Hi, my name is Maggie Reimer, born Margaret Knoedler. Recently, I went on a trip down memory lane and visited the church I grew up in; Immanuel Baptist Church. After doing some wandering about and reminiscing about my many years in the church, I had the opportunity to speak to a gentleman about the future plans for the church. Unfortunately, after a lot of effort to attempt to save the church, it has now been slated for demolition in Spring of 2026. As much as this break my heart, I can understand the difficulty in keeping up an old building when the congregation is small and when the donations are just not meeting the expenses of this building needs.

For days after visiting the church, I felt that God laid it on my heart to throw one big final reunion where anyone who called Immanuel their home church for a long or short time can celebrate, remember, and reconnect with those that had impact in their lives. Immanuel Baptist Church began in 1957 with many families still remembering the stories of their grandparents immigrating to Canada, finding a German speaking church and then creating a new community where they began to rebuild their lives. We want to take time to honour that and also all those that came after.

The reason to fundraise is to help offset the costs of the events we have planned. City Baptist Church, who is currently using the building, have been gracious to allow us to use it for the event without a rental fee but we are responsible to cover everything else. This will include administrative costs, advertising, etc. We will also be having a BBQ/Picnic afterwards in the back parking lot and empty lot next door and the hope is to not have to charge a fee for this. We may also hire a few key people so that all attendees can enjoy the day. How much we do will depend on the funds that have come in.

Our prayer is that this day reminds people where they came from, reconnects us with old friends, heals old wounds and continues to point us to God's incredible love and grace on our lives.