History

Resurrection’s Story

God’s initial seed planting for Resurrection Lutheran Church started in August of 1979, when Pastor Boyd Molder was called to be Mission Developer for River Heights, Lawson Heights and Silverwood Heights areas of Saskatoon.

A portable classroom at River Heights School was our sanctuary for a short time; the first service was held in it on January 13, 1980, with 38 adults and 36 children attending.  The first communion was celebrated on February 10, and the first baptism on February 24.  In April, a Mission Statement Event was held where, with God’s guidance, our Mission Statement was developed, and it remains unchanged to this day. 

On April 27, 1980, the meeting place moved to St. George’s School, and Sunday School began.  September 28, 1980 was designated Charter Sunday, and the Charter was signed by 33 adults and 13 children.  The Charter Statement, our purpose as a congregation, reads as follows: 

We believe that Resurrection Lutheran exists to proclaim Jesus Christ as Saviour in an open accepting fellowship; a loving caring community which reaches out to all people.  As God’s people, we seek to serve Christ through worshipping, teaching, learning and giving of ourselves to meet the needs of this congregation, the community and the world as the Holy Spirit guides us.  With the help of Almighty God, we pledge to faithfully support and participate in the life of Resurrection Lutheran Church that together we may express the love of God we know in Jesus Christ through our church and our lives.

Sunday morning teams, later called Ministry Teams, were organized with the purpose of distributing the responsibilities for Sunday morning among all individuals and families in the Mission.

Land Purchased for Building

A building site, on 2.8 acres, was selected by the Lutheran Church of America (LCA) on the corner of Lenore Drive and Roborecki Crescent, and it was purchased in October of 1980.

1981 was the year of many firsts: the curling bonspiel, Easter Breakfast prepared by the men, Women’s Fellowship Group, Vacation Bible School, Every Member Response, congregational picnic, and Confirmation Class. 

In 1982, our church name “Resurrection Lutheran Church,” which was suggested by Pastor Boyd, was officially adopted by the congregation at the Organization Sunday on October 24.  At the same time, it also became a recognized congregation of the LCA.  The Building Committee was struck in the fall, and the first meeting of the Church Council was held on November 2.

By 1983, we had grown to 68 confirmed members and 146 baptized members.  On May 8, the groundbreaking ceremony of the building site was held and construction began in June.  On April 14, at the Synod Convention, Resurrection was officially received as a congregation of the Central Canada Synod.  God’s presence was indeed felt on October 9, when the congregational procession left St. George School to enter the new building for worship for the first time.  The official dedication was held on October 30, Reformation Sunday.  Thanks to the many donations, gifts and work done by congregation members, we now had an altar, pulpit, baptismal font, candle holders, built-in vacuum, mailboxes, refrigerator, stove, dishwasher, photocopier, piano, organ, baptismal pottery bowl, hymnals and communion ware.

Underground sprinklers were installed and the grass was seeded in 1984. Everyone smiled for the first photo directory.  We began supporting, and still support, the Saskatoon Food Bank with collections of food.

From LCA to ELCIC

In May 1985, the founding convention of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) was held in Winnipeg, and, in June, the founding convention of the Saskatchewan Synod was held in Outlook.  Resurrection now became a congregation of the ELCIC and the Saskatchewan Synod.  By this time, Resurrection had 115 confirmed members and 223 baptized members.  Tree planting started in 1986 and the nativity scene was created and set up in December. 

By 1988, the congregation was at 165 confirmed members, with 298 baptized members. God had further plans for us: a building expansion. In 1991, the congregation passed the Council proposal “that the congregation initiate the process of building expansion.”  In 1992, with 234 confirmed members and 396 baptized members, Resurrection celebrated its 10th Anniversary with a two-day celebration on October 24th and 25th, with approximately 200 attending the Holy Communion services on Sunday. 

Building Expansion

Fundraising for the building expansion began in April 1993. On September 25, 1994, Kindrachuk Agrey Architects were approved.  On June 16, 1996, a special congregational meeting was held, and the motion to approve the preliminary design for expansion of the worship facility was approved. The architect was directed to proceed with the development of construction drawings.

The groundbreaking ceremony was held on August 11, and construction began the summer of 1997. Many members of the congregation contributed their time and talents in the construction of the expansion; the construction was done almost entirely by volunteer labour during the many Saturday Work Bees. The expansion was completed in 1998 and the dedication of the new building was held on September 27.

In 1999, our Ministry Teams were re-organized and named Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Our beautiful stained glass window was designed and installed on the wall behind the altar, and a year later the round stained glass window was installed on the south wall of the sanctuary. 

Dinner Theatre & Mission Trip

Our first dinner theatre, “Sagebrush,” was held in 2001 and received much acclaim.  It was the first of six annual dinner theatres.  The other dinner theatres were

• “Dead Flamingo” in 2002
• “Animal Crackers” in 2003
• “All I Wanted to Know I Learned in Kindergarten” in 2004
• “Our Town” in 2005 and “Gaslight Follies” in 2007

Also in April of 2001, thirteen youth participated in “Mission to Mexico” to Tijuana-Tecata, where they built a home for a homeless family.

Altar Wall, Labyrinth, and Ice Sculpture

2002 saw the dedication of the altar cross and altar wall.

God’s handiwork continued in 2003, when the labyrinth was created by high school students from Olympia, Washington, who were on a mission trip to Saskatchewan.  Prior to their coming, funds were donated by their home churches; when the students arrived in Saskatoon they were put to work at RLC laying the path as one of their many projects while here. They were able to complete about 75% of the project, and church volunteers completed the rest. The rose design in the center displays the gifts of the spirit: love, joy, peace, gentleness, kindness, faithfulness, goodness, self-control and patience.

This was also the first year of the Christmas nativity ice sculpture.

Over the years, there were many long-running social events like the Silver Broom curling tournament, the Jabberwok golf tournaments, summer picnics, fall suppers and Kinasao retreats.  There have been many potluck lunches after Sunday service sometimes in celebration of an event or as a fundraiser for a special project.

25th Anniversary

RLC continued to grow and change. In the fall of 2007, we celebrated our 25th Anniversary with a dinner and program. It was attended by both current and past members.  In February 2009, a Visioning Day was held to guide the congregation in planning goals for the next 5 years. Building improvements also continued over 2009 and 2010 with the renovation of the kitchen including an industrial dishwasher, and hearing assist devices were purchased to help those who need a little help hearing the Word of God at Sunday services.

Renovations and New Programs

In February 2011, the revised constitution was adopted at the AGM.

The old green hymnals and the old version of “Now the Feast and Celebration” were donated to an overseas congregation.

There were many very successful events in this era: Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, the Easter Breakfast, Back to Church Sunday, Fall Supper and a Craft and Bake Sale. These events were held mainly for fellowship, but funds were raised for some various needs.

Repairs were made to the Fire Alarm system, the emergency lights, and the downspouts. New splash guards were installed in the washrooms. The sound system was upgraded and new microphones purchased.

Other projects included redecoration of the Narthex. Funds were raised over the year for new flooring in the Fellowship Hall. and by December there was enough money to go ahead so planning got underway. A new church sign was designed by Kota Graphics and installed in October 2011. Our website went “live” in September.

Along with regular donations to the Food Bank, some of the other outreach programs included Samaritan’s Purse Shoeboxes, Food Hampers and the Mitten Tree. Except for the Shoeboxes, these programs continue every year.

On January 8, 2012, two chaplains from the provincial jail were invited as part of Social Justice Sunday. They brought awareness to what they do and how we could be part of their ministry. Soon, Resurrection’s Prison Ministry was taking place at the Saskatoon Correctional Centre once a month. It was an opportunity to share God’s Word and worship together with a community of believers much different than our own congregation.

A lot of fundraising occurred in 2012 including the sale of the old Fellowship Hall flooring tiles, Fall Garage / Bake / Craft Sales, hot dog sales and the Easter Breakfast. Greeting cards, made with pictures of the church’s ice sculptures, were developed and sold. They were available for a few years and provided funds for various causes. The long overdue church picture directory was completed, and copies were sold as another fundraiser.

Mission Congregation Project

In September, intern Pastor Olivier Ravelojaona was installed and, in true Resurrection fashion, a potluck was held to welcome him and his family. He began his one-year internship with a focus on mission, outreach and discipleship in Hampton Village, Blairmore and another neighbourhood that Trinity would be responsible for.

In March 2013, Council approved extending the internship program for another year in order to accomplish the goal. Intern Pastor Shane Hein joined us for that year.

With Intern Pastor Shane’s leadership, the project really took off, with regular meetings in Warman in his and other members’ homes.

Both internships were funded by the Mission in Ministry Committee of the Saskatchewan Synod. As the project grew and solidified, an application for a part-time mission developer was submitted to the Synod’s Mission in Ministry Committee, then known as the Canadian Missions Committee. The application was approved as part-time, but later upgraded to full time, and Pastor Fran Schmidt was called and installed at Resurrection on September 28, 2014. She shepherded the core group of the mission plant of mostly members of Resurrection living in the communities north of Saskatoon until her call in August 2017 to serve as director of development at Lutheran Theological Seminary.

Since then, the future of the mission has been uncertain. Bishop Sid looked at ways to continue supporting the mission with talks about the potential for the new pastor in Rosthern serving the mission as well. In the meantime, members of Resurrection who have been involved in the mission project were encouraged to worship at Resurrection at least until the Synod is able to fill the current vacancy.

2012-15

Planning began for the community gardens. In June, a representative from CHEP delivered a presentation on community gardening and gave us some ideas for this project. This was an ongoing plan and we looked forward to see if we could make this come to fruition in the spring.

During the month of June, we had a very successful drive to raise funds for the “Shelter Box” project. Shelter Box is an international disaster relief charity established in the UK in 2000 that provides emergency shelter and other aid items to families around the world who have lost their homes through disaster or conflict. Each box is tailored to a disaster but typically contains a disaster relief kit for a family with thermal blankets and ground sheets, water storage and purification equipment, solar lamps, cooking utensils, a basic tool kit, mosquito nets and a children’s activity pack. Through the tremendous support from our congregation and the community, we received enough money to supply four shelter boxes. Over 2,000,000 people in Nigeria had been displaced due to flooding, and the four shelter boxes we raised money for were sent to Nigeria and arrived there on November 30, 2012.

Through the generous donations to the “Food bank wagons,” we continued to supply much needed food for some of the most vulnerable in our community. With the assistance of the Sunday School, we provided 50 boxes filled with gifts, school supplies and personal care items for the Samaritans Purse.

In 2013, Resurrection celebrated 25 years of Ecumenical Vacation Bible School with St. Anne’s Catholic Parish. This combined VBS continued until 2019.

The Social Justice committee organized a very successful cupcake and flower sale on Mother’s Day. With the money raised we supported the Mercy Ships and started our community gardens. In May, four raised gardens were built, and a water tank was set up. In September, the Lutheran World Relief asked for donations of sweaters for Syrian refugees. Our Resurrection family answered with 15 boxes filled with sweaters for the cause.

A Stewardship Committee was formed in the spring of 2013 with the intention of organizing an Every Member Visit. Eighteen members of the congregation volunteered to be visitors for these visits.

In 2014, work on the bell tower was completed except for replacing the door, and the exterior of the church was painted.

The social justice committee raised funds for two more community gardens through a home-based concert and the annual Mother’s Day Cupcake and Roses sale. The two gardens were put in along with another water tank. The park bench was moved closer to the labyrinth, anchored in concrete and was given a new coat of paint and varnish. Thanks to Edgar Buck for doing this.

In December, we held a drive to collect monies and essential items for the residence at the Lighthouse. On December 7th, Social Justice Sunday, the communications director of the Lighthouse, DeeAnn Mercier, made a presentation giving us some insight into the day-to-day challenges faced by the people living there. We were asked to support them through our donations of money and warm clothing, as well as to consider volunteering with them. As always, our on-going project is to keep the “Little Red Wagons” full of the items needed at the Food Bank.

The Stewardship committee produced a Resurrection Pamphlet. This pamphlet gives visitors and possible members a perspective of Resurrection Lutheran Church activities and history.

There was a “Just in Case” presentation by Harold Empey to education members about estate planning. This highly rated presentation has been presented to many organizations all across the city at no cost with the exception of the optional binder.

In 2015, the Social Justice Committee took a leading role in helping the congregation assist an immigrant family from Syria through fundraising for their sponsorship and by supplying needed household items, bikes, helmets, and a skateboard. Two more community gardens were built and two more for next year were planned.

2016-2019

In 2016, a Steak Night Fundraiser was held on April 25 to raise money for the sponsorship of the family from Syria.

In November, Council directed the proceeds from annual Fall Supper toward the purchase and installation of a replacement furnace.

Pastor Ali Tote was granted a sabbatical for the first six months of 2017, returning in July. Pastor Hugh Farmer filled in for pastoral care and often led worship during that time.

Samantha Neumeyer was hired as the City-Wide Youth Coordinator. In September, the City-Wide Youth Group met for their first get-together at an introduction night. In October, they had a discussion on homelessness and toured the downtown, stopping at the Lighthouse with donations of socks. On November 5, they went out to Rhein, SK, for “Not for Sale” Human Trafficking Awareness Day. They had a skating Christmas party in December.

The new furnace was installed. Repairs were made after water damage occurred to the downstairs meeting room and bathrooms downstairs. Upgrades were made to the City water and gas services as mandated by the City of Saskatoon. Some grading was completed on the east side of the building.

In 2017, Adri Booth created a new banner in time for the city-wide celebration of the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation, and it was blessed and then hung in the Sanctuary.

In October after three years of fund raising, a family of seven from Syria arrived in Saskatoon. Resurrection, along with St Anne’s Parish and Sts-Martyrs–Canadiens Church had raised funds to support this family. Through the faithful support of fundraisers and donations from our congregation, $11,808 was raised. A pot luck welcome lunch was held on December 3rd at Resurrection.

Youth Ministry

Youth ministry involved confirmands from a few years. Sylvia Graupe, who has a passion for youth ministry, took on the leadership role as a volunteer. Under her leadership, one youth event was organized in November. Our Resurrection youth met in October.

In 2018, The Social Justice Committee continued to represent Resurrection Lutheran Church as part of the Joint Committee with St. Anne’s Parish and St. Martyrs-Canadien Church in supporting the Syrian family until October of 2018. The Open Door Society began to support them after that. The Social Justice Committee was also instrumental in helping to provide a fridge and stove for a family who needed them.

2018 also saw FunFest on September 9, a wonderful day funded by the Mission in Ministry Committee in which Resurrection opened its doors to the community and offered free food and children’s activities to all.

In 2019, the new model constitution was approved. It was developed following the template from the National Church Council. That year we also had a very interesting Ministry Sunday in March; representatives from all our committees and groups prepared displays and gave short presentations about their work following the sermon.

A local francophone daycare, the Éducational Center Chacha Cooperative, approached Pastor Ali about potentially moving to Resurrection’s basement. A Daycare Project Committee was formed, and negotiations between Resurrection and the daycare began. The daycare hired Kim Construction to perform major renovations to the basement to get the space ready. Regulations required that a fence be installed around the property to prevent children from running out into the street. The daycare’s grand opening was delayed due to the pandemic, but it finally was able to begin operating out of our basement in the fall of 2021. Meanwhile, the quilters and artist group moved upstairs into the Fellowship Hall. Thanks to Garry Booth and Brian Crawley for building great cabinets for the quilters.

The Resurrection LutherCare Committee was formed after the 2019 Resurrection Lutheran Church Annual General Meeting. The mandate developed by the committee was to explore with LutherCare a project to develop a seniors’ complex with residential tenancy and intermediate care in the parking lot of Resurrection Lutheran Church. The committee was to examine and research the project and provide option and recommendations to Council on an ongoing basis. The project was put on hold while LutherCare realigned its finances.

Two members of the congregation were able to attend the Stephen Ministry leaders’ course in June, assisted financially by the congregation. Since that time, they have been working with the Saskatoon group, which is shared with Resurrection, Redeemer, Zion and Good Shepherd. In the fall, a 5-week session of Caring Christians for our congregation was presented, and it was well received by the six participants.

The Sunday School year runs from September to June and, in 2019, the focus was the Gospel lessons. There were 24 children registered that year, with an average attendance of 5-10 per week.

The final year of the ecumenical Vacation Bible School with St. Anne’s Catholic Church saw 82 children registered, 7 of whom were from Resurrection. Monetary donations from the families covered some of the cost of the supplies, and snacks were provided by Resurrection members. Volunteerism from Resurrection members was excellent and appreciated. Children were invited to bring coins for a plinko-type drop, which collected money for the Food Bank.

WWDWWD

The Why We Do What We do (WWDWWD) study ran for many years on Sunday mornings 9. Participants engaged in exciting discussions about our faith, and they strove to be more faithful to Christ.

Our youth activities and involvement in the life of the congregation included helping with worship service, Sunday School, and at the Fall Supper by welcoming guests, serving coffee and tea, and cleaning tables. Flora Tabien, our youth leader, planned a few events but, unfortunately, her job moved her temporarily out of the city. We look forward to revitalizing our youth ministry with a more stable leadership. In the meantime, we welcomed any volunteers willing to help.

2020-2023

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, and it dragged on for three years. This necessitated many changes in our church and altered our lives in ways we could never have imagined. Our worship life was significantly affected. We weren’t able to worship consistently in-person for almost a year, and we weren’t able to have fellowship with each other around coffee, food, face-to-face lively and engaging conversations for longer than that. It was very tough, difficult, and painful. Among the aspects of our community that were severely affected by pandemic restrictions, the funerals were perhaps the saddest. At such a time, people want to gather, but often we simply could not.

We had to be imaginative and creative in coming up with ways to stay together as a community of faith. The Men’s Breakfast group continued to meet virtually over Zoom rather than in-person, with each person bringing their coffee and sometimes breakfast as members engaged one another in conversation remotely. Our Sunday School met remotely under the leadership of Nicole Bilinski assisted by Nahema Tchokonte. WWDWWD study saw a strong and faithful attendance.

A Re-opening Committee was created to help us navigate our way through this pandemic, and safety protocols were put in place involved the wearing of masks, hand sanitizing, recording contact information of attendees, personal spacing and monitoring of personal health. Dr. Angela England was instrumental in leading that committee and our re-opening efforts.

In 2021, even though the work of ministry had been hampered by the pandemic, Resurrection continued to carry the light of Christ and proclaim the gospel. We re-opened for in-person worship throughout 2021, albeit in small numbers with the majority of worship attendance being online via Zoom. We managed to maintain our worship life with participation as close to non-pandemic levels as possible. Ministry teams continued to serve faithfully with readers, worship assistants, musicians, acolytes, altar guild, ushers and greeters. Sunday School, confirmation, youth, study groups, men’s breakfast, and the quilting group continued. Everyone remained involved and active as it was safe to do so. We are not aware of a single case of COVID-19 originating from our church.

We adapted as a congregation and went from being a church with minimal technology in worship to high-tech gadgets used to facilitate the hybrid model of in-person and online attendance via Zoom. As a result of Resurrection’s commitment to worship, we experienced a strong worship attendance every Sunday, with an average combined in-person and online attendance of 75 people.

In June 2021, the main portion of the church roof was re-shingled and the bell tower was fitted with a metal cap. This work was completed in October.

By 2022, in-person services were again happening at Resurrection. Everyone was invited and encouraged to attend in-person worship and live-streaming the worship service ended. Coffee hour fellowship and hospitality resumed after the worship service. WWDWWD, Confirmation, Sunday School and other committees and groups began to meet in-person once again.

Thanks to a generous bequest, we were able to pay off our mortgage, and we also were able to purchase and install a new dishwasher and do some much needed renovations in the kitchen.

Accessibility improved when automatic openers were installed at the back entrance, which open both the inside and outside doors. This was much needed, as this is the entrance most people use.

In May, our much-loved Pastor Ali Tote left us after eleven and a half years to take a new position as Assistant for the Saskatchewan Synod Bishop. We bid him a fond farewell on June 18, and there was a time of fellowship and refreshments after service. On June 19, Pastor Michael Poellet became our interim pastor.

2022 saw the last of the very popular ice sculptures carved by Don Greer. He had built sculptures annually since 2002. The last one was a scene with shepherds and an angel. Over the years, there were many variations of the nativity scene, large advent candles, a peace dove and many others. These were enjoyed by many in Saskatoon to the extent we were known as the “church with the ice sculptures on Lenore”. Thank you, Don, for so many wonderful ice creations.

In February 2023, Resurrection and King of Glory united in putting on a musical/variety night followed by refreshments at Resurrection. It was well attended and enjoyed by all.

On March 5, 2023 Pastor Sean Bell became our new pastor at Resurrection.

In May, the World Health Organization declared the pandemic officially over, but COVID-19 is still with us. Services are pretty well back to what they had been pre-pandemic, with some safety protocols in place. On November 5, 2023, after a four-year hiatus because of the pandemic, Resurrection had a very successful Fall Supper. Proceeds went into our Property Reserve Fund and some also went to Campus Ministry and LuMinHoS.

We welcome all, both members and visitors, as we worship together as part of God’s family.