Description of Historic Place

The Green Valley Lutheran Church is a Municipal Heritage Property occupying a parcel of land in the Rural Municipality of Loreburn No. 254. The property includes a white, one-storey church built in 1917 and located approximately 15 kilometres southeast of the Town of Outlook.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of Green Valley Lutheran Church lies in its reputed status, at the time of its construction, as the largest Norwegian Lutheran Church in Canada. Built in 1917, the church can seat 200 people and has been the site of provincial and national meetings of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Canada.

The heritage value of the building also resides in its long-time status as a community landmark. The church features a bell tower, the top portion of which was removed sometime in the 1950s due to the weight on the lower portion. Otherwise, it retains its original form and wood building materials, which reflect a vernacular style with slight Gothic Revival influences. The interior includes its original hardwood floor, pews, fittings, a sanctuary with arched ceiling and an elaborate altar.

The heritage value of the property also lies in its continuing use as a place of worship for Lutherans. The church has been continuously used for Sunday services, weddings, funerals, baptisms and other landmark events since its inception.

Source:
Rural Municipality of Loreburn No. 254 Bylaw 3-88.

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of Green Valley Lutheran Church lies in the following character-defining elements:
-those elements that reflect the property’s reputed former status as the largest Norwegian Lutheran Church in Canada, such as its position on its original location;
-those elements that reflect the property’s position as a community landmark, including its vernacular construction with Gothic Revival influences, such as its pointed-arch windows with tracery, roof and the lower portion of its bell tower, regular massing, large form and size, the original wood construction materials, hardwood floors, original pews and elaborate sanctuary;
-those elements that reflect the Church’s continuing use as a place of worship, such as its pews and sanctuary that includes a hardwood arched ceiling, communion rail and elaborate altar.