The Mustard Seed’s 96th Street Edmonton church is permanently closed and services will move to their Wellness Centre
The Mustard Seed has permanently closed the doors to its 96 Street church as of Thursday.
The not-for-profit Christian organization has been running services in the church since the 1980s but after nearly 30 years the decision to close the building came down to the feasibility of the aging building’s upkeep and the overall safety risk it would pose to guests and staff.
Laura Giesbrecht, senior director of food services at the Mustard Seed, said the amount of money needed to renovate the building and maintain its integrity was not in the cards for the organization. But while the building will no longer be used, the organization is in the early stages of planning how to repurpose the space.
“We plan to rebuild a new space on that site that would better meet the needs of the community in a really purposeful way. So that is going to take some time but it certainly is our vision to continue to meet the needs in that downtown core,” Giesbrecht said.
The church was built in 1912 and the organization took over operations in 1988. Giesbrecht said they’ve had the opportunity to run a variety of different food programming out of the church which has served many members of the community.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, volunteers and staff at the Mustard Seed would provide food hampers to those in need. Prior to COVID the organization would offer a weekly dinner program but due to the pandemic they had to pivot their food programming.
While they devise a plan on what will occupy the 96 Street church, Giesbrecht said they are moving their services to the Wellness Centre located at 11355 105 Ave. The food depot program will start up again on Oct. 29.
“Operations like this church building don’t just happen on their own,” Giesbrecht said. “Without the support of the community, and I know that we’ve seen ourselves as a vital part of the community over these years, and we could not do what we’ve done without the support of volunteers and donors and sponsors.”