May 15, 2022

Winnipeg
4° C, Clear

Full Forecast

Contact Us Subscribe Manage Subscription Chat with us
Log in Create Free Account Help Chat with us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertising Contact
    • Submit a News Tip
    • Subscribe to Newsletters

    • Finding your
      information

    • My Account
    • Manage my Subscription
    • Change Password

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate

    • Log Out
    • Log in
    • Create Free Account
    • Help

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate
  • Coronavirus Coverage
  • Replica E-Edition
    • About the E-Edition
    • Winnipeg Free Press
    • Community Review East
    • Community Review West
  • Above the Fold
  • Front page
  • Arts & Life
    • All Arts & Life
    • The Arts
    • Autos
    • Books
    • Book Club
    • Cannabis
    • Celebrities
    • Diversions
    • Puzzles
    • Environment
    • Events
    • Faith
    • Food & Drink
    • Your Health
    • Life & Style
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Science & Technology
    • TV
    • Travel
  • Business
    • All Business
    • Agriculture
    • Personal Finance
    • Manitoba's Top Employers
  • Canada
  • Local
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Columnists
    • Editorials
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Send a Letter to the Editor
  • Sports
    • All Sports
    • Amateur
    • Auto Racing
    • Blue Bombers
    • Curling
    • Football
    • Goldeyes
    • Golf
    • High School
    • Hockey
    • Horse Racing
    • Winnipeg Jets
    • Manitoba Moose
    • WHL
    • MLB
    • NBA
    • Olympics
    • Soccer
  • World
  • The Star
  • Reader BridgeNEW
  • WFP EventsNEW
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Advertising
    • Contact Us
    • Carrier Positions & Retailer Requests
    • FP Newspapers Inc.
    • History
    • Internships
    • Job Opportunities
    • News Café
    • Privacy Policy
    • Retail Locations
    • Staff Biographies
    • Terms and Conditions
  • Archives
  • Free Press Community Review
    • All Free Press Community Review News
    • East Edition
    • West Edition
    • Sports
    • Events
    • Contact Us
    • E-Editions
  • Classifieds
  • Contests
  • Coupons
    • All Coupons
    • Staples Copy & Print Coupons
    • Ripley's Aquariums Coupons
    • The Bay Coupons
    • Staples Canada Coupons
    • Altitude Sports Coupons
    • Nike Coupons
    • Tuango Coupons
    • Ebay Canada Coupons
    • Sport Chek Coupons
    • Roots Coupons
  • LifestylesNEW
    • All Lifestyles
    • Business Hub
    • Community
    • Drink & Dine
    • Life
    • Wellness
    • Whiskers & Wings
    • Sponsored Articles
  • Homes
    • Property Listings
    • Featured News
    • Renovation and design
    • New homes
    • Resale homes
  • Newsletters
  • Obituaries
  • Puzzles
  • Photo and Book store
  • More

©2022 FP Newspaper Inc.

Close
  • Quick Links

    • Coronavirus Coverage
    • Federal Election
    • Above the Fold
    • Home
    • Local
    • Canada
    • World
    • Classifieds
    • Special Coverage
    • Newsletters
    • Obituaries
    • Photo and Book store
    • Archives
    • Contests
    • Publications
    • Sponsored Content
    • Privacy Policy

    Ways to support us

    • Pay it Forward program
    • Subscribe
    • Day Pass
    • Support Faith coverage
    • Support Arts coverage
  • Replica E-Edition

    • About the E-Edition
    • Winnipeg Free Press
    • Community Review East
    • Community Review West

    Business

    • All Business
    • Agriculture
    • Personal Finance
  • Arts & Life

    • All Arts & Life
    • The Arts
    • Autos
    • Books
    • Cannabis
    • Celebrities
    • Diversions
    • Puzzles
    • Environment
    • Events
    • Faith
    • Food & Drink
    • Your Health
    • Life & Style
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Science & Technology
    • TV
    • Travel
  • Sports

    • All Sports
    • Amateur
    • Auto Racing
    • Blue Bombers
    • Curling
    • Football
    • Goldeyes
    • Golf
    • High School
    • Hockey
    • Horse Racing
    • Winnipeg Jets
    • Manitoba Moose
    • WHL
    • MLB
    • NBA
    • Olympics
    • Soccer
  • Opinion

    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Columnists
    • Editorials
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Send a Letter to the Editor

    Media

    • All Media
    • Photo Galleries
    • Videos

    Homes

    • Property Listings
    • Featured News
    • Renovation and design
    • New homes
    • Resale homes
  • Canstar Community News

    • All Free Press Community Review News
    • East Edition
    • West Edition
    • Sports
    • Events
    • Contact Us
    • E-Editions
  • Coupons

    • All Coupons
    • Staples Copy & Print Coupons
    • Ripley's Aquariums Coupons
    • The Bay Coupons
    • Staples Canada Coupons
    • Altitude Sports Coupons
    • Nike Coupons
    • Tuango Coupons
    • Ebay Canada Coupons
    • Sport Chek Coupons
    • Roots Coupons
  • About Us

    • About Us
    • Advertising
    • Contact Us
    • Carrier Positions & Retailer Requests
    • FP Newspapers Inc.
    • History
    • Internships
    • Job Opportunities
    • News Café
    • Privacy Policy
    • Retail Locations
    • Staff Biographies
    • Terms and Conditions
The Free Press
Articles Read
Your Balance +tax
Day Pass Till
Day Pass
    • Contact Us
    • Advertising Contact
    • Report an Error
    • Send a Letter to the Editor
    • Staff Biographies
    • Submit a News Tip
    • Subscribe to Newsletters

    • Finding your
      information

    • Log in
    • Create Account
    • Help
    • Chat with us

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate
    • My Account
    • Manage My Subscription
    • Change Password
    • Chat with us

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate

    • Log Out
Log in Create Account Contact Us
Contact Us Manage Subscription
  • Sections
  • Local
  • Arts & Life
    • All Arts & Life
    • The Arts
    • Autos
    • Books
    • Diversions
    • Environment
    • Faith
    • Food & Drink
    • Health
    • Movies
    • Music
    • TV
    • Travel
  • Business
    • All Business
    • Agriculture
    • Personal Finance
    • Manitoba's Top Employers
  • Sports
    • All Sports
    • Amateur
    • Blue Bombers
    • Curling
    • Football
    • Goldeyes
    • High School
    • Hockey
    • Winnipeg Jets
    • Manitoba Moose
    • WHL
    • MLB
    • NBA
    • Soccer
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Columnists
    • Editorials
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Send a Letter to the Editor
  • E-Edition
  • Homes
  • Classifieds
    • All Classifieds
    • Announcements
    • Automotive
    • Careers
    • Garage Sales
    • Merchandise
    • Pets
    • Real Estate
    • Rentals
    • Services
  • Lifestyles
    • Business Hub
    • Community
    • Drink & Dine
    • Life
    • Manitoba’s Top Employers
    • Wellness
    • Whiskers & Wings
    • Sponsored Articles
  • Coupons
    • All Coupons
    • Staples Copy & Print
    • Ripley's Aquariums
    • The Bay
    • Staples Canada
    • Altitude Sports
    • Nike
    • Tuango
    • Ebay Canada
    • Sport Chek
    • Roots
  • Obituaries
  • Subscribe$1.50 for 5 months
Home Arts & Life Life & Style Faith

Advertisement

Advertise With Us

Indigenous parish finds new home

Tekakwitha Aboriginal church relocates to North End

Brenda Suderman By: Brenda Suderman
Posted: 3:00 AM CST Saturday, Mar. 6, 2021

  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Print
  • Email
  • Save to Read Later
MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS</p><p>Rev. Arokia Vijay Deivanayagam, priest at St. Kateri Tekakwitha Aboriginal Catholic Parish on Flora Avenue, with Mennonite minister Teresa Enns Zehr. </p></p>

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Rev. Arokia Vijay Deivanayagam, priest at St. Kateri Tekakwitha Aboriginal Catholic Parish on Flora Avenue, with Mennonite minister Teresa Enns Zehr.

A North End church building originally constructed by Lutherans and then owned by Mennonites is proving to be a good fit for Winnipeg’s only Indigenous Roman Catholic parish.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 6/3/2021 (435 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A North End church building originally constructed by Lutherans and then owned by Mennonites is proving to be a good fit for Winnipeg’s only Indigenous Roman Catholic parish.

"This was our dream to get a new church, a place for our people," explains Rev. Arokia Vijay Deivanayagam, priest at St. Kateri Tekakwitha Aboriginal Catholic Parish.

He says the new building at 265 Flora Ave., just south of Selkirk Avenue and a short block east of Main Street, meets the parish’s criteria of being physically accessible, close to public transportation and near where most of its 150 parishioners live.

The parish, named after the 17th-century Mohawk woman who became the first Indigenous saint from North America, met in a multi-level building on the corner of Home Street and Ellice Avenue for the past three decades. That building is now for sale and the proceeds will go toward the $225,000 purchase price of the new space.

The Archdiocese of Winnipeg owns all the property in its jurisdiction, explains Rev. Richard Arsenault, chancellor for the archdiocese, but the parishes maintain the buildings.

He says the Indigenous parish was searching for a new space for two years and borrowed the money from the archdiocese to purchase the Flora Avenue property.

"It looks like a church (building) we can certainly work with and it has the basic footprint we need," says Arsenault.

The parish moved in slowly since taking over ownership from Aberdeen Evangelical Mennonite Church in January, holding its first service on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 17, just days after provincial restrictions lifted to allow small groups to worship.

Weekend masses run at 5 p.m on Saturday and 10:30 a.m. Sunday for 30 people, following provincial pandemic guidelines in place at press time. The parish also livestreams services on Facebook.

Deivanayagam says the parish is still trying to make the space its own, installing crucifixes and Indigenous symbols in the mid-century modern 300-seat sanctuary illuminated by arched windows high on the red brick walls, constructed in 1968 as the second home for Trinity Lutheran Church.

Trinity Lutheran closed in 2013 after celebrating its 125th anniversary. Its final act was to hand over the keys and ownership of the property to their renter, Aberdeen Evangelical Mennonite Church, to ensure the multiple services and ministries could continue.

At the time, several other groups and congregations were using the building for food banks, worship and other meetings when Aberdeen took ownership eight years ago, says minister Teresa Enns Zehr. Since then, several groups folded or found other homes, and when COVID-19 hit nearly a year ago, even worship stopped.

"It’s too big of a building for a small congregation of 40 or so on a Sunday morning and a lot of upkeep," explains Zehr of the 10,000-sq.-ft complex, which includes a main floor dining hall and kitchen, break-out rooms and office space.

The Mennonite church now rents two small rooms for office and storage and plans to resume worship at some point in the dining hall. Zehr says her congregation looks forward to collaborating with St. Kateri Tekakwitha parish in ministries to the neighbourhood. Right now, the Mennonite group runs a bi-weekly food bank and Lutherans offer a monthly food program.

The Free Press is committed to covering faith in Manitoba. If you appreciate that coverage, help us do more! Your contribution of $10, $25 or more will allow us to deepen our reporting about faith in the province. Thanks! BECOME A FAITH JOURNALISM SUPPORTER Click here to learn more about the project.

"We’re excited to be partners in the building with them and be their renters," says Enns, a long-time resident of the North End.

Now that the move is completed and worship has resumed on a limited scale, the parish will assess what’s next for them. Deivanayagam plans to invite the support groups using their former West End church to move into the new building and will consider opening space to the community once pandemic restrictions ease.

A few of the elements particular to the original Lutheran owners may have to go, including the electronic organ and speakers in the balcony, but the new location offers flexibility for worship, community meals, smudging ceremonies, wakes and funerals, and outdoor celebrations on the fenced-in lawn.

"We would like to reach out to the neighbouring community here," says the Indian-born priest who worked in two northern Manitoba parishes before moving to Winnipeg in September 2019.

"We want to build bridges between Indigenous and non-Indigenous groups."

brenda@suderman.com

Brenda Suderman

Brenda Suderman
Faith reporter

Brenda Suderman has been a columnist in the Saturday paper since 2000, first writing about family entertainment, and about faith and religion since 2006.

   Read full biography

Advertisement

Advertise With Us

The Free Press acknowledges the financial support it receives from members of the city’s faith community, which makes our coverage of religion possible.

  • Report Error
  • Submit a Tip
  • Refund
  • The Free Press is certified by

The Winnipeg Free Press invites you to share your opinion on this story in a letter to the editor. A selection of letters to the editor are published daily.

To submit a letter:
• fill out the form on this page, or
• email letters@freepress.mb.ca, or
• mail Letters to the Editor, 1355 Mountain Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R2X 3B6.

Letters must include the writer’s full name, address, and a daytime phone number. Letters are edited for length and clarity.

Advertisement

Advertise With Us

Top