St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church
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St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church
65 Walnut Street
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3G 1N9
Tel: 204-775-6477
Email: stpetersoffice@mymts.net
April 2021 Website: www.stpeterslutheran.ca.
Pastor: Rev. Bjoern Meinhardt ~ 204-792-3346
“Anastasis”
Anastasis is the Greek word for resurrection. Jesus' victory over the power of death with his resurrection on Easter
is the central piece of our Christian faith. The resurrection event itself is a mystery for no one has seen how Christ
was raised from the dead. However, we hear that his disciples saw the risen Lord several times after Easter. An
encounter that still causes us to exclaim “Christ is risen (indeed).”
Anastasis is also the name for Greek Orthodox resurrection icons. There is a second type of resurrection icons,
which show the myrrh-bearing women on their way to the (empty) tomb in an attempt to embalm Jesus' body
with funeral spices.
The Anastasis icon depicts Jesus' descent into hell. Upon first hearing, this reference
does not seem to be supported by Scripture. The Gospels do not mention Jesus' descent
into hell. But there is scriptural evidence e.g. in 1 Peter 3:18-19 (Christ, after he was put
to death, made a proclamation to the spirits in prison), in 1 Peter 4:6 (the Gospel was
preached to those who are dead), and in Ephesians 4:8-10 (Jesus, who ascended on high,
also descended to the lower, earthly spheres).
It seems strange to illustrate Jesus' resurrection by emphasizing his descent into hell.
When we take a closer look, we actually do not see how Jesus is going into the
underworld. Rather, we see Jesus dressed in a golden garment, standing in triumph on a
narrow bridge of rock over the realm of death. Jesus stands, as one article describes it,
“on the broken doors of hell with the darkness below filled with the symbols of bondage
and enslavement [to sin].” Take another look, and you can detect numerous keys, broken
pieces of chain, and padlocks in that realm beneath.
The icon is full of dynamic movement: Jesus takes Adam and Eve (sin entered through
them into the world; see Genesis 3) by the hand and draws them out of their tombs. Jesus' knees are bent. But he
is not walking in either direction. Another closer look reveals that his movement is upwards. The action is all
Christ's. He is the One who pulls Adam and Eve from their tombs towards himself and his glory. Also, the
movement between Jesus, Adam, and Eve forms a triangular space, thus suggesting the presence and the work of
the Holy Trinity in the act of resurrection.
The Anastasis icon portrays salvation. When we profess that Jesus descended into hell, we do not have to be
afraid of the darkness or of nothingness. For Jesus stands over the darkness. Through his resurrection, the darkness
of death has lost its power and has also ceased to have dominion over us.
We were not created to be held prisoners in hell. The task of Jesus descending into hell was to release the
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saints of old from their imprisonment to sin; and from ours. Their lives were still unfulfilled; so are ours. They
were not bound to “hell” forever, nor were they cut off from God forever; nor are we. When Jesus, by his own
authority, descended into hell, he commanded all who were held in bondage to sin to come forth, all who were in
darkness of hell to be enlightened, and all who were sleeping in their graves to arise.
Because of Jesus' resurrection, we are not only saved from the entrapment of sin, but we are also pulled to
something higher: into the divine presence of the Triune God. With his hands, Christ reaches out to us, to raise
us from the dead. When Christ's hand touches us, something new becomes possible as he pulls us out of darkness
into a place that is incorruptible – into his Life and Light.
May Christ's resurrection fill your hearts with joy,
Bjoern E. Meinhardt, Pastor
„Anastasis“
Anastasis ist das griechische Wort für Auferstehung. Jesu Sieg über die Mächte des Todes durch seine
Auferstehung ist ein zentraler Inhalt unseres christlichen Glaubens. Die Auferstehung selbst bleibt ein Geheimnis
des Glaubens, denn niemand hat gesehen, wie Jesus von den Toten auferstand. Wir hören dann aber, dass seine
Jünger den auferstandenen Herrn einige Male nach Ostern gesehen hatten. Begegnungen, die uns dazu auffordern,
auszurufen: Er ist wahrhaftig auferstanden!
Anastasis ist auch die Bezeichnung für orthodoxe Auferstehungsikonen. Es gibt noch eine zwei Form der
Auferstehungsikone, die die Frauen zeigt, wie sie mit Myrrhe zum (leeren) Grab gehen, um den Leichnam Jesu
einzubalsamieren.
Die Anastasis-Ikone zeigt Jesu Abstieg in die Hölle. Beim ersten Hinhören mögen wir vielleicht einwenden,
dass es dafür keinen Schriftbeleg gibt. In den Evangelien hören wir nichts von einem Abstieg Jesu in die Hölle.
Es gibt aber doch dafür Schriftstellen, z.B. 1. Petrus 3,18-19 (Jesus hat den Geistern im Gefängnis gepredigt), 1.
Petrus 4,6 (das Evangelium wird auch den Toten verkündet) und in Epheser 4,8-10 (Jesus ist nicht nur
aufgefahren, sondern auch in die Tiefen der Erde hinabgefahren).
Dennoch ist es befremdlich, Jesu Auferstehung als Abstieg in die Hölle zu versinnbildlichen. Wenn wir
genauer hinschauen, sehen wir aber nicht, dass Jesus in die Unterwelt geht. Vielmehr sehen wir, wie Jesus, mit
einem goldenen Gewand bekleidet, im Triumph auf einer schmalen Felsbrücke über dem Reich des Todes steht.
Jesus steht, wie es ein Artikel beschreibt, „auf der aufgebrochenen Tür zur Hölle der Dunkelheit drunten, die
gefüllt ist mit Symbolen von Gebundenheit und Versklavung (durch die Sünde)“. Schaut noch einmal hin, und
ihr könnt einige Schlüssel, zerbrochene Ketten und Schlösser im Reich da unten erkennen.
Die Ikone ist erfüllt mit dynamischer Bewegung: Jesus nimmt Adam und Eva (die Sünde kam in die Welt
wegen ihres Ungehorsams; siehe 1. Mose 3) bei der Hand und zieht sie aus ihren Gräbern. Jesu Knie sind gebeugt.
Aber er bewegt sich nicht in irgendeine Richtung. Ein genauerer Blick verrät, dass er sich nach oben hin bewegt.
Er ist derjenige, der handelt. Er ist es, der Adam und Eva aus ihren Gräbern zu sich hin und in seine Herrlichkeit
zieht. Auch offenbart die Bewegung zwischen Jesus, Adam und Eva einen dreieckigen Raum, der damit auf die
Gegenwart und die Tätigkeit des Heiligen Geistes im Zusammenhang der Auferstehung Jesu hinweist.
Die Anastasis Ikone stellt das Heilsgeschehen dar. Wenn wir bekennen, dass Jesus in die Hölle hinabfuhr,
brauchen wir uns nicht vor der Dunkelheit oder dem Nichts zu fürchten. Denn Jesus steht über der Dunkelheit.
Durch seine Auferstehung hat die Dunkelheit ihre Kraft verloren und hat aufgehört über uns zu herrschen.
Wir sind nicht dazu geschaffen worden, im Gefängnis der Hölle zu schmoren. Als Jesus in die Hölle hinabging,
bestand seine Aufgabe darin, die Heiligen der Vorzeit aus dem Gefängnis ihrer Sünde zu befreien; und uns aus
den unsrigen. Ihre Leben waren noch nicht erfüllt; wie auch unsere. Sie waren nicht für ewig für die „Hölle“
bestimmt, noch sollten sie für immer von Gott getrennt sein; wir auch nicht. Als Jesus in seiner ihm zustehenden
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Vollmacht in die Hölle ging, befahl er allen, die dort in der Sünde gefangen lagen, hervorzukommen; allen, die
in der Dunkelheit der Hölle waren, erleuchtet zu werden; allen, die in ihren Gräbern schliefen, aufzustehen.
Wegen Jesu Auferstehung sind wir nicht nur von den Verstrickungen der Sünde gerettet, sondern auch zu etwas
Höherem hingezogen: nämlich in die göttliche Gegenwart des dreieinigen Gottes. Jesus streckt seine Hände nach
uns aus, um uns von den Toten zu erwecken. Wenn Jesu Hand uns berührt, wird etwas Neues möglich, denn er
bringt uns aus der Dunkelheit an einen Ort, der unzerstörbar ist – der in seinem Leben und seinem Licht begründet
ist.
Möge die Auferstehung Jesu eure Herzen mit Freude erfüllen!
Björn E. Meinhardt, Pfarrer
Council Update
Submitted by Barb Schott
We look forward to being able to come together, once again, starting with Palm Sunday, through Holy Week,
Good Friday and Easter. Our services will continue to be filmed – thank you Michael – and posted to our website
for those of you not able to attend. We want to thank Linda Lurvey and all the volunteers and youth for organizing
the Palm Crosses that each of you will be able to take home as a keepsake; and Elli Kitzmann for arranging for
the palm bouquet gracing the altar. As well, we want to extend our appreciation to the Lurveys for bringing us
the meditative “Holden Evening Prayer Service” that you will find on-line. Our thanks to Edith and Steve Herbst
for monitoring and replenishing our Food Pantry. Thank-you David Budnick for the many recent updates to the
website that we all rely on.
The AGM booklets will be available on Palm Sunday, for those of you coming to church that morning and we
would like to encourage you to take yours home and to take one with you to drop off for parishioners in your
area, so we can save on postage. At our March council meeting, given how uncertain the Covid situation still is,
we felt it would be best not to host a lunch, but to go directly from our combined service at 10:00 am, into the
Annual General Meeting, all of which would take place upstairs in the sanctuary with all of our protocols in place.
We would like to invite and encourage as many of you as feel comfortable to attend: your voice and your vote
are essential to the life and spirit of our Congregation.
As part of our on-going considerations at council, we reached out to Dean Mac de Waal, the Dean of our NALC
Canadian Mission district, and would like to share with the congregation his thought inspiring response, with the
hopes and prayers that you will consider a nomination and to join Church Council:
Question: Dear Dean de Waal,
One of the questions our council entertained was whether to lower the number of council members as per our
constitution, which is presently set at 12. (We did lower the quorum number for attendance at the AGM, because
of lower attendance numbers generally in our congregation.) It’s been harder and harder to get people to serve
on council; at the same time some members of council are reluctant to lower the number, and see that as a sign
of “giving up.” For me personally, it’s not so much about filling 12 spots, but having dedicated members. We
decided to find out what other churches do. Can you please tell me what your experience is of other
congregations?
Response: To the Church Council of St. Peter’s
As a general rule, sticking with your constitution is very important, once you deviate from it, problems can
multiply to a stage that becomes unmanageable. That being said, there is nothing preventing the congregation
from amending its constitution to allow for such changes. The sad reality is that we live in a society that has seen
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a decline in church attendance for decades. Eventually the constitutions that we formed our congregations with
no longer fit the reality of our contexts. Constitutions do need to adapt to the needs of the congregation.
My own personal experience with numbers on council was that it did not matter how many you had on, it is
always like pulling teeth to find people who will allow their names to stand for election. The real issues in my
mind are whether or not having a larger council fosters a greater sense of belonging or ownership in the church
and whether or not the larger number offers a better spectrum of the membership for making decisions. Of course
the answer to both of those is yes, but there will be a practice limit for the congregation. That is the elusive
answer we seek. How do we determine what number gives us the best sense of belonging and best spectrum of
the congregation and still allows us to fill the spots.
There are many different governance models that might work for the congregation and not all of them look like
our typical church council. If you are considering a change in the constitution, you might want to look at other
models to see if there is one that fits the needs of the congregation now. You may also want to look at why people
are not excited to be on council. I am trying to slowly move our council meetings to a time of discipleship. If
people can feel loved and supported in their relationship with Christ at council, I hope they will want to be on
it. To accomplish this, I have to work at changing the culture of council. I am trying to ween the council from
debating issues that are fine to be decided in committee. Unfortunately, that may take a younger generation to
grasp hold of that idea.
Could you have a council workshop on different governance models? I can’t say that it is my strength, but we
might be able to find someone in our district who could help. It might have to wait for COVID restrictions to
relax, but I suspect this is more of a long-term problem.
Feel free to call if you would like to hash this over. If you would like an outside voice while visioning, I am sure
I, or one of my assistants, would be willing to help.
Mac de Waal,
Dean, Canadian Mission District.
The Holden Evening Prayer Service
God's peace. Hope you are all keeping well and safe!
It's hard to believe that it has been a year since we've sung together at church! The last music our choir worked
on before the church closed March 16, 2020 was the "Holden Evening Prayer." We were blessed to be able to
worship on Wednesday evening, March 4th using this service in a candle-lit church. As we had not recorded the
service we had a year ago, it was not going to be possible to put online for this Lenten season.
Last month, we spoke to Tom's brother - Joel Lurvey (a retired school-teacher) and discovered that Joel was
recording the Holden Evening Prayer service for his church in Minneapolis. He graciously gave us permission to
use the recordings that he made in his home studio using the Garage Band app! All the music you hear in the
service is Joel singing and playing - a one man band! Amazing!
While the music remains the same for the Holden Evening Prayer service, the reflection will change at the
beginning of each new month and will be based on the (ecumenical) biblical watchword for each month.
Special thanks go to Pastor Bjoern, Michael and Tom for all their work in putting this service together very
willingly:)
It's accessible with a link from our church's website: http://stpeterslutheran.ca/
Hope you enjoy this beautiful, meditative evening service. (23 minutes)
God bless all,
Linda Lurvey
4Vaccination Information (from the gov.mb.ca website) https://www.gov.mb.ca/covid19/vaccine/index.html
Phone: Appointments are required for these sites, and can be made by calling the vaccine call centre at 1-844-
626-8222 (1-844-MAN-VACC) from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. daily. Have your health card ready. Make sure
that you are eligible.
Super-site/Winnipeg RBC Convention Centre, 375 York Avenue
Enter through the main doors on York Avenue. Free indoor parking is provided in the main underground
parkade. Free outdoor parking will also be available, as of February 1, in the lot located on York Ave, just
southeast of the main entrance. Parking patrols will be on-site to direct people to the correct stalls.
General Instructions & checklist:
• bring the following: consent form (available on website listed above or at ProtectMB.ca/Resources),
your personal ID (photo), Manitoba health card;
• wear a mask; wear a short sleeve garment;
• you may bring a family member with you if you need support;
• come 10-15 minutes early, but no earlier than this in order to avoid congestion;
• be prepared for at least a 45 minute stay at the facility.
IMPORTANT: If anyone needs assistance with (i) booking an appointment for the Covid vaccine or (ii) with
accessing/getting a copy of the consent form or (iii) needs transportation to the Convention Centre please call
the Church office at 204-775-6477 and we will arrange for someone to assist you.
Through the Back Door
From Gudrun Neeth
February 2021: Winnipeg was experiencing very unusual weather. Weather ranging above normal, sun tanning
time, minus -5 to -10 range. The sun, now with the more direct warmer rays, causing quite the runoff, unbelievable,
especially with temperatures still on the minus side of the thermometer. Unfortunately, this tropical prairie weather
did not last, the extreme temperature change causing disaster for many. Yes, even pavement started to heave…at St.
Peter’s. Heaving enough to make it hard to open the back door, almost ripping off the metal weather stripping on
the bottom of the door.
Before more damage could be caused, we called our Mighty Siegi and his faithful assistant Elli. Armed with his
diamond concrete cutter and dressed to keep the –38 degrees at bay Siegi started cutting and cutting. Siegi’s assistant
made sure he came in occasionally to warm up. Our secretary made sure Siegi had a shot of Brandy to warm up…he
wishes!! Fantastic…pavement had been cleared and doors were no longer jamming.
Alas, a few days later the same scenario all over again. The pavement became angry and decided to heave again!
This time so high the door would not open. Tried to lift the door, without a crowbar that did not work and Arnold
Schwarzenegger was nowhere to be found! Mustered all the strength I could gather, tried to lift the door, this did
not work. Decided to pull on the door with all my might!! Along with the door I flew backwards and the door came
along with me, bottom hinges and all!!!
Fortunately, Bernie, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s double, just happened to be in the neighbourhood. Quick call to
Bernie, armed with his diamond blade grinder he ground away at the pavement, dust everywhere. Ginny, Bernie’s
sidekick made sure the dust was cleaned away. YES, the hinge was replaced and fixed.
There is one more person we would like to recognize. And that mystery man is… Roland! Last spring, and with
much warmer weather – Roland spent a few hours, grinding, cleaning and sealing the pavement.
Thank you to everyone who volunteered their valuable time. 5Submitted by Jerry Roehr
The school has now received full certification by the
Malawi School National Examination Board. With the
completion of the St. Peter's Hall and the addition of the computer lab, the school will be able to host
national exams without our students having to go to another facility to do so.
This picture was taken on March 21, 2021, as the gable was completed. The metal roof will be
next. Henry (resident engineer) reports that the entire
community is so excited as this building goes up, and it is
hard to describe how significant this is. Even though the
roof is not installed, plaster is being applied to the inside
walls. A matching $ 30,000.00 commitment for the second
dormitory has been received, moving this construction
forward. Simultaneously, the foundation of a second
teacher's residence, paid for through the funding support of
St. Peter's, is being worked on.
The computer classroom is well used. A shipment of 100
more computers is being readied in Winnipeg. A teacher's
zoom program is also being developed to be sent for use in
the school.
Government mandatory Covid testing for all students
is being carried out right on our school grounds.
Malawi President Chakwera had announced that
Malawi should have received its first consignment of
the vaccine at the end of February. It is hoped that
20 percent of the population, including healthcare
workers, can be vaccinated. With hospitals full and
medical supplies in short supply, it needs to be seen
how successful the administration plan will be.
For their annual support, just recently, all of our yearly scholarship sponsors received a personal thank
you note from the Canadian management board. A new video, hopefully with Pastor Meinhardt's
participation, is also contemplated. As most of you know, our sponsors provide their $1,200.00
sponsorship scholarship through our Mission budget. This money is forwarded to the school in one lump
sum in late July or early August for the 2021/2022 school year. Donations can be made anytime but
hopefully before July 15, 2021. If you would like to become a new sponsor, please contact Jerry Roehr
at 204-981-4239 or by e-mail at roehr@mymts.net.
6Financial update: by Jerry Roehr
Again, and again we are very grateful for the ongoing strong support we
have and are receiving from our members during the Covid19 non-in-
person services. As you will see in the yearbook, our Mission support was
more substantial than in other years, and we paid all our bills for salaries,
paper clips and upkeep of our building. As in other years, donations in January and February are not very strong
and do not meet our expenses for the same period. Our income was comparable to last year, and our costs were
reduced because of the limited use of our building. The deficit income for the first two months, compared to our
expenses, was $9,653.50. Please review your commitment to St. Peters as you prepare your offering during the
Easter season.
Update on the Kesete Family: By Jerry Roehr
We all remember when, almost four years ago, we were to welcome our refugee sponsored family Geytome (49),
Shawit (49), Furtona (24) and Denait (14) into their new fully furnished home at 932 Archibald Street. It was a
two-bedroom home, suitable and very much appreciated. After our one-year support in 2016, the family
continues to do well, and some of our members continue to be in touch with them and had pre Covid visits with
them. As reported earlier, with some assistance from Pastor Tom and Linda Lurvey, the family is now in the
process of sponsoring the immigration of Geytome's brother Mehari to join them from Eretria.
In order to provide a little more comfortable sleeping arrangements for Furtona and Denait, and in anticipation
for Mehari's arrival sometime in the future, the family has applied to Manitoba Housing for a three-bedroom
apartment. The family moved into their Manitoba Housing Townhouse. They had four friends helping them and
were quite pleased to get everything moved in one day! Denait will continue going to Windsor Park High School
which is great. She has friends there and, apparently, they need her for their sports teams.
In order to show our continued support, we think it would be nice if many of our members and friends would
write a "Welcome to Your New Home" card and mail it to the Kesete Family at their new address:: #8- 629 St.
Anne's Road, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R2M 5B1.
John Longhurst. The Church Council agreed to print this article for information.
As many of you may remember, we support the Free Press to publish religious content. There were 22 local faith
stories last month and an additional four stories by other reporters. To get more grassroots support, a crowdfunder
(no charitable receipts) is being initiated $10.00 or $25.00 contributions will be requested.
Here is some background. The project started in 2018 intending to raise funds from local faith groups to increase
the number of local faith articles in the Free Press. A total of $34,000 was raised from 17 groups and the project
launched in March 2019. For year two in 2020, an additional $27,700 was raised. It costs about $23,000 per year
to support the project (fees paid to two freelancers).
7As Free Press editor Paul Samyn put it: "We write about religion since it is an important part of people's lives.
We want to show people of faith the Free Press recognizes them and the contribution they make to the community.
At a time when religion is all too often dismissed, discounted and derided, we believe faith remains a strong
influence in public life. To ignore its impact on our national discourse would be to shortchange our audience."
Since the launch, over 450 stories have been published through the project, an average of just over 19 a month.
Additionally, there have been many other local faith stories written by other Free Press reporters. Although the
project is doing well financially, they should not depend on the 17 organizational support groups (St. Peter's
included) to carry all the costs.
The short-term goal is to raise $10,000 in 2021 from individuals to supplement the support of the faith groups.
The long-term goal is to bring in the bulk of the support from individuals. The long-term goal would be to raise
a total of $50,000 a year to provide a salary for a full-time reporter.
That's the finding of a recent survey by Waybase, an organization that serves churches, denominations and
ministries in Canada. It is interesting to note that such a grass root support would be unique in Winnipeg and, to
the best of our knowledge, has not been done anywhere in the world. The overall concept fits well with our
Mission goals to support Mission in Winnipeg, in Canada and in the world.
At present contribution can only be made by sending a cheque to the Winnipeg Free Press in support of the "Faith
Group Initiative". The address is: Free Press, 1355 Mountain Ave., Winnipeg, MB R2X 3B6. Note: These
contributions are not tax deductible.
Milestone Birthdays
A very Happy Birthday to
Doreen Schorn who will be turning 80 on April 5,
Helga Rossel who will be turning 90 on April 10,
and
Wanda Marten who will be turning 95 on April 16.
May the Lord continue to bless you and keep you.
A Wedding Anniversary
Congratulations to Marlene and Ed Hurta who will be celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary on
April 10! We pray that the Lord will continue to bless you and wish you many more unforgettable
moments together.
Any submissions to the May 2021 edition of the St. Peter’s Newsletter should be made 10
days prior to the first Sunday in May. So, submissions for the May Newsletter should be
made by noon Thursday April 22, 2021. Submissions should be sent to Ortrud Oellermann
at stpetersnewsl@gmail.com
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