Den Danske Kirke
The Danish Church

En kort historie af Sct. Ansgarskirken

I 1920’erne voksede den danske befolkning betydeligt, delvis grundet af den Canadiske regerings opmunttring. De immigranter der ikke tog vestpå for at arbejde ved landbruget fandt arbejde i fabrikker, forretninger, restauranter og inden for bygningsfaget. For mange var den første arbejsplads i de rigere hjem i Montreal, hvor de kom til at arbejde som barneplejerker, husbestyrerinder, chauffører og hovmestre, indtil de fandt et bedre arbejde at beskæftige sig med.

Den Danske Evangelske Lutherske Sankt Ansgarskirke og Den Danske Klub er to eksempler af det formelle netværk der blev skabt i Montreal blandt danskerne. Uformelt var der andre net der oprandt.

Fra 1922 indtil 1926 var John M. Jensen en omrejsende præst. Han tjente danskerne i det østlige Canada, deriblandt dem i Montreal. Pastor Jensen var født af danske forældre i Toledo, Ohio, men voksede dog op i Danmark. Han vendte tilbage til USA for at læse til præst og tog eksamen i 1922. Han flyttede til Montreal i 1926. I 1927 blev han bedt om at etablere en fast Dansk Luthersk kirke i Montreal. Den grundlagdes i det samme år og tre år senere blev kirken inkorporeret.

De nye immigranter var særdeles trængende i begyndelsen og Pastor Jensen befandt sig tit ved togstationen hvor han bød de nye immigranter velkommen foruden at han hjalp dem med at finde arbejde og ovenikøbet underviste dem i engelsk i sit eget hjem.

Til at begynde med hold Sanct Ansgarskirken gudstjeneste i den tyske kirke på Jeanne Mance. Men i 1928 lejede menigheden en bygning med fire etager. Den blev bygget om så der var en kirkesal og kontor. Desuden var der en spisestue og værelser der blev lejet billigt ud til de unge immigranter. Pastor Jensen og hans assistenter administrerede bygningen, ikke mindst logihuset. Mange af de unge beboere var hjemmefra for første gang.

Sankt Ansgarskirken blev et samlested for danskheden. Ungdomsgruppen, Dansk Luthersk Sammensluttet Ungdom, havde ugentlige møder i kirken, hvor der gerne var 75 unge samlet. Den Danske Lutherske Kvindeforening var en frivillig tjeneste- og socialgruppe der blev grundlagt i 1928. Præstens kone, Ragnhild Jensen var dens første formand. Kvindeforeningen tjente menigheden ved at indsamle penge ved at holde basarer og messer. De understøttede tillige de Unge Menneskers Hjem og hjalp individuelle trængende familier.

Med Depressionen kom mange af de nye immigranter i stor nød. Nogle af dem flyttede tilbage til Danmark, mens andre blev her. Mange af dem der blev tilbage levede fra hånden og i munden og blev hjulpet af kirken såvel som af venner og bekendte. Byrden for kirken blev tungere efterhånden. Det skete at kirken ikke kunne betale præstens løn. Else Gøtsche, der arbejdede i det Danske Konsulat begyndte at give en del af sin løn for at understøtte præsten og hans familie. Da de Unge Menneskers Hjem lukkede varede det ikke længe inden præsten trak sig tilbage fra sit kald. Han var udmattet af de hårde arbejsdvilkår med de danske immigranter, som tit virkede som katastrofehjælp.

Endnu en tjenestegruppe oprandt i Montreal, i 1935. Det var Det Dansk Canadiske Samfund. Dens mandat var tildels at samle danskerne der boede i Montreal og omegn i godgørende arbejde og dels til at fremme dansk kultur. DCS blev, ligesom Sankt Ansarskirken, en kilde for understøttelse og stabilitet. Endelig blev der et net af danske organisationer til, i stor del på grund af Konsul G. Hollers indsats.

I 1938 ankom Vilhelm Beck i Montreal som den nye præst. Han ledte kirken gennem de afsluttende år af depressionen, Anden Verdenskrig foruden efterkrigsårenes tid med økonomisk fremgang. Pastor Beck, der var født i Danmark i 1888 kom til USA for at studere på seminariet Dana College i Nebraska. Under Første Verdenskrig kom han som soldat med de amerikanske tropper til Belgien og Frankrig, hvor han var usat for gasangreb der alvorligt skadede hans lunger. Efter en reconvalescens genoptog han sine studier.

I 1925 immigrerede Pastor Beck og hans brud, Marie, til Canada. Først boede de i Manitoba og siden i Alberta inden de flyttede til Montreal i 1938. I hans tid blev det en stor prioritet for kirken at finde en bygning de kunne købe for at de kunne have deres eget. Efter en tid fand de en passende bygning. Sælgeren var såmænd ingen andre end Georges Vanier, Canadisk Diplomat og siden generalguvernør af Canada.

I efteråret begyndte moderniseringsarbejdet i bygningen. Bygningen blev opdelt således: stueetagen blev lavet til kirkesal. Kælderen blev til møderum og øverste etage blev til <<præstegård>>. Den nye bygning blev indviet ved slutningen af samme år. Med det begyndte en ny periode af fremgang selv om det til stadighed var vanskeligt at tiltrække nye medlemmer. Hovedparten af de lokale danskere ikke var regulære kirkegængere.

Hen imod 1940’erne begyndte Sankt Ansgarskirken at ændres. Flere og flere i menigheden kom andetsteds fra end Danmark. Der var nu også børn af danskere. Mange af dem talte ikke dansk. Efterhånden blev navnet ‘dansk’ droppet (i 1970’erne) og kirken blev kendt simpelthen som den Lutherske Sankt Ansgarskirke.

I 1950’erne indgik Sankt Ansgarskirken i en periode af fremgang. En ny bølge af immigration fulgte med. I 1950 ejede de bygningen helt og holdent og de fejrede begivenheden ved at brænde skødet. I 1952 begyndte de at udvide bygningen for at skaffe mere plads til den voksende menighed. Både kirkesalen og mødesalen blev udvidet. Men det var bare midlertidige løsninger. Menigheden havde brug for meget mere plads. Der var også parkeringsnød at tage stilling til.

Pastor Beck blev pensioneret i 1959 i en alder af 71 år men han forblev aktiv i kirken i godt 20 år mere. Han førte danske gudtjenester ved lejlighed, ikke mindst til Juleaften.

Pastor Beck blev fulgt i embedet af Pastor Frederik Jensen, der var søn af vores første præst, John M. Jensen. Fred Jensen tog examen fra Dana College, ligesom sin forgænger. Han blev Magister fra Luther Theological Seminary i St. Paul, Minnesota.

Under Fred Jensen blev den nye bygning til realitet. Hjørnestenen blev lagt i af Pastor Emeritus Vilhelm Beck. Inden for det næste år begyndte kirken at holde gudstjenester i den nye bygning på Grand Boulevard.

Pastor Fred Jensen tog imod et kald i 1965 og flyttede til Minnesota. Siden tiltrådte Pastor Harry Carlsen embedet i kirken og tjente Sankt Ansgarskirken i knap to år.

I 1968 kom Pastor Sidney M. Nelson med sin store familie og tjente Sankt Ansgarskirkens menighed indtil 1981. Efter Pastor Fred Jensens tid var der efterhånden næsten ingen gudtjenester på dansk siden de påfølgende præster ikke talte dansk. Elaine Nelson, Pastor Sid’s kone var organist i de år og var skyld i at kirkekoret blomstrede.

Pastor Marat (Marty) Holobow kom i 1981 for at tjene Sankt Ansgarskirken. Hans kone, Marian, blev den nye korleder og vikarierede som organist tillige. Marty blev pensioneret i 1989.

Derefter fulgte Derk-Michael Strauch som præst. I 1996 forlod han os og blev fulgt af Pastor Thomas Zumbrock, som tjente os i knap to år, indtil Pastor Samuel King-Kabu kom til Sankt Ansgarskirken med sin familie i 1998.

Sankt Ansgarskirkens præster:

Pastor John M. Jensen – 1926 - 1937

Pastor Vilhelm Beck – 1937 – 1959

Pastor Frederik Jensen – 1959 – 1965

Pastor Harry Carlsen – 1965 – 1967

Pastor Sidney M. Nelson – 1968 – 1981

Pastor Marat M. Holobow – 1981 – 1989

Pastor Derk-Michael Strauch – 1989 – 1996

Pastor Thomas Zumbrock – 1996 – 1998

Pastor Samuel King-Kabu – 1998 indtil nutiden

A Short History of St. Ansgar's Church

In the 1920’s the population of Danes in Montreal grew substantially due in great part to the encouragement of the Canadian government. Those that didn't go west to work on farms found employment in factories, stores, restaurants and construction in Montreal. Many got their start as domestic workers – nannies, housekeepers, butlers and chauffeurs, until they were able to find better employment.

St. Ansgar's Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church and the Danish Club are two examples of the formal network created among Danes in Montreal. Other, less formal networks, sprang up as well.

Pastor John M. Jensen was a travelling minister from 1922 until 1926 serving the Danes in Eastern Canada, including those in Montreal. Pastor Jensen was born in Toledo, Ohio in 1893, of Danish parents but was raised in Denmark. He came back to study for the ministry in the USA, graduating in 1922. In 1926 he moved to Montreal and in 1927 he was asked to form a permanent Danish Lutheran Church in Montreal. It was formally established that year and in 1930 it was incorporated.

The needs of the new immigrants were quite pressing in those days and Pastor John M. Jensen found himself meeting new immigrants at the train station, helping them find employment and even teaching them English in his home.

At first St. Ansgar’s Church held their services at the German Church on Jeanne Mance. But in 1928 the congregation rented a four-storey house. They converted it to house the church meetings and administration. It had a dining area and rooms to rent at minimal cost to the young Danish immigrants. Pastor J. M. Jensen was in charge of administration of the building and rooming house. He had a special gift for working with young people, many of whom were away from their families for the first time.

St. Ansgar's Lutheran Church became a focal point for the Danish community. The young people's group, Dansk Luthersk Sammensluttet Ungdom had weekly meetings of 75 young people and the Danish Lutheran Ladies' Aid a volunteer service and social group were founded in 1928. Pastor Jensen’s wife, Ragnhild, was the first president. The Danish Ladies' Aid served the congregation through fund-raising activities such as bazaars and fairs, the upkeep of the Young Peoples' Home and more directly by helping individual families in need.

With the Great depression, disaster struck many of the new immigrants. Some moved back to Denmark. Others stayed. Many lived a hand-to-mouth existence and came to rely on the help of friends or the church. The burden of caring for families was growing heavier for the church. Sometimes they could not pay the pastor's salary. Else Gøtsche, who worked at the Danish Consulate, gave part of her monthly salary to the church to pay the pastor. When the young people's home was closed, Pastor John M. Jensen soon resigned his calling, fatigued by the heavy workload with the Danish immigrants, which at times was much like disaster relief.

Another Danish service group to spring up, in 1935, was the Danish Canadian Society. Their mandate was in part to unity Danish people living in Montreal and vicinity in charitable and welfare work and to promote Danish culture. Like St. Ansgar’s Church, the DCS became a source of support and stability. Eventually a nationwide network of Danish organizations was formed. The Danish Consul, G. Holler, deserves credit for much of this work.

Pastor Vilhelm Beck arrived in Montreal in 1938 and saw the congregation through the final years of the depression, the Second World War as well as the postwar years of prosperity. Pastor Beck was born in Denmark in 1888 and studied in the seminary at Dana College, Nebraska. He served in WW1 with the US Armed Forces in 1918 and was gassed, leaving his lungs seriously damaged. After his convalescence he returned to his studies.

After graduation Pastor Beck and his bride, Marie, immigrated to Canada in 1925, first settling in Manitoba and then in Alberta, before moving to Montreal in 1938. Under Pastor Beck, a high priority was set on finding a suitable property to purchase so the congregation could have a building of its own. Eventually a suitable building was found on Dorchester. The seller: none other than Georges Vanier, a Canadian diplomat and later Governor General of Canada.

Renovations began in the fall of 1939. The building was divided into 3 sections - the main floor for the church sanctuary, the basement for meetings and the parsonage on the upper floor. The dedication of the new building in December 1939 began a period of significant growth for the church, although attracting new members to St. Ansgar's was continuing to be a challenge. A majority of local Danes were not regular church goers.

By the mid-1940's St. Ansgar's congregation was changing to include more non-Danes and children of Danes. Many of them did not speak Danish. Eventually (in the 1970’s) the name 'Danish' was dropped and the church became known simply as St. Ansgar's Lutheran Church.

The church entered a new era of prosperity after WW2. A new wave of immigration followed in the 1950's. In 1950 St. Ansgar's church achieved full equity in the property on Dorchester and celebrated by burning the mortgage. Expansion plans to accommodate the growing congregation commenced in 1952 with additions to the Sancturary and meeting room. But these solutions were only temporary. The congregation needed even more space. Parking was also an issue on Dorchester Boulevard.

In 1959 Pastor Back retired at the age of 71, but he stayed active in the church, assisting the new ministers into the 1980's and conducting services in Danish on certain occasions, most notably on Christmas Eve.

Pastor Beck was followed by Pastor Frederik Jensen in 1959, the son of St. Ansgar's first pastor, John M. Jensen. Fred Jensen, like Pastor Beck, graduated from Dana College in Nebraska and received his Master's from Luther Theological Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota.

Under Pastor Jensen the re-location of the church to Notre Dame de Grace materialized. In 1963 the corner stone was laid by Pastor Emeritus Vilhelm Beck and the first services were held within a year on Grand Boulevard.

In 1965 Pastor Jensen accepted a call to Minnesota. Subsequently Pastor Harry Carlsen served St. Ansgar's for nearly two years.

In 1968 Pastor Sidney M. Nelson arrived with his large family in Montreal and served St. Ansgar's congregation until 1981. After Pastor Fred Jensen left Montreal, church services in Danish virtually ceased, as subsequent ministers did not speak Danish. Elaine Nelson, Pastor Sid's wife, was church organist at St. Ansgar’s. Under her, the church choir flourished.

In 1981 Pastor Marat (Marty) Holobow came to serve St. Ansgar's Church. His wife, Marian, led the church choir and filled in as organist. Pastor Holobow retired in 1989.

In 1989 Derk Michael Strauch came to serve as pastor of St. Ansgar's church. In 1996 he left and was followed by Pastor Thomas Zumbrock, who served for two years, until Pastor Samuel King-Kabu came to St. Ansgar's church with his family in 1998.

Pastors of St. Ansgar’s Lutheran Church:

Pastor John M. Jensen – 1926 - 1937

Pastor Vilhelm Beck – 1937 – 1959

Pastor Frederik Jensen – 1959 – 1965

Pastor Harry Carlsen – 1965 – 1967

Pastor Sidney M. Nelson – 1968 – 1981

Pastor Marat M. Holobow – 1981 – 1989

Pastor Derk-Michael Strauch – 1989 – 1996

Pastor Thomas Zumbrock – 1996 – 1998

Pastor Samuel King-Kabu – 1998 until present

Note: The source of much of the information on the early pastors came from the book by Rebecca Mancuso, "Faces of Change – the Danish Community of Montreal", copyright 1997 in Montreal, by the author and the contributors.