St. John’s Lutheran Church is home. But what and where is home?

As of April 1, 2023 the 112 year old congregation moved to its 5th building – 6525 Okanagan Landing Road (the former home of Living Word Lutheran Church).

Since 1986, St. John’s had been situated at 5151 Alain Road – the big brown church behind Butcher Boys. Built with a massive concrete slab on East Hill clay, the building began shifting within months of construction completion. As time passed it was noticed there was continuing damage to the building caused by shifting ground. Soon it was deemed not safe to worship in the sanctuary, so the congregation moved across the hall to the gym with hopes of repair and a solution to the ongoing problem As more time passed it was no longer safe to be in the building at all, and insurance could not be obtained to cover usage. It became necessary to find a new temporary home. April 8 – Palm Sunday 2018 – was the last service held on Alain Road. At the end of the service, folks processed out of the building to our new space at Community Baptist Church (4911 Silver Star Road) which was just below the parking lot. We were able to move in with our neighbour to rent and share. There were so many things to appreciate about this new ‘home’ including finally not having to worry about ‘the building’. However, other factors were less than ideal, including our service time moving from the morning to various times in the afternoon. We didn’t know how long this season would last.

Committees and study groups were formed and worked diligently to find a permanent home for the congregation. It was determined that we sell our Swansea Point property on Mara Lake and rebuild at 5151 Alain Rd. The Swan Lake sewer corridor would be built which we could connect to, allowing upgraded servicing of that property.

The sale of Mara Lake property was finalized and the removal of the church building took place in October of 2022. Everything took time: time to hire contractors, time to obtain permits, time to prepare the property and time to draw up new plans for our church home. And during this time, prices soared. The time finally arrived to begin building. Plans, blue prints, permits and estimates were gathered. By November of 2022, even with scaled back blueprints, it became apparent we could not afford to build the church we hoped for.

It was about this time that we became aware that another local congregation, Living Word Lutheran Church, was in the process of selling their church building. By late December 2022, St. John’s entered into negotiations to purchase the building and land on Okanagan Landing Road.

Thanks be to God, we have now moved from the BX to Okanagan Landing. On April 2, 2023 (Palm Sunday) members of St. John’s processed joyfully into their new building. And what a service it was – trumpets, piano, guitar and many voices!

An open invitation was issued for all to attend a Service of Rededication on April 16 at 2:00 PM. Many were in attendance, including members of the Vernon Ministerial, friends from Community Baptist Church as well as leaders and members from other Okanagan Lutheran churches.

Pastor Craig Tufts preached his last message April 30 to start his retirement. Craig and Donna are missed. They shared their many gifts and talents over their ten years of service and walked with us through five years in the wilderness. St. John’s is pleased to be walking with Pastor James Wood (Summerland) over the next season as we look to call a new Shepherd for our church.

This 115 year old congregation continues to thrive in this community and we look forward to the good God is intending to do through us in our new home!