Working with Wood
Did you know the pulpit, communion table, Little Free Library and offering collection box at Bethel were built by Delmer Epp?
Visiting Delmer one morning in the sunny apartment he shares with his wife Elsie, I discover he’s made much of the furniture in their home — the coffee table, lamps, China cabinet, bed, bookshelves, and a cupboard. One reason Delmer and Elsie moved to their current apartment was because there is a fully equipped workshop in the building with all the tools Delmer needs to pursue his passion for woodworking.
Delmer’s first carpentry project was building a tree house on his family’s farmyard in Waldheim, Saskatchewan when he was a kid. His renewed interest in working with wood was inspired by men in the congregation he pastored in Surrey, British Columbia and the one he co-pastored with Elsie in Tavistock, Ontario. Between these two assignments, Elsie and Delmer co-pastored a church in Saskatoon and served in the position of Saskatchewan Conference Minister. In 2007 they moved to Winnipeg and joined Bethel.
In 2011 after finding a lathe at the Selkirk MCC Thrift Store, Delmer tried his hand at woodturning. Since then, Delmer has made all kinds of beautiful items including bowls, vases, pens, thermoses, and candleholders. He has even made urns for ashes.
Delmer uses mostly recycled wood. People know about his hobby so if they cut down a tree or demolish a building, they contact him to see if he’d like some of the wood.
Many of Delmer’s pieces become gifts. In the last few years, he has displayed his work at MCC sales and donated his profits to them. He’s also had a table at the fall CMU sale.
Delmer is one of about 50 members of the Wood Turners Association of Manitoba who meet monthly to share and critique each other’s work. At these meetings he is introduced to new projects and techniques.
Delmer hands me a segmented bowl he once used to tell the children’s story at Bethel. He showed the children how the bowl was made up of many different pieces of wood that had been glued together. He compared the bowl to the church, made up of many different people with Jesus as the glue that holds them together.
Delmer says sometimes he makes a mistake while he is creating a piece and his plan for a project must be reconsidered. He reflects that in many ways our lives are like that too. Obstacles and errors can cause us to change our plans. Delmer has also discovered that flawed wood often makes the most beautiful pieces.
It seems working with wood has lessons to teach about both faith and life.
This story was written by Bethel Storyteller MaryLou Driedger. She will be holding a story-writing workshop at the church on April 25 from 10-12 am. Contact her at maryloudriedger@gmail.com by April 22 if you would like to participate.
