinity Lutheran Church in Estevan has gone through many changes in its history. It was born when several congregations came together in the early 20th century.

Trinity Lutheran Church in Estevan has gone through many changes in its history.

It was born when several congregations came together in the early 20th century. It has also had several different homes, including its present site at the intersection of Second Street and Eighth Avenue.

But even the current church building is a testament to the resiliency of Trinity Lutheran’s congregation. A fire struck the previous church in 1984 and burned it to the ground. The church’s members were resolved to rebuild, and the present church building opened in 1986 at the same site.

Trinity Lutheran Church celebrated 100 years of ministry from May 20 to 22, with a series of activities that attracted hundreds of people.

“It was a great weekend,” said the church’s pastor, Rev. Stewart Miller. “The strongest and most important characteristics of this congregation are its sense of community and family, and its ability to produce some wonderful music. And we had both of those in grand array here for the weekend.”

Miller has gained an appreciation for those traits during his tenure in Estevan. He was a pastor at Trinity from 1990 to 1999, and after 12 years in Calgary, he came back to Estevan in 2011.

“The sense of community that this congregation has always had is what brought me back here for a second time as their pastor, and what brought everybody back here this weekend,” said Miller.

Centennial celebrations started with a coffee house on May 20, in which people gathered for music, stories, snacks and refreshments.

The next day, people travelled to the Metochos Ministries Lutheran Bible Camp, northwest of Estevan, for a tour.

The evening of May 21 featured stories, speeches and music, followed by a banquet supper. Evelyn Svorkdal shared stories from the early years of the church.

Miller read a letter from Bernice Saskstad (formerly Berg), who was married to the pastor who served alongside Miller in the early 1990s.

“It is a great time to celebrate His goodness as you recount the events of these last 100 years,” Saskstad said in her letter. “God has richly blessed in good times and in struggles, in joys and in sorrows, in unbelievable changes in the world, and in this community, as you have witnessed to others of His love for them.”

Five guest speakers spoke during the program. Barry Vall and Murray Halverson grew up in the congregation and went on to become pastors. Harley Johnson, Paul Sartison and Val From were previous ministers at Trinity Lutheran. Each shared stories of the church, and how it shaped them with their ministry.

The weekend wrapped up with the event Miller viewed as the highlight of the celebrations: a Sunday morning worship service on May 22. Parishioners from St. Giles Anglican Church and St. Paul’s United Church were also present, continuing what Miller views as a strong relationship between the churches.

Members from Faith Lutheran Church in Lampman was also present.

“We had Bishop Sid Haugen, who is the bishop of the Saskatchewan Synod of the ELCIC (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada), as our preacher today,” said Miller.

Several current and former pastors were also present to speak at the event.

“We had lots of participation from past clergy … and we had lots of great music,” said Miller. “There was a mass choir of the people of St. Paul’s and Trinity.”

The international brass, which includes members from both North Dakota and Saskatchewan, performed during the service.

A potluck lunch was served once the service was over.

Miller estimates total attendance for the weekend was close to 500 people.

“There really were quite a number of people who came back who had moved on to … Regina, Calgary and Medicine Hat,” said Miller. “As far as I know, the furthest person came from Bowen Island, B.C.”

Miller noted that while Trinity was formed many years ago when a number of congregations came together, the first of those churches met for the first time 100 years ago for its first service, and that’s why they celebrated their centennial this year.