Building a New Church
David Reim is the first pastor of the new St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church in Vernon.
Reim arrived May 1 from Marquette, Michigan to take on his duties with the congregation which meets in Halina Centre.
“The church grew out of a group of people who had serious concerns about growing liberalism among Lutheran churches and who wanted to remain faithful to God’s word and have God’s word taught in its truth,” he said.
The new church has been having meetings for about a year with pastors from Seattle and Spokane. It is associated with the Church of the Lutheran Confession (CLC) which is based in the United States.
The Vernon church was granted mission status last year which means that the CLC will help the new church to get established. Members hope to purchase a building or build a new one within a couple of years.
Reim, whose father was a pastor, attended seminary and went on to serve in churches in Colorado from 1984 to 1989 and in Marquette from 1989 to 1997. He and his wife, Julie, have four children.
“The move to Canada has been very interesting,” he said. “I had been to Canada before and it is pretty much what I expected. This is a beautiful area and we have found the people to be very friendly.”
St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church offers services in German at 9 a.m. and in English at 10 a.m. Summer children’s programs are planned and Sunday school and women’s and youth groups will start in the fall.
“I think there are two reasons why people like to hear a service in their own language,” said Reim. “They feel more comfortable in their mother tongue and they want to hold on to their German heritage for their children.
“Our primary concern and desire in all our service is to be faithful to God’s word. There is a tendency to change to suit the circumstances but God doesn’t change and his word doesn’t change. I think a lot of people are seeking a lot of things in life but after a time they find that it is still rather empty and what they are missing is a spiritual relationship with God.”
Everyone is welcome to come to St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church services whether they were raised in the Lutheran tradition or not. For more information call Reim at 250-549-5250.