An Exodus - Congregations that have left the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada over the last 28 Years
1. North American Lutheran Church (NALC) - Main Office; Bishop John F. Bradosky, 3500 Mill Run Drive Hilliard, Ohio 43026-7770 USA - Phone: 614-777-5709 - Fax: 614-777-5793 Email: info@thenalc.org and jbradosky@thenalc.org Congregations: British Columbia: Ft. St. John (Peace) Alberta: Claresholm (Peace), Granum, (Granum), Barrhead (St. John), Edmonton (Calvary and Risen Lord), St. Albert (St. Albert), Red Deer (Living Faith), Ardrossan/Sherwood Park (St. John), Strathmore (Lord of All) and Calgary (Ascension and Shepherd King) Stettler (St. Peter) Foremost (Trinity), Bow Island (Zion) Dalum (Bethlehem) and Hussar (Our Savior’s); Saskatchewan: Outlook (Bethlehem) Manitoba: Winnipeg (Joy Lutheran and St. Peter Lutheran), Dauphin (Trinity) - There are now 20 congregations in Canada. Pastor Tim Johnson is a NALC pastor serving an Anglican congregation in Dawson Creek, B.C. Pastor Eileen Cheung is a NALC pastor serving Good Shepherd Chinese Lutheran meeting in Calvary Lutheran in Edmonton. - a total of 21 congregations in Canada now. The Church has 373 congregations and about 135,000 baptized members in Canada and in the United States. Most congregations or part of a congregation in this denomination used to be members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada or the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. There is a candidacy program in the NALC with students studying at various seminaries. ________________________________________ 2. Canadian Association of Lutheran Congregations (CALC) Pastor Ed Skutshek (President) Grace Lutheran Church, 1162 Hudson Road West Kelowna, BC V1Z 1J3; Telephone (toll-free): 877-853-4801; 250 801 3860 (cell) Email: info@calc.ca There are now 30 congregations in Canada. Congregations in British Columbia: St. Andrew in Kamloops, Basel Hakka Chinese, Vancouver Chinese Lutheran and Martin Luther in Vancouver, Grace in Kelowna, Mount Calvary in Mission; Alberta: Emmaus in Edmonton, Bethel Lutheran Church in Marwayne, Christ in Sexsmith, Immanuel of Rosenthal/Stony Plain, Sharon in Irma, Bardo Lutheran at Tofield, Golden Valley in Viking, Journeys in Grand Prairie, St. Peter in Cochrane, Peace in Wainwright, Salem in Kingman, Trondhjem in Round Hill, Asker Lutheran at rural Ponoka and Calvary Lutheran (rural) Wetaskiwin Saskatchewan: Immanuel Lutheran Church in Parkside,Trinity in Leader and St. John North Prairie in Preeceville; Manitoba: Christ in Morden; Ontario: Resurrection in Pembroke and Faith in North York, Good Shepherd in North York, All Saints in Ottawa, St. Matthew in Cornwall and St. Peter Lutheran at Sullivan (2.5 hrs north of Toronto by car); also Goodwood Uxbridge Lutheran Church in Goodwood, ON (a mission congregation) All of these congregations were at one time members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada except for Journeys in Grande Prairie, Alberta and Resurrection in Pembroke and the mission in Goodwood-Uxbridge in Ontario. (not sure if that is still true because of updated list) A note from Mr. Ron Voss: Given its small size, CALC does not have a seminary of its own. However, CALC does not necessarily consider that a limitation as that allows CALC’s congregations to spread their nets wider to find a pastor aligned with CALC’s Confession of Faith. In cooperation with the Institute of Lutheran Theology (ILT), Brookings, South Dakota – an online seminary – this has opened up the opportunity for CALC to introduce a new innovative program for pastoral preparation – the Shepherd’s Pathway – to meet the diverse needs of CALC’s congregations, particularly smaller, rural congregations. As well, a memorandum of agreement between CALC and Concordia Lutheran Seminary (CLS) in Edmonton is in the process of being developed which would allow CALC to have pastors trained at the seminary. ________________________________________ 3. Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC) 7000 N Sheldon Rd, Canton, MI 48187, Email: info@lcmc.net Phone: 734.207.5400, Fax: 734.459.2311, Toll Free: 866.720.5262 (Some member congregations of the Canadian Association of Lutheran Congregations (CALC) have dual membership with Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ): British Columbia: Grace in Kelowna; Alberta: Valhalla Ev. Lutheran in Valhalla Centre, Trinity Lutheran in Brooks, Trinity Lutheran in Ponoka and Victory in Medicine Hat; Saskatchewan: Trinity in Leader and Salem in Shaunavon; Ontario: Faith in Downsview and Resurrection in Pembroke. (Valhalla Ev. Lutheran in Valhalla Centre, Trinity in Brooks, Trinity in Ponoka, Victory in Medicine Hat and Salem in Shaunavon are not members of CALC.) This Church has a total of 812 congregations with 9 congregations in Canada (9), 706 in 41 of the United States, 2 in U.S. Territories and Mexico (3) that is in 11 other countries besides the USA also including (Belarus (4), Cambodia (8), Democratic Republic of the Congo (3), Haiti (25) and India (10)) with about 321,000 baptized members. The website notes that there are 131 pastors available for a call and 43 positions for church workers available. Many of the American congregations still hold dual membership in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America but function independently of it. Students of theology study at the Institute of Lutheran Theology in Brookings, South Dakota. ________________________________________ 4. Church of the Lutheran Brethren (CLB) (congregations in Alberta: Living Hope in Beaumont, King of Glory and Peace in Calgary, Bethany in Morrin, Grace in Okotoks, Resurrection in Camrose; and in Saskatchewan: in Saskatoon Rock of Ages and Journeys, Faith in Estevan, Birch Hills Community Church in Birch Hills (Other Congregations that are not members and served by the Church of the Lutheran Brethren are: Trinity, Torquay and Saron, Birch Hills); all in Saskatchewan and in Alberta, Wilhelmina Lutheran at rural Hay Lakes, Alberta. Thus there are 13 congregations. Canadian Contact: Regional Pastor Art Hundeby, 206 Bayview Crescent, Saskatoon, SK S7V 1B6; Tel.: 306 955 1036 and cell: 306 229 8769) Email: ahundeby@lbcanada.org Church of the Lutheran Brethren, P.0. Box 655, Fergus Falls, Minnesota 56538-0655; Tel.: 210 739 3336 This Church has 123 congregations in Canada and the United States with 8,860 baptized members. Seminary: Lutheran Brethren Seminary, 815 W. Vernon Ave., Fergus Falls, Minnesota 56537; Tel.: 218 739 3375 – There are about 20 students studying for the preaching ministry at present. There is a very large mission field in Chad and Cameroon in Africa. Hillcrest Lutheran Academy, 610 Hillcrest Drive, Fergus Falls, Minnesota 56537; Tel. 218 739 3371; Email: office@ffhillcrest.org The congregations in Morrin (AB), Birch Hills, Torquay (both SK) und Hay Lakes (AB) were previously affiliated with the ELCIC. Others were founded as mission efforts from the USA and some many decades ago. ________________________________________ 5. Lutheran Church – Canada (LC-C), President Robert Bugbee, 3074 Portage Ave., Winnipeg, Manitoba R3K 0Y2; Tel.: 204 895 3433; Tel.: 204 895 3433 or Toll Free: 1-800-588 4226; Email: info@lutheranchurch.ca As far as I know two congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada have recently joined Lutheran Church – Canada; one is in Alberta: Bethany Lutheran in Dickson (formerly of UELC Danish heritage, then ELCC and then ELCIC) and in Saskatchewan: St. Paul of Bergheim (formerly of ULCA German heritage then ELCIC) outside of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. ________________________________________ 6. Some congregations that have left the ELCIC are still independent - ie. Redeemer in Coaldale, AB and Faith in Calgary, AB as well as Wilhelmina Lutheran at Hay Lakes, AB; the latter served by pastors of the Church of the Lutheran Brethren and of the ELCIC. Scandia Lutheran in Scandia AB is now independent (Pastor Jakob Pillibeit) as well as Bethany in Donalda, AB, Chinese Lutheran in Winnipeg, MB and New Life Chinese Lutheran in Vancouver, BC ________________________________________ 7. Association of Free Lutheran Congregations - Canada, (AFLC) Pastor Al Pinno (President), Box 1471, Outlook, SK S0L 2N0; Tel.: 306 850 0664 Email: eecchrist@gmail.com British Columbia: Emmanuel in Salmon Arm, Living Word in Vernon, Alberta: Alberta: St. Matthew in Edmonton (originally a congregation of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod and then independent and served by pastors of the Bad Liebenzell Mission Society until it joined the AFLC-Canada some years ago). Christ Centered Fellowship in Camrose - Saskatchewan: Chaplin in Chaplin, Bethel in Elbow, Bethel in Frontier, Faith in Lake Alma, Bethlehem in Hawarden, Bethany in Mortlach) This Church has about 44,000 baptized members in 275 congregations in Canada and in the United States. There is a Bible School (120 students) and Seminary (Association Lutheran Theological Seminary) in Plymouth, Minnesota. There are about 20-25 students at the seminary with none from Canada at present. President Al Pinno will visit India in January-February, 2014 and hopefully Russia in 2014. The congregations of the AFLC either left the ELCIC or are missions formed most often by former members of the ELCIC. Good Shepherd Chinese Lutheran Church in Edmonton, Alberta has left the ELCIC. Affiliation unknown. About 70 congregations have left the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) since the merger in 1986. |
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