River of Life breaks new ground

Jule Koch Brison | Jun 16, 2011

Photo: Rev. Raymond Klatt breaks the sod as Ron Lemke, at left, and others look on by Katie Ohlke

A once-retired church bell will soon be ringing out a new call to worship on Highway 506 near Plevna, and if all goes as planned, its melodies will be heard by this Christmas.

Members, friends, and well-wishers of the River of Life Christian Fellowship gathered on June 12 for a ground-breaking service at the building site of their new church.

Ron Lemke, Chair of the Board of Trustees, gave a brief history of the fellowship and outlined the plans for the building.

About two and a half years ago, a group of Christians in the Plevna area, who had been attending other churches father afield, such as the Vennachar church and various Perth churches, began meeting together at the home of one of the group’s couples.

Among them was the Rev. Raymond Klatt, who had pastored at various area churches and retired in 2005. However, when he and his wife Marjorie moved back to Plevna, they and the others felt the need for an evangelical church in their own area and the group began fundraising for the project.

They took their name from the Biblical text, John 7:38, “Whoever believes in me …rivers of living water will flow from within them”.

Almost immediately, the vision started to become a reality when Reuben and Joyce Lemke told the fellowship that they would donate however much land was needed for the church. Then, over the following years, enough money came in to survey the lot and hire an architect.

Ron Lemke said it was hard to keep up as things started to happen - “It is incredible what the Lord has done here.” He also said that the reason for the new church is to point people to the “meaningful purpose that God can bring to their lives.”

At first, the group did not know what denomination the church should belong to, but decided on the Wesleyan Church of Canada, and the church’s Superintendent of the Central District, Rev. Don Hodgins, was the guest speaker at the sod turning.

Coincidentally, Rev. Hodgins had ministered in the area about 35 years ago, as the pastor of the Pineview Free Methodist Church in Cloyne, and had seen the need then for an evangelical church in Plevna.

Mayor Bud Clayton brought greetings from the township, and said that at a time when churches are closing, it is refreshing that a new one is being built.

The plans are for a 47ft. x 47 ft. building with a 120-seat sanctuary. The church will also have a drive-through canopy and a tower that will house the bell from a closed Anglican church in Morven, Ont. The group has taken out a mortgage for $300,000, but already has $80,000 in their building fund.

Rev. Klatt will be the church’s pastor. At present the group has three Bible studies and the average attendance for the month of May was 38 in their morning services

After the ground-breaking service a lunch was held at the community hall in Plevna.