Old chapel gets new life in the Core

Veronica Rhodes
The Leader-Post
CREDIT: Joshua Sawka, The Leader-Post

Pastor William Bridal has gathered a following at the Souls Harbor Chapel in the Core neighbourhood.

The worn wooden pews of a century-old church are once again welcoming celebrants in Regina's Core neighbourhood.

The Souls Harbour Chapel opened its doors roughly a month ago on the corner of Montreal Street and 11th Avenue. Chaplain Bill Bridal said that approximately 25 people are regularly attending Sunday night services already.

The approximately 100-year-old building, which has always been used as a church, was donated to Souls Harbour RESCUE Mission, said Bridal. Despite fresh paint on the walls and new curtains hanging in the tall windows, the building maintains the feel of a country church with its original pews and dark wooden lectern.

The service is simple and includes prayer, Bible reading, preaching and singing. Bridal explained the chapel was not opened to be another church in the neighbourhood, but rather as an outreach ministry.

"We all need the Gospel ... We're here for the community," said Bridal, adding that when it becomes more established, he hopes Sunday school will be offered for children.

Bridal has owned a home in Regina for a number of years. But since 1980, he has travelled to communities across Canada to work for a short term in churches that needed a pastor.

When he returned to the city last fall, he contacted the Regina Evangelical Ministerial Association to see if there was a church in Regina that needed a minister.

That is when he heard about the chapel Souls Harbor RESCUE Mission had acquired. Chief Operating Officer Donovan Carroll told Bridal they had a church building, but they didn't have a congregation.

"The reason they accepted the building as a donation is they could see it as being an arm of the Mission. That is what we're looking at is a ministry of, a part of what Souls Harbour is all about," said Bridal.

The chapel's services are open to everyone and have attracted many people from the neighbourhood. Bridal said he put a letter out to the evangelical churches in the city asking if they were interested in taking part in the chapel's services. Many have responded and a leader from a different church has led the service every Sunday night.

"I have never announced the leader from a church, saying they are from this church or that church. Part of that is that when they are here, this is who we are," explained Bridal.

The Souls Harbor Chapel holds services at 7 p.m. on Thursday and 6:30 p.m. on Sunday.