| Centenary Contemplations XI. 1957-1967 We left the parishioners of Grace in a season of mourning after the sudden passing of Pastor Bruer. The congregation was in a vacancy situation for about four months, but was able to welcome their new pastor on April 20, 1958. Born in Russia and raised in Saskatchewan, Pastor George Rode had actually attended the church on 107th Street during the war years, while he was a student at Concordia. He went on to receive his pastoral education at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, graduating in 1948. While he was serving his first parishes in Melfort and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, he met and married Alfhilda Wiemken. By the time they reached Grace, they had three children to liven up the parsonage. Two more children would bless the pastoral household during their tenure at Grace. Pastor Rode was only thirty-three when he began his service to the people of Grace, but had leadership qualities beyond his years. His ministry would take place during the sixties, when the phrase “socio-economic change” began to describe much of the turbulence of that decade. Alberta’s economy was changing, Edmonton was growing, and the result for Grace was a steady increase in members—members with children! As the 50s came to a close, there were 131 children enrolled in Sunday School, of whom nearly half were under age five. The “suburban” Oliver neighbourhood was changing radically. As the large single-family homes came up for sale on the streets surrounding Grace, they were being snapped up by developers who soon created a jungle of high-rise and walk-up apartments around the barely five-year-old church building. Despite the fact that space for children’s programming and meetings was extremely constricted, it was during the early sixties that Grace first began to open its doors to community groups that ran weekday programs. A Brownie troop started meeting at Grace in 1960, soon followed by a pack of Cubs in 1961. These groups met at Grace until 1965. Under Pastor Rode’s leadership, Grace Voters began the process of addressing the need for educational space by purchasing two lots north of the church proper—one in 1963, and the second in 1965. The first was purchased for $25,000 ($248,160 in 2024 dollars) and the second for $23,000 ($220,200 today). A building committee was struck. Their labours came to fruition in the fall of 1967, when the Education Wing was completed. It was dedicated in a special service on November 5, 1967. Once again, the people of Grace could end their year rejoicing in the richness of God’s gifts to them. Source: Bentsen, Barbara: Growing in Grace: A History of Grace Lutheran Church, Edmonton, Alberta. Uvisco Press, 1984  |
