The First Pastors
REV. JÓN BJARNASON (served from 1884-1914) 
One of the towering figures in the Icelandic immigrant community in North America was Jón Bjarnason. Pastor Bjarnason, or séra Jón, as he was often called, was one of the most able ministers from Iceland in the latter part of the nineteenth century. There had been Lutheran ministers in his mother‘s family in almost every generation since the Reformation. His father was a farmer, an exceptionally bright man, a poet, well-versed in Greek and Roman literature. Jón was born November 15, 1845.
Jón went to the seminary in Reykjavík and graduated in 1869. In the spring of 1869 he was ordained to be the assistant to his father, who had also become a pastor. Jón married Lára Mikaelína Guðjónsen on November 15, 1870. Jón earned a living for three years in Reykjavík by teaching. He applied twice for a parish, but was unsuccessful. In 1873 the young couple started to think about going to America. They received letters from a young theological student, Páll Thorláksson, who had already made the move. Páll was a friend of Jón’s and related to Lára. Páll told Jón that he would have a good chance of getting a parish among Norwegians, who were moving in droves to America. They decided to go.
They left Reykjavík on September 5, 1873, arriving in Quebec City and then travelling to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. From there they went to St. Louis, Missouri. For several years they lived in the United States, with Jón teaching and working as a newspaper editor in Illinois and Minnesota. In 1877, he was called as a pastor to New Iceland (part of the Interlake, in what is now Manitoba).
He was to be paid $600 the first year, but received only $284 in 1877 and $319 the next. These were difficult times. The settlers in New Iceland faced extreme poverty and then came a smallpox epidemic. There were no roads, and at times little food. Frú Lára started a school in Gimli, working without pay, and séra Jón walked all over New Iceland from Winnipeg Beach to Hecla Island.
During this time, 1877-1880, he came to Winnipeg several times each year and held services and performed pastoral acts. In 1880 séra Jón went back to Iceland and served as a parish pastor in Seyðisfjörður, a small fishing village on the east coast of Iceland. After séra Jón came back in 1884, the newly formed First Lutheran Church rapidly gained strength. Though not always in good health, séra Jón was a hard and relentless worker. He was the president of the Icelandic Synod from its founding in 1885 until 1909 and the editor of the synodical monthly the Sameiningin from 1885 until 1913. He worked for the strengthening of Christian education through Sunday Schools and through his efforts established an Icelandic School, the Jón Bjarnason Academy, located on Home Street just south of Sargent Avenue.
Séra Jón died at his home in Winnipeg on July 3, 1914, at 69 years of age. He is buried in Brookside Cemetery and the words on his gravestone read: “He fought the good fight, he preserved the faith.”
REV. BJÖRN B. JÓNSSON (served from 1914-1938) 
Björn Jónsson was born at Ás in Kelduhverfi, northern Iceland, on June 19, 1870. He immigrated to Canada with his parents in 1876. They settled in the Interlake and lived there until 1881, then moved to Winnipeg and later on to the Argyle settlement (Glenboro). Björn Junior studied at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota from 1889-91. He took his theological training in Chicago and was ordained in 1893. He served as a Mission Pastor in the Icelandic Synod for a year but then served the Minneota Parish in south-western Minnesota from 1894-1914. He was then called to First Lutheran where he served from 1914-1938. Björn married Sigurbjörg Gunnarson in 1893. She died in 1905. They had four children. In 1908 he married Ingiriður Johnson and they had three children.
During the First World War Björn was elected to lead the work done for soldiers by all Lutherans in Canada. He was twice the president of the Winnipeg Ministerial Association. He was granted an honorary degree by Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1921. In 1927 he received the Order of the Falcon from the King of Iceland and Denmark.
Björn served as the Secretary of the Icelandic Synod for many years, was president of the Synod from 1908-1921 and editor of Sameiningin from 1907-1932. The Pastor’s Association of Iceland published a collection of his sermons.
When Pastor B. B. Jónsson (as he was commonly called) died on May 13, 1938 he was only about a month short of having served 45 years as a pastor in the Icelandic Synod. Pastor K. K. Ólafsson, who was the editor of the Sameiningin at the time, wrote about him in the May 1938 issue. According to Pastor Ólafsson, who knew Björn well, he was almost a perfect example of a bi-cultural person, equally at home in Icelandic and North American culture. He was a good writer and speaker both in English and Icelandic and well-versed in literature.
REV. VALDIMAR EYLANDS (served from 1938 -1968) 
Valdimar Jónsson Eylands was born at Laufás, Víðidalur, Iceland on March 3, 1901. He started college in Iceland, but after the death of his father he had no means to continue. Valdimar decided to try his luck in Canada, arriving in Winnipeg January 12, 1922. He graduated from Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota and went to seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. He was ordained in 1925 in the Icelandic Synod in Selkirk, Manitoba.
He served the Melankton congregation in Upham, North Dakota for three years. On December 27, 1925 he married Thorunn Lilia Johnson, who was from the Upham district. He then served other American parishes until, in 1938, he was called to serve the Lutheran congregation in Selkirk and to assist Pastor B. B. Jónsson at First Lutheran, who was in failing health. After Pastor Jónsson’s death he was called to be the pastor at First Lutheran Church.
During his 30 years at First Lutheran, Pastor Eylands grew in reputation and the congregation expanded to over 2000 members. He never missed a service due to illness. During his earlier years at First Lutheran services were broadcast both in English and Icelandic. Pastor Eylands served as President of the Icelandic National League and the Icelandic Synod at the same time. United College in Winnipeg bestowed an honorary doctor’s degree on him in 1953 for his book, Lutherans in Canada. He received an honorary degree from the University of Iceland in 1977 and was made a knight of the Order of the Falcon by the Icelandic Government. He wrote about his travels to the Holy Land and an autobiography Frá Víðidal til Vestuheims.
Pastor Eylands retired in 1968 and moved to North Dakota. In November 1977 at the beginning of the 100th Anniversary year, Pastor Eylands, as guest, preached at the first service. He also took part in a wreath-laying ceremony at Brookside Cemetery at the graves of Jón Bjarnason, B. B. Jónsson and Runólfur Marteinsson.
Lilia Eylands died in 1977, and in 1978, Pastor Eylands married his second wife, Ingibjörg Bjarnason Goodridge. Pastor Eylands died in 1983. He was a man of unusual physical and spiritual strength. It is doubtful that the majority of the members of the congregation were aware of just how heavy a load he carried for many years, serving a community of over 2000 people. Some saw him as stern, but among friends in a smaller group his dry wit and keen sense of humour came through.
REV. JOHN V. ARVIDSON (senior pastor 1968 – 1988) 
John Arvidson was born in West Haven, Connecticut, on April 1, 1925. He received his education at Uppsala College, in New Jersey, and Augustana Seminary, Rock Island, Illinois. He served as a pastor in Wetaskiwin, Alberta until he was called to First Lutheran in February 1967. He later became a citizen of Canada.
His sense of history and his Swedish heritage helped him to understand and appreciate the background of First Lutheran Church. He travelled to Iceland and gained friends there. He came to love the Passion Hymns by the 17th century pastor and poet, Hallgrímur Pétursson, had them read in English translation at Lenten Services, and quoted them frequently.
By his diligent work, his sensitivity to the cultural background of the people, and a non‑judgmental approach, Pastor John earned the love and respect of the parishioners. He took pride in his home, was a generous host, and a man of impeccable taste. This carried over into his other home, the church. Not having a family of his own, the congregation was his extended family. He often used his own money for things needed around the church, and worked tirelessly, although he was often not physically strong.
In his later years Pastor John gradually lost his sight and was greatly weakened by diabetes. But he went on doing his work, often going on more by sheer mental discipline than physical strength. In the fall of 1987 Pastor John fell on the boulevard in front of the church. After that he was unable to work. Pastor Arvidson died on March 15, 1990. Pastor John was a sensitive man, understanding when it came to the shortcomings and limitations of others. When he was demanding in anything it grew out of his love for the church and his desire that what God requires be done.
Adapted from Rooted in Christ: A History of First Lutheran Church (2003), written by Ingthor Isfeld.
