Erickson church finds new life

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This article was published 06/02/2023 (1219 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A vision to transform a vacant historic church into a community hub has come to life in Erickson.

With its 30-foot ceilings, ornate trim and stained glass, Good Street Hall is now a charming venue for fitness classes, office space, concerts and community events.

“It’s beautiful and … people that come in just kind of fall in love with it,” said Steve Langston, who purchased the building in 2021. “Overall, it’s just been a really positive outcome for a building that had a very uncertain future.”

Located at 37 3rd St. NW, the building was formerly the Sacred Heart Ukrainian Catholic Church. It was built in 1953, and was a place of worship for more than half a century. It was decommissioned as a church in 2018.

Steve and Reghan Langston moved to Onanole from Winnipeg about five years ago. They were previously seasonal residents of the area, but wanted to move to rural Manitoba for a better quality of life for their children. Since they moved to Onanole, they have taken on many renovation projects in the area.

The church renovation took approximately four months, and the biggest challenge was painting the entire structure.

“The churches are very sacred to the Ukrainian Catholic people, so any religious iconography essentially had to be covered up,” Langston said. “We had to go 30 feet into the air on scaffolding and essentially paint the entire building.”

The building itself was in good shape, so the main focus was painting and flooring before they reopened in April 2022.

It is now home to Grit and Growth Wellness, a counselling service. Several fitness classes are held there every week, such as yoga, Zumba and strength training. It has also become a great space for concerts, events and weddings. Juno-award nominee Don Amero, a singer-songwriter from Winnipeg, held a concert at Good Street Hall last September.

“From our family’s perspective, it’s awesome,” Langston said. “Every time you start one of these projects, you never know how it’s going to turn out. You need to kind of have faith that the way you see the world is also the way others are going to see the world, and that people are going to come use it.”

Langston, who was elected councillor in the RM of Harrison Park last year, said he is invested in the community and hopes to help drive economic development in the area.

“We call it place making, the more fun and interesting things there are for people to do, the better people feel about their community, the more proud they are,” he said.

Being located just 10 minutes from Riding Mountain National Park, Erickson is already a busy little town.

“People always visit. They would go to the Co-op grocery store and leave, and our goal is to have them stay longer and spend a bit more money.”

The name of the hall was inspired by Erickson’s history. Langston discovered that prior to streets being changed to a numbered system in Erickson, the building was on “Good Street,” so they decided to pay homage to its past.

Fitness instructor Shane Robins began teaching yoga classes at Good Street Hall last October.

“I’ve practised in yoga studios around the world, and this competes with some of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been in,” she said. “If offers great light and a high ceiling. It’s just a really beautiful, warm space.”

She recalled getting comments from people internationally after she posted about the new venue.

“Saying ‘wow are you kidding me, where is this?’” she said, to which she’d proudly reply, “Erickson, Manitoba … We’re really lucky.”

Robins, whose business is called Move With Shane, said the yoga community is growing in the area, and what initially began as a group from Onanole has expanded to include people coming in from Dauphin, Minnedosa and Sandy Lake.

“I’ve got new faces definitely every month since October,” she said, adding she plans to add more classes to the schedule in the future, both yoga and Pilates.

As for the future of Good Street Hall, Langston said he wants to see it grow.

“We just want to continue to bring as many people through it as possible and have as many people use it and care for it and advocate for it,” he said. “And make it just a beautiful gathering spot in our community.”

» Jillian Austin is a Local Journalism Initiative freelance writer and a real estate agent with Century 21 Westman Realty.

» jillianaustin.news@gmail.com

» Twitter: @jillianaustin