Mount Zion Lutheran Church may have been founded by Norwegian fishermen, but it’s become a melting pot for folks from various cultures and religions.
The church is celebrating its 125th anniversary this weekend, making it the oldest Lutheran congregation in New Westminster.
“It’s an interesting mix of people,” said Marlys Moen, who has been the church’s pastor for 14 years. “It was initially founded by Norwegian fishermen. Its first name was Nidaros, which is after the big cathedral in Trondheim in northern Norway. When they moved up here they changed the name. Downtown it was called Nidaros.”
Nidaros was located at two sites in downtown New Westminster for many years, before the congregation raised funds and moved into a new building at 930 Cumberland St. in 1958. At the time, the Massey Victory Heights neighbourhood was still bush and was just starting to be developed.
In the 1960s, Mount Zion’s membership grew to more than 1,000 people, with two or three services needed to accommodate everyone. The church, which merged with Immanuel Lutheran Church in 1990, has attracted people from many different ethnic backgrounds.
“We still do have a Norwegian immigrant in the congregation who came in the ’50s, but it still is an immigrant congregation,” Moen said. “There’s probably about 20 different languages spoken as a first language in the congregation – Polish, Hungarian, Swedish, Norwegian, English and all these different African dialects that get spoken here as well.”
Moen estimates about one-third of the church’s members are from South Sudan, something that’s led its members to have greater involvement in raising funds to assist those in need in the African country. The congregation has been active in sponsoring refugee families and has been a place where many government-sponsored refugees have felt at home.
“There is an openness and welcoming here,” Moen said. “We had a Muslim family that came here to worship, not just for the coffee time after church. The mother didn’t speak much English at all, but one time she told me it was a safe place to pray.”
Women in the congregation continue to devote hundreds of hours every year to preparing quilts and baby layettes and providing school supplies for people in need locally and throughout the world. It’s believed to be the only place in town where you can find lefse – a Norwegian specialty that’s served at the church’s annual fall tea.
In addition to a special Sunday worship this weekend, Mount Zion is having a 125th anniversary gathering at the church on Saturday, Sept. 24 at 7 p.m. that will include a slide show of the church’s history and a time for people to visit and share stories.
Mount Zion isn’t the only local church celebrating a milestone this weekend, as Knox Presbyterian Church is also celebrating its 125th anniversary this weekend. Check out today’s Around Town column on page 22 for more information about its celebration.
