West St. Paul Anglican church turns 200

West St. Paul

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This article was published 22/01/2025 (238 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Sometimes, vast history can be found in hidden places.

St. Paul’s (Middlechurch) Anglican Church in West St. Paul will celebrate its 200th anniversary on Jan. 26. The church is located down a back road, and can be identified from its cherry red roof.

It’s an easy landmark to drive by — often completely missed by those just passing through — but the church is historically significant not only to West St. Paul, but Manitoba as a whole. In fact, it’s older than the province itself — established in 1825, only a decade after the Red River Valley was colonized by European settlers in 1812.

What’s standing now is the third iteration of the church building. The first church was replaced in 1844 after sustaining damage in a flood. The second church — the Middle Church of Image Plain — survived a massive flood in 1852, but was torn down in 1867 due to a weakened structure.

The Middlechurch that stands today was apparently not completed until 1880. Its name, Middlechurch, is literal — as it was the ‘middle church’ of St. Paul — before the area was divided into East and West.

“It’s our job to keep it going,” said Debbie Pansky, people’s warden at the church, who also keeps track of the cemetery’s historical records.

There’s a bit of pressure involved with that responsibility, she admitted, owing to the history, but there’s also a lot of pride.

“We’re a small group, but everyone wears a hat,” she said. “We have people involved in building maintenance, flowers, organizing events… it’s an extra amount of work.”

The cemetery is significant, as well. There’s a spot of land dedicated completely to those who had no family to bury them when they passed away.

There are 80 to 90 people there, so far, Pansky said, and the dedicated land is organized in collaboration with Bardal Funeral Home & Crematorium.

“I’ve heard from families from right across Canada,” Pansky said, referring to people who reach out when they learn a relative has died.

“Some can’t make it here, but I send a picture,” she said. “It’s very important.”

The cemetery is taken care of by members of the church, as well as a small group of inmates from the federal, minimum-security Rockwood Institution, who come out every so often to help take care of the grounds.

“It’s nice to know they’re coming,” Pansky said. “And they look forward to it, too.”

The church also has a strong connection to the West St. Paul Lions Club, which meets in the church basement once a week. It’s also just across the way from Middlechurch Home of Winnipeg, where the church’s priest, Rev. James Gomez, visits with residents once a month.

The event on Jan. 26 is the first in what will be a full year of celebration. It will consist of a standard service featuring special guests, followed by a lunch and an opportunity to visit with the community.

In July, the church will also host a “strawberry tea” — which will feature cake, tea, and a white elephant — and in September, a commemorative fall supper. Specific dates were yet to be decided at press time.

Pansky hopes the milestone will help acknowledge all of the history and sacrifice of those who came before, working to maintain an Anglican place of worship.

“Aside from having somewhere to worship, myself, I hope it can leave a lasting legacy for others,” she said.

Currently, about 50 people attend regular mass and six children attend Sunday School. Churchgoers come not only from West St. Paul — Pansky is from Stony Mountain, Man., herself — but all over Winnipeg and beyond.

Pansky said that those at the church are always open to people using the space as a meeting place, similar to the West St. Paul Lions.

For more information and to keep up with upcoming events, visit www.stpaulsmiddlechurch.com