After years of declining membership and financial difficulties, the Lutheran Church of the Cross in Winnipeg’s West End held its final service in late-June. With the closing, the decision was made to gift the church building to a nearby non-profit organization, Arms of the Cross, which was initiated through the church in the late 1970s.
Situated across the street from the 60-year-old church building, the low-income, seniors housing community plans to convert the church into approximately 38 housing units, preserving the building’s long history with a memorial corner.
Despite sadness among members past and present, there is also a profound sense of hope for the future and longevity of the Arms of the Cross community and the building.
“We got to a point after COVID where we just had very few people volunteering within the congregation,” said Maureen Bauming, who has served as church president at Cross for the past 15 years.
“Unfortunately, a lot of people just didn’t come back after the pandemic, and that really hurt us. We just didn’t have enough workers, attendees or funds to keep going. Arms of the Cross started to help over the last little while, financially, but then we just got to a point where we decided we would close. We chose to gift the building to the Arms so they could progress with care for the building and the housing project. The decision faced some backlash, but we helped them get off their feet and established in the 1970s, and then they helped us financially near the end, so we figured it only made sense.”
The church, which has a rich history dating back to the early 1900s, eventually grew to over one thousand members with three services on Sundays. This necessitated the construction of a new building, dedicated in 1965 at its current location at 560 Arlington Street.
Rev. Bob Jacob, who was one of the pastors at Cross at the time of the move to the new building, was present for the groundbreaking, cornerstone-laying and dedication services through the first few years of ministry at the then new building. Now 88, he and his wife Vi made it a priority to attend the closing service.
“I was actually one of the people who helped turn the first piece of sod on the site on Arlington,” Rev. Jacob reminisced. “And on the dedication Sunday, there were three services that day. The building was full three times – there must have been over 1,000 people in attendance; it was a wonderful day.”
“While entering the building for the final service was sad,” he continued. “The sting of it sort of went away in knowing that the building was now going to be used for senior housing. So, it wasn’t as though the church was going to be completely scrapped or torn down, but rather it’s going to serve many of the senior members of the church who are soon going to be a part of living there.”
The closing service was a full-circle moment for Manitoba/Northwestern Ontario Synod Bishop Jason ZInko, whose parents began attending Cross when they immigrated to Canada as children. He delivered the final sermon for the church as the preacher for the closing service.
“Bishop Jason was among those at the service – he actually was the pastor that spoke on the Sunday,” Rev. Jacob said. “It was really fitting, sad, but fitting. Jason grew up at Church of the Cross. His family were members there when he was a kid and then continued going. It was really moving to think about the fact that here was this little boy who became a pastor, who became a bishop to serve our synod, and here he is at the closing service at the congregation where he actually grew up.”
After the retirement of its last full-time minister, the church transitioned to pulpit supply, ultimately leading to the decision of gifting the building to Arms of the Cross to see it transformed into something more fitting for regular use. With some members already residing at the nearby seniors complex, the idea felt like a natural continuation of the church’s long-standing presence and commitment to the surrounding community.
“I will always remember having the opportunity to serve Church of the Cross at its peak,” Jacob said. “Now, we are sad, of course, but remain hopeful in the mission of the building.”
The June 29 closing service concluded with a display of photo albums, memorabilia, along with communionware and altar cloths for attendees to consider taking as mementos or bringing along to their new congregations.
“I joined the church 52 years ago when I married my husband, and he had been here since he was about eight,” Bauming reflected. “We find peace knowing the building will remain. There will also be a memorial corner in the building with various things and colours that will remain from the church, some communion items, the candle sticks, the carving on the altar will go on the wall. So, there will definitely be a lot of things in that memorial corner of the new building to remember our history.”
Arms of the Cross will now begin working with 5468796 Architecture and the Shared Ground project, which is funded by the Canadian federal government to help assist the transformation of the church building to the 30-plus living units. A capital funding initiative is well underway, while additional grant money is expected to help cover some remaining costs. The goal is to have tenants begin moving into the space in September of 2026.
