Contact
1909 Ottawa Street Regina, SK, S4P 1P7
(306) 757-7729
History
The beginnings of Trinity reflect the beginnings of the province of Saskatchewan and of the city of Regina.
Between 1901 and 1911 Saskatchewan’s population had increased five times to 492,400, primarily due to significant immigration from Europe. German-speaking immigrants were the largest non-British ethnic group at 68,600. In this new and growing place a group of people came together to share their faith.
On March 4, 1906 the first worship service was held in the John Brodt home, 1964 St. John Street with Pastor George Gehrke of Winnipeg officiating. Pastor Gehrke, at the time, was serving as the travelling missionary in western Canada for the Ohio Synod. Following the worship service 15 women and men signed the constitution and Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church came into being.
Initially the services were held in the Odd Fellows Hall on Robinson and 9th Avenue. In June of the same year Pastor George Duerkop of St. Paul, Minnesota accepted the call to Trinity and became the first resident pastor. In 1907 the first church building and parsonage were built on the 1900 block Ottawa Street. The congregation rapidly outgrew its first church building and by 1913 it was replaced by a second building.
The congregation continued to grow. Most of the members came from Europe and were in search of a new life which offered opportunities for a better life and to practice their faith and adhere to their culture in freedom. At one time 10 per cent of the people living in Regina had an association with Trinity. Because of the high concentration of Germans living around the church, the area became known as “German Town.”
Following the Second World War another wave of immigrants settled in Regina. Trinity also benefited from this immigration influx.
By the late 1950′s the congregation had grown to just under 3,000 members. In order to house this large congregation the present building was constructed in 1961 with a seating capacity of over 700. The Parish Hall was added in 1981.
Trinity’s first church building housed a bell donated by Julius von Ferber. That same bell was moved to the second building when the church building was replaced in 1913. Structural problems in the bell tower saw the bell removed in 1959 and stored until 1984 when it was installed in the then newly constructed bell tower.
In 2002 Trinity and a sister ELCIC congregation, St. Paul’s began a shared ministry under the leadership of Pastor Helmut Nachtigall and Pastor Lindsay Hognestad. St. Paul’s history was similar to Trinity’s in that the congregation was established in 1949 in response to the second large influx of German speaking immigrants. St. Paul’s also offered English and German worship services.
Trinity and St.Paul’s merged on Pentecost Sunday, June 8, 2003. The merged congregation’s home is Trinity. St. Paul’s church building was sold the following year. The altar and furnishings were incorporated in Trinity’s church building and an area dedicated as St. Paul’s Chapel.
