West Zion Mennonite Church is receiving a facelift to its building, beginning with the recent demolition of its 80-year-old sanctuary, a building that was constructed between the years of 1929 and 1934, said interim pastor Mal Braun.
“There were some issues with regard to the age of the foundation and the appropriateness of the old building for our uses so it was high time to say goodbye,” said Braun.
The church, located on Twp. Rd. 30.4, about nine kilometers northwest of Carstairs and nine kilometres south of Didsbury, has a rich history in the rural community of Mountain View County, particularly within the Didsbury-Carstairs area.
Congregation members sat in their vehicles and stood nearby with still and video cameras capturing the demolition of the old building on April 4.
“I've worked on a couple church demolitions and renovations in the past, and what's usually the case is that it's not structurally sound,” said youth pastor Josh Tiel.
“In this case, even with both end walls missing, it took a lot of effort on the trackhoe operator's part to knock the building down. I was quite surprised.”
The majority of the work will be done in-house by local farmers and volunteers from the church, headed up by general contractor Doug Duguid of Carstairs.
Tiel said the church has a long history of church members contributing to the structure.
“Henry Harder was the builder and designer of the one we just knocked down – and his family still attends the church.”
Congregation bids building farewell
Braun said the congregation of West Zion Mennonite gave a formal goodbye to the old structure on Palm Sunday with churchgoers worshiping in the current sanctuary.
“People were able to share their memories of how significant that first church was to them,” he said.
Retired pastor Jim Miller (who served WZMC from 1984 – 2001) lead the congregation down the hall to the old sanctuary, where the congregation continued to worship and share memories of the church's importance in their lives, said Braun.
“We did the old-style, a cappella hymn singing, no instruments,” said Braun.
“In that building – which was sort of a square building with high ceilings – the sound was phenomenal.”
The service continued there for a half hour or so, Braun said, allowing everyone to formally bid the old structure adieu, followed by a benediction and a traditional Mennonite feast.
New structure begins
“The tear-down is done, and a quiet has returned,” said Tiel.
The new space will boast nearly double the square footage of the old building, said Tiel.
“There will be a dedicated youth space. This entire wing is designed in a way that will actually better enable us to work with our kids in teams,” said Tiel.
He added that he believed the sanctuary would see an addition of approximately 100 seats, raising the seating capacity to nearly 350.
Trenching and cribbing for the new structure began last week on Wednesday, and Braun said he anticipates the congregation will be using it by Thanksgiving Day this year.
“By Thanksgiving Day, we should be able to give thanks in it,” he said.
The project has been discussed for about two years, and in the meantime, the congregation has been gathering funds in anticipation of everything lining up, he said.
“We hope to have it paid for by the time it is completed,” said Braun.
If this best-case scenario doesn't come about, Braun said the church has financial arrangements in place so the church can assume the debt of the remainder.
“Construction will be moving ahead fairly quickly, and I think we have all our ducks lined up,” he said.
Looking forward
Though the church's main worship services on Sunday mornings will go largely unhindered by the construction, Braun said the children's programs which take place in concurrence with the sermon won't be able to run for the remainder of the year, due to the fact they took place in the old section.
“It does have an impact. For at least a month or so, we won't have our children's classes going on. Our youth group met in that building as well, so Josh (Tiel) will have to make alternate arrangements for their activities.”
Average attendance at the church is about 180, with approximately 230 congregants on what Braun joked were “windy days,” with Christian holidays like Easter and Christmas pulling in the largest crowds.
“Our congregation is growing and healthy.”
The church has a long history of trusting God through times of difficulty, and doing what some might think is uncommon – for starters, building the original sanctuary during the depression, said Braun.
“When we think of their faith, and their determination to put something together…especially during the depression.”
The church's current renovations are indicative of the strength of the church body, said Braun – especially being that the church does not have a permanent pastor.
“My viewpoint is, it shows considerable church health to have the church move ahead with this construction project, even though there isn't a permanent pastor in place.”
“In a walk of faith with God, often the light He sheds for us is one step ahead, and not a mile ahead. So we have to take that in faith and go day by day.
“Our church is over 100 years old, and yet has a lot of strength and vigor.”
“I've been at this church for about four years now,” Tiel said, noting that he interned at the church during his schooling, and was hired immediately after graduation.
He said he has witnessed the church as it went through transition with pastoral changes, and despite everything, the church remains stable, and carries forward with its projects.
“Usually what happens is, you wait until new staff is hired, but there's a pretty neat community with very strong leadership out here,” said Tiel.
Much of the church's strength, he says, comes from its existing elders board.
“We have a solid group of men – not just involved here at the church, but also in the community.”
“For guys to feel like they can lead – that's pretty rare. But we have that here. God has been gracious in giving us that,” said Tiel.
“First and foremost, we have confidence in Christ, and with the strong leadership and community we have, we're not worried about the unknown.”
