The congregation at Port Coquitlam's Hope Lutheran Church will look back 60 years on Sunday.
And it will have some familiar faces at its services to help with the anniversary celebrations.
The morning communion at 10 a.m. will be lead by the Rev. Andrew Craig, who grew up in the PoCo parish and is now a preacher at the Trinity Lutheran Church in Pincher Creek, AB. For the afternoon worship at 3 p.m., former pastor Harry Ruf will return to the church to preach.
Overseeing the festivities will be Laverne Hautz, the ninth pastor of the York Street church that was founded in 1955 by 19 male charter members under the wing of Pastor Carl Baase.
Today, the congregation boasts more than 550 members baptized and 400 confirmed members who hail from the Tri-Cities, Maple Ridge and Surrey including a few from the original group.
But while the church has flourished over the years so has its school, which has two campuses (the secondary school is run out of Riverside community church on Lougheed Highway).
In February, the 20 teachers and 350 students in kindergarten to Grade 12 marked Hope Lutheran Christian School's 20th year and reflected on its accomplishments within the church and the community, Hautz said.
Besides its mission projects, the students have taken part in spring drives to collect more than 1,200 pounds of non-perishable goods for the Share food bank. Grade 8 students have also served meals to the homeless in Leigh Square during the winter. And, for the first time, the school and church walked together last Saturday in the May Day parade in PoCo; they included a longtime parishioner in her 80s who walked the full length of Shaughnessy Street.
Hartz, who was brought on in 2011 when pastor Ronald Towriss retired after serving since 1986, said the school is growing exponentially, enrolling about 20 new students a year. Currently, it has two classes for each of kindergarten, Grade 1 and Grade 2; this fall, it will add another Grade 3 class.
It accepts students no matter what their denomination. "We welcome anyone," Hautz said.
The 60th anniversary celebration for Hope Lutheran Church (3151 York St.) includes an open house and tours of the church and school, starting at 1 p.m. Cake will be served at 4:30 p.m.
