Weston Corps celebrates a century in Winnipeg
WINNIPEG, MB – One hundred years ago, The Salvation Army erected a church in the Weston area of Winnipeg, adjacent to the Canadian Pacific Railway yards. The nineteen-tens proved to be a tumultuous time for the rail industry as the workers of the CP yards, most of them residents of Weston, walked off the job and into history four short years later with the start of the Winnipeg General Strike in 1919. During and after this unrest, Weston Corps was needed more than ever with the loss of jobs and seniority that followed the strike.
Fast forward to the present day and the Weston Corps still stands as a beacon in the community, ministering to those in the neighbourhood, most visibly with its daycare and Girl's Club outreach. As part of the celebrations held at Weston on September 12, the graduation of daycare children into the "school age" program was held. Serving between 1981 and 1986 at the pulpit as the Corps officer and ordained minister when the Weston daycare program started, Major Dr. Bruce Powers saw firsthand the difference that The Salvation Army could make in the lives of children when cared for from a very young age. Major Dr. Powers was invited to speak to those assembled for the centenary. Rather than addressing the adults in the audience, he excused himself to speak directly to the young daycare graduates, using an apple as a metaphor for the potential that each of the graduates carry inside them.
The Saturday program was dubbed "Celebrating People" and along with the daycare graduation, the audience was also treated to musical selections by African Experience Group, The Audayo Brothers (Ian Stirling and Terry Penner), and the Weston Worship team. After the program concluded, everyone was invited outside for a barbeque lunch and games for the children.
On Sunday, there was great energy and joy as four new soldiers were enrolled. Following the enrollment, Major Dr. Power gave a quick review of the historical events that would have created challenges and opportunities for the Weston corps throughout its history.
Using Eph. 3:20 "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us," he reminded the corps that nobody 100 years ago started Weston Corps with the thought: "What will it be in 100 years? They started it to meet a current need." He then challenged the congregation to remember the past, see what God had done, and then seek to find out what Weston should be doing now and in the future and to keep in mind, God can do more today and in the future than anyone in the room can imagine.
Featured Image at top: (l-r) Lts. Tina and Keesom Phanthaamath, Weston Corps Officers; Major Margaret McLeod, Area Commander – Prairie Division East; Major Dr. Bruce Powers, Ret., Former Corps Officer – Weston Corps; Majors Brenda and Shawn Critch, Divisional Leaders – Prairie Division
Enrollment photo at bottom: Salvation Army officers and Senior Soldier Donald de Vlaming welcome new Weston Senior Soldiers Jayson Kones, Derrick Lusanji, Magese Lusanji, and Kabeyi Lusanji.
