by Thomas Prachar
I have one last thought (I promise!) on the move of the Central District office to Winnipeg.
On June 28 the new owners of the property at 1927 Grant Drive, Regina, took possession. About two weeks before that date, I happened to be in Regina and took one last tour through the building with which I had been acquainted for the past 28 years—fifteen of them as a parish pastor based in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, and thirteen as district president. Most rooms were down to the bare walls with only a few pieces of furniture left, and those would be claimed in the coming week.
Nostalgia swept over me for a few moments and I thought, “If these walls could talk…!” Pastors, deacons, and lay members of district congregations often phoned or stopped by the office seeking advice about problems; sometimes they called to report joys they were experiencing in their congregational life. Pastors complained about their congregations and congregation members complained about their pastors. Many church workers came confessing their sins and left having received absolution. Congregational treasurers came to seek advice on how to do their job, or ask how to fill out government reports.
Countless official and unofficial meetings took place within these walls. Only our Lord knows the total number of meetings and how He used those meetings to further His Kingdom. During those meetings, countless prayers were offered to heaven for the work our Lord had put before us, as well as prayers offered on behalf of the people in our church and the communities in which they live, many of whom we had never met.
The Lay Leadership School began within these walls as lay people from across the district spent two intensive weeks of biblical training in the board room, followed by several long-weekend sessions. The participants returned to their congregations energized and equipped to assist with the Lord’s work using their particular gifts and abilities.
Consider the amount of paper sent out to congregations and pastors from this place—information, encouragement, and programs to further the mission of Christ’s Church. And only our Lord knows how much money passed through these walls, coming to us from individuals and congregations in our district, and, in turn, passed on to the mission work in the district and synod.
And there was the staff who served within these walls, people who were brought together like a family. And like a family, we had our squabbles and disagreements from time to time. But we also celebrated times of joy: anniversaries, birthdays, the birth of grandchildren, and other joyous times in their biological families. Like all families there were some who left for other work-related positions, or were taken to their heavenly home. The staff faithfully performed their tasks, day after day, week after week, serving as the Lord blessed their gifts and abilities.
In the end, it is still just a building of bricks and mortar. But it was a centre graciously provided by our Lord from which we served the congregations, pastors and deacons of our district for more than 55 years. I hope you will join with me in thanking God for providing our headquarters at 1927 Grant Drive, Regina. While we now work out of the synod office in Winnipeg, we will endeavour to provide faithful service to everyone in our beloved Central District.
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Rev. Thomas Prachar is President of the Central District of Lutheran Church–Canada.