Community rallies to restore Lutriņi church tower

Friends of Lutriņi Evangelical Lutheran Church in Saldus Municipality are raising 175,000 euros to restore its deteriorating tower through a series of charity concerts, LSM reported, citing Skrundas Television.

The church holds services once a month, but people are now invited to attend concerts there every week and contribute to the restoration. Musician Andris Ērglis, who spent part of his childhood in nearby Jaunlutriņi, performed at one of the concerts and agreed to support the campaign immediately.

“We musicians and artists who contribute by performing at these concerts give people a good feeling. And when people have that good feeling, they also want to donate,” Ērglis said.

Concertgoer Anda Jākobsone said her 91-year-old relative was among the last remaining members of an earlier generation connected with the church. She said the woman had been confirmed there, while Jākobsone’s grandfather had been baptised there. She also found his birth record in the church register.

The first church in the area was built in the first half of the 17th century. The current building will mark its 200th anniversary next year.

The church stands in an exposed rural area, and its tower has suffered from the weather. Repairs carried out more than 20 years ago have deteriorated, leaving the roof covered with patches of temporary material.

“With the help of mountaineers, congregation members and others, we are trying to patch it up so that everything else does not fall into ruin, because the church also has a historic organ,” said Artūrs Asars, head of the Lutriņi congregation.

Damp has already damaged the load-bearing wooden structures on the upper floors. The situation prompted local residents to act. Together with the congregation, they formed a tower restoration working group and began looking for ways to raise the required 175,000 euros.

Working group representative Zigmunds Žunda said the organisers wanted to replace the widespread approach of criticising problems without helping to solve them.

“We decided to put an end to that. Not by pointing fingers through negativity, but simply by doing good work, creating more good and pushing out the bad,” Žunda said.