St. Paul’s, Prince Albert, Sask., could have died, but through valiant effort and a strong faith in God many people — men, women, and clergy — were able to persevere. Today at 143 years of age, we are still a viable community-based church.
St. Paul’s has been affected, just like others, by a general decline in attendance. The Sunday school and the church choir became inactive. Older church members who had been christened and married in St. Paul’s were overheard saying, “As long as the church is still here till they bury me, that’s all I ask.” Remarks like this triggered many session meetings that went on for hours discussing the future of the church.
Should we just close the church? Should we sell the church building and property and move to the suburbs? But where in the suburbs? Should we limp along until there is no more money and then close the church doors? Because St. Paul’s was the only Presbyterian church in Prince Albert where all Presbyterians could come, why not look upon the church as a “cathedral?” It certainly had many of the attributes of a cathedral — an elegant sanctuary, beautiful stained glass windows, massive organ pipes, crafted pulpit chairs and a classic architectural exterior. This concept seemed to be the spark that ignited new life into the church.
A session meeting was held using a think tank format. Everything was on the table for discussion. Participants were asked to prepare a list of all those activities that had occurred in the church. Yes, there was no Sunday school or choir; but once people got talking, a host of activities, both past and present were discussed. A decision was eventually made to reorganize the operating structure of the church, so four main committees were formed with session at the head: worship and nurture, mission and outreach, finance and maintenance, and policy and planning. Each committee had its own area of church life to organize and spearhead and each committee chair from time to time would take a few moments at the church service to explain their activities to the congregation.
It wasn’t long before the church family began to realize that maybe St. Paul’s wasn’t in as much trouble as was originally thought. We could become a mission church again and reach out to local aboriginal people and others. So the congregation began to grow again. A Sunday school began to emerge and a youth group is in the planning stages. The mission and outreach team swung into action and partnered with Riverside Community School to provide gallons of nutritious soup for hungry students at lunch, as well as cookies, milk and apples for breakfast. Many of the students are being raised by grandmothers, so they were invited to share in these two important meals of the day. Volunteers from St. Paul’s visit Riverside to read to the younger students.
These outreach activities encouraged more activity in the church. The Sunday school is growing and now has up to 12 attending, increasing to over 20 at special Christmas and Easter services. Approximately 50 Christmas hampers are prepared by the church for needy families. The support staff and inmates at the local provincial jail also raise money to help the church provide the Christmas hampers. Members of the congregation make layettes for single mothers who are involved in the Family Futures organization.
The Christopher Lake summer camp is strongly supported by St. Paul’s — our minister, Rev. Sandy Scott and his wife have participated in a marathon to raise funds for the camp. Coupled with funds raised within St. Paul’s congregation and money raised from downtown business donations, a sizable amount is gathered each year. Shoeboxes are filled by the church each year to send to needy children at Christmas.
Special services are held to mark occasions each year including a Christmas Eve candlelight service, an Easter service, a Robert Burns Sunday, and a Sunday to honour those who keep us safe — the police, ambulance personnel, firefighters and custodial workers. St. Paul’s has held a Building Bridges Sunday with our aboriginal people, an all day event at Riverside Community School with talks and demonstrations focused on mutual understanding. The Presbyterian Men’s Club of St. Paul’s has taken the lead and organized family social outings throughout the year, such as bowling, curling and picnics.
St. Paul’s, Prince Albert, did not die. With the help of the congregation and its leaders, the church has taken a close look at itself and found it has much to live for. That is good news, because there is continuing need for a Bible-centred, community-based church in Prince Albert, and it might as well be St. Paul’s, the mother church of Presbyterianism in Saskatchewan.
