Congregations in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and Radcliff, Ky., will be worshiping in new facilities for the first time this December.

St. Paul in Calgary will be holding its dedication service Sat., Dec. 10. St. Paul was started in 1985 as the first WELS church in Calgary. The congregation began worshiping in its own building shortly after being founded; however, the facility, meant only to be the first phase in a building plan, no longer was able to meet the congregation’s needs.

“We were worshiping in what should’ve been our fellowship hall,” says Rev. Michael Vogel, who has served the 90-member congregation since 2006. “Now we built a new sanctuary, three classrooms, and a pastor’s office, and our old sanctuary is now our fellowship hall.”

Part of the funding came from WELS Church Extension Fund (CEF). Vogel says, “We were wondering if we’d be able to afford this, and that was right about the same time the Church Extension Fund sent a letter about this matching grant they were offering for congregations like ours. So, it was perfect timing for us, because we weren’t sure we’d have the funds to do it. That was a real blessing for us.”

St. Paul broke ground for the addition in June this year, and the project was completed in October. The congregation has already seen an increase in visitors checking out the new church.

“I’m not a big believer in ‘if you build it, they will come,’ but to start it sure has worked out that way. So we’re real thankful to God for that,” says Vogel.

Faith in Radcliff will be holding a dedication service for its brand new church on Sun., Dec. 11. The 180-member congregation was started in 1994 and has been worshiping in a storefront since 1996.

Rev. Paul Horn, pastor at Faith, explains that Faith was eligible for low-interest rate loans and grants for WELS CEF in order to obtain their land and build their new facility.

The new building is 7,900 sq.ft., seats 210, and sits on 5 acres of land. It includes a fellowship hall, two administrative offices, and three classrooms. After outgrowing the storefront’s  capacity, Horn says the new building will allow the church to serve more people.

Horn says the community is very transient due to its proximity to Fort Knox. “A lot of people are coming and going. And one of the things that is prevalent in this town is storefront churches,” says Horn. “So this means a permanence in our community. To the people that do come to the community, the building, it tells them, this is a permanent structure—these people are here to stay.”

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