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The Friends of Creation Challenge
Your congregation can stand with communities on the frontlines of climate crisis with three easy steps!
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There’s no feeling like going home. Over the past few months, I’ve had the opportunity to get together with my parents a little more often than I normally do. And no matter how long or short it’s been since last I saw them, walking in the front door always brings a smile to my face.
I have a similar sensation when I walk in the front door of my home church in Hudson Bay. It’s the church where I was baptized and confirmed, and I always look forward to worshipping with the saints there. After all, I’ve known most of them all my life; there’s a reason Christians refer to their congregation as their “church family.”
The Scriptures regularly refer to the relationship between Christians in familial terms. Consider St. Paul, for example. He saw himself as a spiritual father to the members of the churches he had planted, even occasionally using maternal imagery to emphasise his fondness for them (e.g. 1 Corinthians 4:14-15; Galatians 4:19; 1 Thessalonians 2:7; 2:11). They were his children, and he cared for them with real parental love.
But they were not only his children; they were also his brothers and sisters. Indeed, St. Paul regularly refers to his audience throughout his letters with the word “brothers” (see, for example, 1 Corinthians where he addresses his audience in this way 20 times!). Likewise, he considers faithful women like Phoebe to be his “sister” (Romans 16:1).
Nor does St. Paul see the church merely as children or siblings; he also tells us that elders in the congregation should be treated like fathers and mothers. To the young pastor Timothy, he writes: “Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity” (1 Timothy 5:1-2).
St. Paul then could view his fellow church members as children, as siblings, and even as parents—in other words, as family. And that is precisely what we are: God’s family. Through the atoning death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we have been reconciled to God and made His children (1 John 3:1). As Jesus Himself says, those who walk in the will of God are truly His “brother and sister and mother” (Mark 3:35, Matthew 12:50).
As in any family, of course, we all have different roles to play. Your father is not your mother, nor is your sister your brother. Each person is unique. This is true also of your church family. St. Paul tells us that each Christian has a role to play in the life of the church: “For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the
same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another” (Romans 12:4).
The way in which you serve your congregation will differ depending on your own gifts and vocation: pastors have a different role than laity; deacons have a different role than volunteers. But we are all called to contribute to the life of the church, using the various gifts and abilities we have been given in service to our sisters and brothers. “Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness” (Romans 12:5-8).
Nor are we merely to use our gifts; we are to do so with sincere familial love for each other. “Let love be genuine,” St. Paul continues. “Love one another with brotherly affection” (12:9, 10).
As family, we owe a duty of respect and care one to another, knowing that our own love for each other grows out of the love God has first shown us. “In this is love,” St. John writes, “not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (1 John 4:10-11). So ask yourself: what can you do to care for your brothers and sisters in Christ? How can you respond to God’s great and undeserved love for you with love for the wider family of God?
In this issue, we consider some of the vocations through which Christians share the love of God with family members. Our first two features address the vocation of parenthood. Rev. Alex Klages explores what it means to be a Christian father (page 6), while Kelly Klages discusses the vocation of Christian motherhood (page 9). For our third feature, Rev. David Haberstock ponders the vocation of adult children, asking what it means to honour our fathers and mothers as they age (page 12). Regardless of your own personal family situation, I pray these articles give you food for thought as you also reflect on your relationship with the fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, and children in your local congregation.
Heavenly Father, You have called us to be one family through Your Son, Jesus Christ. Send Your Holy Spirit to open our hearts towards our local church families. Inspire us with Your love, that we might serve and more deeply care for our brothers and sisters in Christ. Amen.
THE VOCATION OF CHRISTIAN FATHERHOOD
BY ALEX KLAGES
“Our Father, by whose name all fatherhood is known,” begins a hymn in our hymnal (LSB 863:1). In these words, we have set before us the basic concept of Christian fatherhood. The vocation of fatherhood stems from God our Heavenly Father and the good order He has given to creation. My own understanding of this vocation has been shaped in three ways: by Scripture, by my father’s carrying out of this vocation, and by my own service in this vocation for more than 18 years within my own family.
First then, how does Scripture speak of the vocation of fatherhood? We confess as Christians the Holy Trinity—that our God is one God in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each person distinct but
of one nature. The Athanasian Creed does a wonderful job of delving into this truth. The revelation of God as our Father is a powerful one. In the genealogy of Jesus found in Luke 3:23-38, Jesus’ own ancestry is traced back to “son of Adam, son of God.” Likewise in Isaiah 64:8 we read: “But now, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and You are our potter; we are all the work of Your hand.” Thus, God’s Word plainly teaches that all humankind has God as our Father. What’s more, our Lord Jesus Christ, in the Lord’s Prayer as well as other places, teaches us to call on God as our Father.
As such, Christian fathers are called to model the kind of love that God the Father shows toward the world and the people He has made. Consider how the
Lord describes Himself to Moses: “The L ORD passed before him and proclaimed, ‘The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation’” (Exodus 34:6-7) Now, granted that human fathers are not wholly righteous and without sins and flaws, the general concept of what a father should be like is laid out for us here: merciful, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, forgiving sins; yet also meting out discipline and correction where it is called for.
In fact, the writer of the epistle to the Hebrews specifically notes the importance of discipline, from both God and from our parents (12:5-11). As this passage reflects on Proverbs 3:11-12, it notes that being God’s children means receiving discipline from Him—just as human fathers are called on to discipline their children. The Greek word for discipline is paideia, which implies not just discipline in the sense of punishment but the
broader sense of instruction, training, correction, and so forth. Christian fatherhood, therefore, is about carrying out this kind of discipline alongside the mercy, grace, faithfulness, and love which our Heavenly Father models for us.
The vocation of Christian fatherhood is also set out in Ephesians: “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (6:4). That is to say, in whatever we do as fathers, we are called not to cause our children to be angry at us by an improper administration of our vocational duties of discipline and training. Rather, our calling is to be fathers in such a way as to point our children first and foremost to the Lord. The lures of the devil, the world, and the flesh are always with us; and even the best and most loving Christian father may yet have children who wander from the Lord and His ways (as indeed we see throughout the Old Testament!). Yet the primary calling of Christian fatherhood is to point children toward the Lord. As the Catechism notes of itself: “The head of the family should teach it in a simple way to his household.” The father is the head of the family, biblically, and in a spiritual sense as well.
I have been blessed with a father who understands the role of fatherhood very well. He certainly believes in discipline, but not to the point of exasperation. He showed and shows care and generosity in ways which I think as children
we took often for granted—driving us to music festivals, coaching our baseball teams and umpiring, building a treehouse for us, teaching us basic woodworking and handyman skills (skills I sadly didn’t absorb well!), making sure the family finances were working in tight times so there was always a roof overhead and food on the table, and so on. As I grew up, my dad continued to guide and provide for me in various ways, physically, financially, and so forth.
But most importantly, my father models faithfulness to Christ and His church. I cannot remember a time when my dad did not serve in some capacity or another the congregations he attended, quite often as an elder or as treasurer (drawing on his skills as an accountant). Family devotions, with my dad reading God’s Word to us from the Bible, were a part of daily life for my family growing up. Sunday church attendance was simply the expectation. For my parents, the Christian faith was and is not something to be taken for granted, and their model of love and faithfulness to Christ certainly played no small part in my own vocational path. The course catalogues on our coffee table for Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary, which my father considered
THE VOCATION OF FATHERHOOD STEMS FROM GOD OUR HEAVENLY FATHER AND THE GOOD ORDER HE HAS GIVEN TO CREATION.
THE
PRIMARY
CALLING
OF CHRISTIAN FATHERHOOD IS TO POINT CHILDREN TOWARD THE LORD.
attending at one point, helped pique my interest in seminary as a teenager. Even now as an adult with children of my own, my father continues to be a great support and role model for me.
And it is by reflecting on both God the Father’s love and service and my own father’s love and service that I also have tried to become and be a good example of Christian fatherhood to my own children. Here are some of the ways I have tried to carry out the vocation of Christian fatherhood. First and foremost is our time around the table in devotions and catechism study as a family. Regardless of what else might be happening, that daily pause to gather around God’s Word as a family unit is important to me as a way of keeping our household focused on the Lord and His Word. This also means making sure everyone is in church each Sunday. Perhaps you might think this is taken for granted in a pastor’s family, but our children have had to make hard decisions at times with regard to friends and sporting events. I am thankful that their upraising has led them to choose to be in the house of the Lord. When we are travelling on
vacation, we plan out in advance where we will stop on Sunday mornings, to ensure we can attend a Lutheran church with which we are in fellowship so that we can hear God’s Word and receive the Lord’s Supper. Again, these are things which I learned from my own parents. Being at the same time both sinner and saint as a father, and having sinnersaints for children, there are also times of needed discipline for my children. I hope to have demonstrated both firmness where needed with our children but also grace, mercy, and forgiveness as well. Just as Jesus Christ relied on His heavenly Father’s mercy and found refreshment in time spent in the Word and prayer, so the Christian father is called to show mercy by giving comfort, refuge, and guidance to his children. The world is a strange place and it is important as a father to give my children that safe, Gospel-centred home to find hope and refuge in.
I try to express my love for my children both in word and in deed. One of the blessings of the pastoral office is that I can move around certain things in my schedule to be there with my children at things like music festivals, school trips, sporting events, and the like. I know this is not always possible for all Christian parents; but on the other hand a lot of my evenings are taken up with church events, meaning I have not always been present for bedtimes and such. So it is good to be able to do things in the daytime with my children. Yet my children know the love of their earthly father and their heavenly Father, and that is a great joy indeed.
There is really no one blueprint for Christian fatherhood outside the essentials of loving God and loving your children, and teaching them by the Word, leadership, and example what it means to be a Christian. This is what my father did for me, and what I am trying to do for my children. I am thankful for this calling and pray that God continues to bless my family by means of His Word and grace.
REV. ALEX KLAGES is pastor of Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Winkler and Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church in Morden, Manitoba.
THE VOCATION OF CHRISTIAN MOTHERHOOD
Like Mary, You Don’t Have to Know It All
by Kelly Klages
Over the first half of 2025, I worked on the illustrations for a book project with Rev. Will Weedon. He had written a devotional meditation on the life and remembrances of Mary, the mother of Jesus. This book, I Remember, was created for both children and adults to ponder and enjoy. It was a wonderful challenge to translate these familiar moments and scenes into a visual tapestry of the experiences of the most unique mother in history. Quite a lot of what I
was reading, remembering, and illustrating hit differently now that I’ve been a mother for 18 years. Asked to write on the Christian vocation of motherhood, it made sense to me to do so with a view to the contemplations that came from working on this project.
I hesitated at first. After all, what Mary experienced as a mother was so unique; could we really learn about motherhood from someone who raised the incarnate God-Man? Is anything there really relatable? Our kids aren’t perfect, and you and I are hardly famously revered paragons of motherhood.
Since the days of the Fall, motherhood has come with a heavy burden. We know that it’s a gift of God, a blessed and awesome reality. It’s also a hard job, a steep responsibility. In a digital world, a million people opine on how you’re supposed to be doing this job, and the many catastrophes that will ensue if you make a mistake. And opinions change every few years, so even if the things you’re doing are deemed correct now, they’ll inevitably be proven to have been wrong momentarily. We hear urges to “cancel” parents who aren’t on the same page as their offspring, not for being abusive but for being human— sometimes, indeed, for being Christian. I’m convinced that this is one of several reasons why motherhood itself is being abandoned as a vocation by so many young
women. Who wants to be judged by the kind of criteria that mothers are judged by today? Drowning in noise and data posing as wisdom, many young people are despairing of ever being good enough to not ruin the lives of the next generation, deciding that opting out altogether is easier.
But such despair is not humility. Humility is not opting out of life. Humility is realizing that you’re not God, that it’s not up to you to control all the outcomes. It’s not even up to you to be able to see with perfect clarity in the present moment. God’s power is made perfect in our weakness. Humility is a fruit of faith.
And with this realization, we are brought back to a young Galilean woman who was given good news about the salvation of God’s people... by means of a child she would miraculously bear. Surely it was a task too great for her; she was not strong enough, not expert enough, not qualified enough—or so she certainly must have felt. In her circumstances, Mary cannot have been very sure about most of what we demand today for our conception of a successful child-rearing future: money, educational opportunities, ideal neighbourhoods, family support, and so on. Mary is the absolute epitome of “You had assumptions of what motherhood would be like? Surprise!”
Looking through Mary’s eyes as the Gospels share her part in the great story, we become aware of so many sight-unseen moments. Some situations may be more familiar to us than first imagined. A baby coming that we didn’t expect or plan for. The likelihood of “people talking.” People dropping hints about scary-sounding things coming in the future that we don’t really understand (Simeon). Feeling the gradual sense of separation as a grown child pursues his own paths and purposes. Concern for your child’s mental health or inexplicable behavior. Perhaps, wondering if a marriage may or may not be down the road. Watching people treat that child cruelly and unfairly. Losing a child over a period of time and panicking. Actually losing a child to an unthinkable death.
Throughout all this narrative, Mary’s reactions are moving, deeply human, and fueled by faith from the beginning. Sometimes, her faith looks extraordinary. To the angel, she says: “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). Elizabeth praises Mary for her faith: “Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord” (1:45). Mary’s trust in Jesus’ ability to help the wedded couple of Cana comes even before the disciples put their faith in Him, her participation reminiscent of the Canaanite woman who expects crumbs from the (seemingly) unwilling Master’s table. She is the only person present both when Jesus breathes His first and when He breathes His last.
Yet, of course, she isn’t perfect. She gets things wrong, and responds according to that imperfect understanding. She worries. Her timing is off. She reprimands God
Mothers and fathers serve as “masks of God” for the benefit of the children we are given to love, but we are not called to be saviours or deities...
incarnate for being inconsiderate of her. Yet, she isn’t cancelled and doesn’t have her mom card revoked for her mistakes, sins, or narrowness of view. She is treated with patience and love, just like the other floundering disciples. “But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart” (Luke 2:19). This isn’t just sentiment, but that earnest striving for understanding, wisdom, and remembrance which mothers everywhere will relate to. She’s trying—and often failing—but always under the banner of God’s love and mercy. If this can be true of the mother of our Lord Himself, we know that He will extend grace to us, too.
Mothers need to hear the Law and the Gospel just like every Christian does. When we feel complacent, or inclined to ditch our calling to provide and nurture in favour of selfish ambition, we need to hear the Law which calls us to repentance. When we are grieved by how we fall short in our service, the Gospel can do its forgiving and comforting work in our lives. Empowered thus by God’s Word, we share this work of God with our own children. Like us, the daily walk of repentance and faith in Christ, through His forgiving sacrifice on the cross and resurrection from the dead, is the one thing they need above all else.
We see, not only in Mary’s life but in our own, that it’s often actually better for ourselves and others if we do
not know the whole story. “Faith” isn’t a cruel game that God plays to keep us from knowing and having what we need—that is Satan’s lie to Eve. When we walk by faith, we do so believing that God’s Word is the illumination required, even when everything else is dark and unclear.
Motherhood throws more curveballs than just about any other vocation imaginable. We must be content to let God do His job instead of trying to take over. Mothers and fathers serve as “masks of God” for the benefit of the children we are given to love, but we are not called to be saviours or deities—nor are our children to be idols that lead us away from God’s Word and will. We are called to love and serve in accordance with God’s own commandments, and receive forgiveness for our sins and inadequacies. God calls normal, ordinary sinners to follow Him and to serve our neighbour—even to participate in His miracle of bringing new life into the world. Humility calls us, like Mary, to pursue wisdom, faith, and understanding while being content to be human.
Kelly Klages is a writer and artist living in Morden, Manitoba. This article features some of her artwork from the book I Remember by William Weedon.
HONOURING YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER AS THEY AGE
by David Haberstock
“Honour your father and your mother.”
– Exodus 20:12
My parents are with the Lord. I am an “orphan,” so to speak. But their legacy lives on. I have been greatly blessed by them. They imparted a great heritage of faith to me by Word and deed. They brought me to the waters of Baptism, the pure fount of the Scriptures, the Table of our Lord, and taught me to turn
from wrong and choose the right. The Lord used them in my life to bless me richly—materially and spiritually. Some years ago when I discovered that my father in Edmonton was not doing well, my wife and I (and my daughter) wanted to return that blessing by serving and honouring him as best we could.
Others will have different stories; I don’t have room in this article to talk about how to honour a parent who was abusive, for example. But mine is the story of honouring an aging parent who was an excellent father.
It was the midst of the pandemic and life was limited. If my dad had gone into care, very few in the family would have been able to see him. But due to those limitations I was also able to consider moving to Edmonton to move in with and take care of my dad. Most people do not have this luxury, but as a Regional Pastor who worked from a home office, during a time when travel was limited, and not having a pulpit I regularly had to fill, I was granted permission to work in a deployed fashion from outside of the Region I serve. When I asked Lutheran Church–Canada President Timothy Teuscher if this would be possible, I committed to travel into the Region for a week once a month (at my own cost) in order to tend to items in the Region as restrictions allowed. (My wife was in university at the time but due to the pandemic her studies had moved online.)
When I was gone, that meant my wife and twelve-year old daughter had to take care of my dad, each other, and their schooling by themselves. Suffice it to say, I was extremely blessed to have a compassionate and longsuffering wife, a gracious employer, a gung-ho daughter, supportive siblings, and the blessing of the Lord to make all of this happen. It was also a blessing to my siblings in Edmonton, who had been tending to my father for years as his health declined.
My wife had professional experience with personal care, the medical system, and people with multiple diagnoses. As a pastor, I had learned to navigate the health system, going into every aspect of hospitals and nursing homes and seeing my parishioners in every circumstance of life. So we knew how to navigate things even when the medical system seemed like it was throwing up road block after road block, and we were able to take advantage of every possible support the system provided to help us keep him at home.
I share this personal story not to brag nor to guilt anyone else whose life circumstance did not allow similar choices, but rather as an example of service to one’s aging parent as the Lord allows. For the Fourth Commandment enjoins us not merely to love our parents (as we are to love all people), but also to honour them. Martin Luther notes in the Large Catechism that to honour our parents entails three things: 1) that they be held above all things as the most precious treasure on earth; 2) that we speak modestly and not harshly or defiantly towards them; and 3) that: We must show them such honour also by works, that is, with our body and possessions. We must serve them, help them, and provide for them when they are old, sick, infirm, or poor. We must do all this not only gladly, but with humility and reverence, as doing it before God [Ephesians 6:6-7]. (LC I.111).
[E]ven in the best of circumstances, a lifetime of interactions with your parents and the sins both of you have committed against each other complicates honouring them.
This is a tall order for anyone, and one that can be further complicated depending on your own circumstances. As noted above, my story is not one that included abuse. But even in the best of circumstances, a lifetime of interactions with your parents and the sins both of you have committed against each other complicates honouring them. Nevertheless, if we value God’s will and Word then we must honour our parents and their commands as next to God’s own majesty—so long as their commands are subordinated to God and His commands (LC I.116). And Luther notes that, as a result of the high office God has given our parents, even their failings are not to deprive them of the honour due this office (LC I.108).
Now, God does say to parents that they are not to exasperate their children (Ephesians 6:4). This is a common failing of parents, especially as their children mature into adulthood. Parents sometimes have expectations of their children which are impossible to meet. This sort of exasperation can drive a wedge between parent and child. But this is where Luther’s admonition hits us between the eyes: “parents,” he says, “are not to be deprived of their honour because of their conduct or failings” (LC I.108).
It is tough. And this is where repentance and our Lord’s forgiveness are so precious. Caring for aging parents can take many years. And as the years drag on, their decline increases, your energies flag, and your patience grows thin, we are often tempted to dishonour them and be short
with them. It is easy in the midst of exhaustion and sadness to lose your cool with your beloved parent, let alone an estranged parent. If you are going through this—or if you still suffer the guilt or shame of past incidents—seek the Lord’s strengthening and cleansing by taking such sins to the Lord through your pastor and receiving Christ’s absolution for them!
The very ones who nurtured us as infants sometimes end up needing similar care from us. That is something to grieve—to grieve the impacts of sin, decay, and age on those we love, respect, and honour. Give yourself the time and grace to grieve the loss of who your parent was
[Christ] honoured His Father by going to the cross; our faltering honour of our own parents is covered by His fulfillment of the command on our behalf. “
to you. But there is great joy in humbly serving your loved one. In such a moment my dad asked how could I stand doing such things for him, and I couldn’t help but think of the thousands of times he done similarly for me as a child. It was humbling and difficult, but it is a memory I cherish to be able to have served him in that way.
My grief for my father has been surprisingly uncomplicated. And I credit that to the great gift I was given in being able to take care of him. But for those who have been watching their parents decline for years; who are slowly grieving the loss of their parents one piece at a time, and not all at once; whose own tiredness and exhaustion is mounting, it is hard to honour our parents. It is a constant temptation to be short or angry with a parent whose mind is going and who has asked the same question for the hundredth time.
So, as this commandment enjoins you to honour an aging parent, let it not merely guide you but also point you back to Christ who died for sin and cleanses you from its stain. For we cracked pots are not given to be perfect, but to shine forth with Christ’s glory through His grace and mercy to us (2 Corinthians 4:7). He honoured His Father by going to the cross; our faltering honour of our own parents is covered by His fulfillment of the command on our behalf.
Rev. David Haberstock is Lutheran Church–Canada’s Central Regional Pastor.
ILC welcomes church in DR Congo into membership
CONGO – The International Lutheran Council (ILC) has received the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Church of Congo (Église Évangélique Luthérienne Confessionnelle du Congo – EELCC) as an observer member. The decision came during a meeting of the ILC’s Board of Directors on January 30.
“We are delighted to welcome the EELCC into membership in the International Lutheran Council,” said ILC General Secretary Detlev Schulz. “And we look forward to deepening our relationship in the years to come. May God bless the ministry of the EELCC, as it proclaims the good news of Jesus Christ in the Democratic Republic of Congo.”
The EELCC is led by President Emile Dongo. In applying for membership of the ILC, the church noted its desire to “safeguard its confessional position” and strengthen its links with confessional Lutherans worldwide.
The history of the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Church of Congo dates back to the 1970s, when Rev. Emile Dongo—then the head of a district of Baptist pastors in Zaire (today called the Democratic
Mexican Lutherans elect new president
MEXICO – The Lutheran Synod of Mexico (Sínodo Luterano de México – SLM) held the closing service of its 54th General Assembly on June 1, during which time the church installed its newly-elected president: Rev. Omar Marín Garza Martínez.
Rev. Martínez is the pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Matamoros, and was serving as treasurer of the SLM at the time of his election. President Martínez graduated in 2019 from Seminario Concordia El Reformador in the
Republic of Congo)—contacted the Evangelical Lutheran Church –Synod of France (Église Évangélique Luthérienne – Synode de France –EEL-SF) to pursue higher theological education. After completing studies through the EEL-SF’s Centre d’Études Théologiques in Châtenay-Malabry, Rev. Dongo was ordained a Lutheran pastor and returned to Zaire to work alongside Lutherans there.
The EELCC (then called the Église Évangélique Luthérienne Confessionnelle du Zaire ) was formally established in 1989. After a period of union with other another church body in DR Congo, the EELCC withdrew in 2019 as a result of the other church’s decline from Lutheran doctrine in such as areas as infant baptism. Today, the EELCC has five pastors and ten congregations.
ILC News
Dominican Republic. He also holds a Master of Arts from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri, which he received in 2025.
SLM President Martínez succeeds Rev. Isaac G. García Castillo, who had served the Mexican church as president for more than eleven years. During his tenure, the SLM grew from three pastors to eleven today. The church also saw the establishment of three new congregations, the reopening of three previous congregations, and the creation of the Instituto Martin Lutero. President Emeritus Castillo will continue to serve as pastor of Bethany Lutheran Church in Mexico City.
During its General Assembly, the church also elected other officers, including Rev. Isaac Neftalí García Castillo as Vice President, Rev. Job Jiménez Tejeda as Secretary, and Rev. Benjamín Quezada Guzmán as treasurer.
ILC News
EELCC President Emile Dongo
SLM President Martínez blesses the congregation.
Latvian Lutherans elect a new archbishop
LATVIA – On June 7, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia (Latvijas Evaņģēliski luteriskā baznīca –LELB) elected Bishop Rinalds Grants to serve as its new archbishop. The election took place during the LELB’s 30th Synod, which was held June 6-7 in Riga.
At the time of his election, Bishop Grants was serving as Auxiliary Bishop of Riga. Two candidates for archbishop were put forward for consideration at the synod, with Bishop Grants receiving
161 votes and Dean Dzintars Laugalis receiving 152 (five additional votes declined both candidates).
Bishop Grants holds a Bachelor of Law degree from the Latvian Police Academy and a Master of Theology degree from the University of Latvia. He received his pastoral education through Luther Academy, an educational institute of the LELB. Bishop Grants has served as a pastor with St. Gertrude Church in Riga since 2000. In 2017, he became the ViceRector of Luther Academy, and in 2022, he was consecrated as a bishop.
Bishop Grants will succeed Archbishop Jānis Vanags, who had previously announced his decision to retire. In the Latvian church, the archbishop is permitted to retire at the age of 65 and must retire by the age of 70 (Archbishop Vanags is 67).
“I offer my congratulations to Bishop Grants on his election as the next archbishop of Latvia, and I look forward to working with him,” said Rev. Dr. Klaus Detlev Schulz, General
Secretary of the International Lutheran Council (ILC). “I also want to thank Archbishop Vanags for his long service to the church. May God continue to bless the LELB as it offers Christ and His mercy to the people of Latvia.”
Archbishop Vanags became archbishop of the Latvian church in 1993. Among other notable events, his tenure saw the LELB enter into fellowship with The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod in 2001; reinstate male-only ordination in 2016; and enter into membership in the ILC in 2022, first as an observer and then as a full member.
Archbishop Vanags will continue to serve until August 29—thirty-two years to the day since his consecration as archbishop. Bishop Grants will be installed as archbishop the following day on August 30.
In addition to the election, the LELB’s 30th Synod in Riga discussed issues related to church governance and ministry, and adopted new church regulations. ILC News
Chilean Lutherans elect Rev. Omar Kinas as bishop
CHILE – The Confessional Lutheran Church of Chile ( Iglesia Luterana Confesional de Chile – ILC-Chile) held its 27th National Assembly in
Talca on May 3, during which time the church elected Rev. Gerardo Omar Kinas to serve as bishop/president for the next triennium (2025-2028).
Bishop Kinas is a graduate of Seminario Concordia in Argentina, his home country. Rev. Kinas first arrived in Chile in 2010, serving first in Santiago and then in Talca, where he currently serves. He previously led the Chilean church for nearly six years prior to Bishop Juan Pablo Lanterna’s service, and has also served as president of the Fundación Casa Betesda, a rehabilitation centre for adults with disabilities operated by the ILC-Chile. At the time of his new election as bishop, Rev. Kinas was also serving as president of Instituto Bíblico Luterano , the church’s theological institute, in
addition to his service as a pastor for Chile’s Maule Region.
Bishop Kinas succeeds Bishop Lanterna, who had led the Chilean church since 2022, first in an interim capacity (2022-2025) and then after election (2022-2025). The ILC-Chile limits presidents to two consecutive terms of six years in a row before another leader must be selected. In addition to his pastoral duties Rev. Lanterna will now take on the role of president of Instituto Bíblico Luterano.
The 2025 National Assembly also saw the church elect other officers for the ILC-Chile’s board of directors, including Rev. Pablo González as secretary, Jesús Rojas as treasurer, Edgardo Jara as deputy secretary, and Coralí García as deputy treasurer.
Bishop Omar Kinas and outgoing Bishop Juan Pablo Lanterna.
LCC welcomes new Associate Director - Family Ministries
WINNIPEG – On July 31, Dcn. Samantha Neeb was installed as Lutheran Church–Canada (LCC)’s Associate Director – Family Ministries, with an official start date of August 1, 2025.
“I look forward to starting in this new position with excitement and humility, asking God to direct my steps,” shared Dcn. Neeb. “I am grateful for all of the well wishes and support I have already received, and ask that you continue to keep me and the work of the church in your prayers. I look forward to having the opportunity to meet members of Synod and learn more about what youth, young adult, and family
ministry looks like now and how it can be further supported.”
The installation service took place at Peace Lutheran Church in Winnipeg, following Dcn. Neeb’s consecration on July 27 at First St. Paul’s in Wellesley, Ontario. LCC President Timothy Teuscher presided over the installation, with Rev. David Haberstock (LCC Central Regional Pastor) serving as liturgist, Rev. M.L. Smith (LCC Director of International Missions) as reader, and Rev. Glenn Worcester as preacher.
During the installation, President Teuscher addressed the congregation with these words:
“Beloved in the Lord, according to the Church’s usual order, Samantha Neeb has been called to the office of Associate Director – Family Ministries in Lutheran Church–Canada. This office has been established in love by the Church to support the Office of the Holy Ministry and to assist the faithful in their God-given vocations.”
He offered this prayer: “Gracious and most merciful Lord, by Your Holy Spirit You have given Your people diverse and singular gifts. We thank You for providing faithful men and women in Your Church to assist the Office of the Holy Ministry and to support Christians in their vocations. Grant Your Holy Spirit to Samantha, and adorn her with wisdom and power from on high that she may serve faithfully in her work to the honour and glory of Your holy name; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.”
This newly established role was created in response to Resolution 22.3.03 passed at the 2022 Synod Convention, and is designed to offer dedicated support and leadership in youth, young adult, and family ministry.
A more in-depth look at Dcn. Neeb’s new role and her service on behalf of the church will be featured in an upcoming issue of The Canadian Lutheran.
LCC Launches Online Strategic Initiatives Tracker
ONLINE – Lutheran Church–Canada (LCC) is pleased to announce the launch of a new online Strategic Initiatives Tracker—a centralized resource where congregations and ministry partners can access the latest progress updates on key goals and initiatives across our synod.
This digital tool reflects the six core goals identified through LCC’s Purpose & Priorities Planning Process, a collaborative effort involving voices from across the church body. Each goal is paired with an expandable section that provides updates on related initiatives and their latest updates. The page will be updated regularly to keep our congregations informed and engaged.
This tool is designed not just to report activity but to support accountability, transparency, and collaboration as we walk together in faith and service.
LCC President Teuscher and West Regional Pastor Mohns will not stand for reelection in 2026
CANADA – Lutheran Church–Canada (LCC) President Timothy Teuscher and West Regional Pastor Robert Mohns have announced that they will not be letting their names stand for reelection at the 2026 Synod Convention. Both were first elected in 2017 and subsequently acclaimed without opposition to second terms in 2022.
We give thanks to the Lord for the faithful and dedicated service of President Teuscher and Rev. Mohns, and for the leadership they have provided to our synod over the past two convention cycles.
In preparation for the 2026 Synod Convention, taking place June 1215 in Winnipeg, LCC’s national office will send nomination forms to
congregations in September. These forms will invite nominations of clergy from LCC’s roster for the offices of president, vice-president, regional pastors, and circuit counsellors. Congregations are encouraged to schedule a voters’ meeting prior to the February 12, 2026 deadline to prayerfully consider and submit nominations for these important roles.
LCC Military Chaplains: Who they are and where they serve
CANADA – Lutheran Church–Canada (LCC)’s involvement in military chaplaincy continues to grow through its pastors who serve the men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). They are the boots on the ground in terms of mission and ministry for our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and their families. They serve alongside our troops at various bases across Canada and are often deployed to bases around the world.
While relatively small in number compared to the total number of chaplains in the CAF, Lutheran chaplains are by no means insignificant in terms of the positive impact they have on CAF personnel and their families.
“They may be few in number, but they are recognized as punching well above their weight,” says Rev. Donald Schiemann, LCC’s Dean of Military Chaplains. “They provide a valuable service to the men and women of our Canadian Armed Forces.”
LCC has a total of nine Regular Force chaplains and six Reserve Force chaplains. A new article, LCC Military Chaplains: Who they are and where they serve, has been released on CanadianLutheran.ca, highlighting a selection of their work across the nation and around the world. In addition to LCC chaplains, this report features two Canadian pastors rostered in The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod who are serving in Canada alongside their LCC counterparts.
Is LCC now the largest Lutheran church body in Canada?
CANADA – As religious attendance in Canada continues to decrease, we may have reached a point where Lutheran Church–Canada (LCC) is now the largest Lutheran church body in Canada—if, that is, a reported massive drop in membership in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) is correct.
But is that a reason to rejoice? By no means, as Mathew Block explains in his article on the changing landscape of Lutheranism in Canada. Read “Is LCC now the largest Lutheran church body in Canada?” on CanadianLutheran.ca.
LCC Hiring for Two National Leadership Positions, Announces Communications Transition
CANADA – Lutheran Church–Canada (LCC) is seeking qualified candidates for two key national leadership positions based in Winnipeg: Director of Communications and Accounting Manager (CAO Track).
As part of a strategic restructuring to strengthen our communications efforts and more effectively support the synod’s mission and ministry in a digital age, LCC is pleased to also announce the creation of a new position—Digital Communications and Content Manager.
This new role reflects LCC’s commitment to enhancing our digital presence and ensuring excellence across all online platforms, while continuing to serve the church with clarity, consistency, and confessional faithfulness.
The position was developed in collaboration with Alex Steinke, LCC’s current Director of Communications. Her input helped shape the role to meet the evolving communication needs of the Synod in keeping with our goals and values.
We are thankful to share that Steinke will be transitioning into this new position, ensuring both continuity and renewed momentum as we move forward.
Steinke will work closely with the incoming Director of Communications to maintain alignment across all communications work. This new structure will allow each role to focus more intentionally on specific areas— strategic leadership on the one hand, and digital execution and content development on the other.
The Director of Communications will lead LCC’s national communications strategy. This leadership role combines strategic planning, media relations, theological messaging, and internal communications to support the mission and ministry of LCC.
2025 Summer Interns
CANADA – We’re excited to introduce the Summer 2025 Interns serving with Lutheran Laymen’s League of Canada (LLLC) and Lutheran Church–Canada (LCC):
Tim Bayha (80% LCC | 20% LLLC) - A Master of Divinity student at Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary in St. Catharines, Ontario, Tim brings experience in pastoral fieldwork, church leadership, and a background
The Accounting Manager (CAO Track) position is a unique, twoyear transitional opportunity for an experienced financial professional to be mentored into the role of Chief Administrative Officer (CAO). This role involves managing the financial health of LCC, LCC Financial Ministries, and Worker Benefit Services while gaining executivelevel experience in a collaborative, faith-based environment.
Job descriptions and application details for both positions are available at www.lutheranchurch. ca/careers/
Applications are due by August 31, 2025 to Iris Barta, LCC Office Manager via officemanager@lutheranchurch.ca.
Help us find the right people for these vital roles in service of our synod by sharing the job description with someone you know who might be a great fit. A bulletin insert is available on LCC’s website to help promote these open positions.
We invite your prayers during this time of transition.
in civil engineering. He’ll support LCC Communications and LLLC in research and project planning.
Luke Mayan (80% LLLC | 20% LCC) – A recent high school graduate from Richmond, B.C., Luke is returning this summer to serve with LAMP and has a strong interest in youth ministry and digital outreach. He will assist both LLLC and LCC with resource promotion, youth engagement, and categorizing French-language resources to support wider accessibility and distribution.
Anna Scheetz (100% LLLC) – A university student from Thorsby, Alberta, Anna has long-standing involvement in Vacation Bible School and mission service. She’ll be supporting LLLC’s communication and administrative work, helping to ensure our resources reach individuals and congregations across Canada.
We’re grateful for these faithful young leaders and look forward to a meaningful summer of service.
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New Members in Pincher Creek
PINCHER CREEK, Alta. – On March 30, Trinity Lutheran Church had a Membership Sunday, a highlight in the life of the congregation, as nine new members were welcomed into the congregational family. Three adults and three children were received by transfer, and three adults affirmed their faith through the rite
of Confirmation. God has blessed every one of these individuals with unique gifts and experiences, and the congregations is honoured to have them join the community of faith, and thanks God for His work in calling people to His Church!
And then, on April 20, hearts were once again filled with joy as
Jubilee anniversary at Saviour Delta
DELTA, B.C. – Saviour Lutheran Church marked its Jubilee Anniversary on Sunday, March 2, 2025, which was 50 years to the day since its Charter Membership in 1975. The milestone celebration was filled with many heartwarming connections to the past, along with renewed vigour to continue serving new generations in the South Delta community.
Several highlights included Rev. Garwood Rentz, the church’s first pastor, attending the morning worship
service with his family, and six congratulatory letters from all the other former pastors that were read aloud by current and longest-serving pastor Rev. Vic Esperanza.
The message from guest preacher Rev. Wayne Lunderby encouraged all who attended to honour the milestone by staying firmly committed to God’s Word and following Jesus, sharing His amazing grace with family, friends, and community.
A potluck luncheon afterwards gave everyone a chance to visit friends and tuck into a bountiful feast organized with beautiful décor by Samantha and Mike Elsoff.
Another special moment was the gift of a Bible presented to the congregation by Hans and Ute Gust. Written in Gothic script, the Bible features elaborate artwork, and is a facsimile of the original German translation by Martin Luther.
More than 20 photo albums meticulously kept throughout the
the congregation was privileged to celebrate the baptism of a new member into the church. In the waters of Holy Baptism, they witnessed the visible promise of God’s grace at work— calling, washing, and welcoming His beloved child into the Body of Christ. She was a new baby from one of our new member families.
Both occasions saw opportunity for celebration during fellowship time after church. The congregation is very thankful that God is continuing to grow His church in Pincher Creek, bringing new families and individuals to be part of the life and work at Trinity. Events like this remind them that we are part of the Kingdom of God. Each new member is a testament to the faithfulness of God, who Himself is the one who calls, gathers, and sustains His people through Word and Sacrament.
Rev. Wendel A.L. Ritz, MDiv
decades were open for display so people could reminisce about the activities of yesteryear. Several of the young people who took active part in past programs then now carry on the torch of church leadership today.
The 50th anniversary celebrations will continue throughout the coming year, aiming to reach out and connect with neighbours in Ladner and beyond.
Though hairstyles and fashions from the ‘70s have come and gone, and potluck menus continue to expand while new praise songs are added to the roster of traditional hymns, the core of Saviour Lutheran Church has never changed: the congregation remains faithfully bonded together to fulfill its mission to grow in the Word of God and the fellowship of Christ’s family and to share His love with our community and the world.
Julia Thornley
Photo taken by Pat Fenske: Hans Gust presenting to Jim Cartlidge (Saviour’s Executive Director) the facsimile of the 500-year-old Martin Luther translation of the Bible
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Sabbath Conference 2025
EDMONTON – The Sabbath Conference is an annual conference that serves an important role in connecting deacons, church workers, and volunteers across Canada in a way that is tailored specifically to their unique calling.
From May 27-29, 2025, attendees gathered together in learning and fellowship. The theme of the conference was “Riding the Waves of Ministry,” with Rev. Dr. Richard Beinert leading the sessions. Dr. Beinert spoke about
spiritual disciplines, prayer and meditation, how life’s trials affect us, and the need to be driven back to prayer and meditation on God’s Word in those times.
Attendees also spent dedicated time learning from God’s Word. This year, the Sabbath Conference was grateful to have Rev. Keith Haberstock lead the Bible study sessions focusing on the ministry of Moses.
Sabbath Conference attendees also enjoyed fellowship with one another
Parish planning retreat
TOMAHAWK, Alta. – Immanuel Lutheran (Tomahawk) and Emmaus Lutheran (Drayton Valley) Churches hosted a weekend retreat from May 3-4, 2025, during which Vacancy Pastor Rev. Mike Kuhn led the attendees through two days of addressing the strengths and weaknesses of the congregations. This retreat was intended to
through icebreaker questions prior to the sessions, meals together, free time, and axe throwing. The committee was also grateful to have three first-time attendees join the conference this year.
The conference was held both online and in person, thanks to the generous offer of meeting space and technology from Concordia Lutheran Seminary. The ability to use this platform enabled the group to welcome five online participants, as well as have greetings from Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary. The conference also had representation from LAMP, LHM/LLL-Canada, the IMPACT Youth Gathering Committee, and the West Region RMMC.
The planning committee is grateful for the support of synod office and the synod family, and looks forward to next year’s conference in 2026. If you are a non-pastoral church worker or volunteer and would be interested in learning more about the Sabbath Conference, or joining the email list, please contact sabbathconference@gmail.com.
Samantha Neeb for the Sabbath Planning Committee
help the parish move forward when calling a pastor to serve them. The churches developed visions and missions for their futures through group sessions, fellowship, food, and games. The members thoroughly enjoyed the rewarding and inspirational weekend, which was important after their pastor retired for medical reasons and they were blessed to have Rev. Kuhn serve them for a short time. Brenda Reich
Baptism in Bruce
BRUCE, Alta. – The congregation of Immanuel Lutheran Church celebrated Brinley Pratt’s baptism on September 29, 2024. On Ascension Day evening, she successfully completed her confirmation oral examination, and Brinley was confirmed on June 8, 2025. When asked why she wears a cross necklace, Brinley answered that the cross shows that Jesus is her Saviour. Maarit Otto
This summer I have spent time in a hospital among overflowing corridors filled with the sick, addicted, injured, and dying. As I have observed the human condition in that place, it has given me pause to thank God for the many redundant systems He has created to sustain the human body.
For example, we have two kidneys, two lungs, two brain hemispheres, and multiple fingers and toes. Our liver has the capability to regenerate. Our cardiovascular system has redundant mechanisms to keep the blood flowing when heart function is reduced. We have cellular redundancies and neurological redundancies.
The Psalmist declares: “For You formed my inward parts; You knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are Your works; my soul knows it very well” (Psalm 139:13-14). It is in times of distress that we get a better glimpse of the workings of God in His creating of our bodies. Certainly, at the end of days we will know fully how wonderfully designed our bodies are when they are raised again in perfection.
The word redundant often carries with it a negative meaning in common speech. To be “redundant” is to be obsolete, unnecessary, no longer useful. A person can be laid off because their labour is no longer needed. Their position is redundant.
The word redundant comes to us from the Latin word redundare, which carries the sense of surging upward. If you have been to an ocean shore,
WEST REGION NEWS
REDUNDANT
FROM THE REGIONAL PASTOR | REV. ROBERT MOHNS
perhaps you have seen how waves can pile up one on top of another until you have a much greater volume of water, like in a storm surge.
Scriptures often refer to the church as a living body (1 Corinthians 12, Romans, Ephesians 1 and 4), and each one of us a part of that body. The Lord has also provided this living body with redundancies which create and sustain life even when under stress or distress. Consider God’s gift of Word and Sacrament. He gave us the Word made flesh in His Son Jesus, who has dwelt among us and made satisfaction for our sins, suffering and dying in our place to set us free.
God has given us His spoken Word. He delivered His Word to some people directly; for example, He spoke directly to Adam and to Eve. He has also spoken His Word through the prophets and apostles by Holy inspiration, and He has caused His Word to be written down.
On the day of Pentecost, God provided the Church His Holy Spirit to cause His Word to be spoken in various languages. Today the Scriptures are available not only in one language, but in numerous language groups and dialects found throughout the world. The Word of God is also accessible on many types of media.
He has given His Church pastors to preach His Word into the ears of Christians, and He has provided teachers to help young and old study His Word. He has provided Christians with knowledge of His Word and opportunities to share it in the community of saints, to
encourage one another, and to witness to their neighbours.
The Lord has provided His Church with the three Creeds—the Apostles’, Nicene, and Athanasian— and He has provided us with the Augsburg Confession and the other confessional writing in the Book of Concord, which faithfully teach the faith revealed in Holy Scripture. He has provided the Church with musicians to support God’s people in singing hymns. He has provided songwriters with gifts that help us to praise God, repeating back to Him what He has first spoken to us.
The world at large views the church, the Word of God, pastors, and teachers as redundant—obsolete, no longer useful, worthless, and out of touch. And even within the church, there is the temptation to consider many things redundant in a similar way. A person might think: “Well, I have my Bible; that’s all I need. Preachers, teachers, and going to church are all redundant and unnecessary.”
But the Church rejoices in the redundancy that God has created to anchor His bride in storm-tossed seas and provide for her well-being when sin and evil attack her.
It is in times where I find myself at my lowest that I give thanks to God for providing all these redundancies by which He sustains and keeps me in true faith in Christ my Saviour, and by which I am enlivened to live for the sake and well-being of others.
“I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I hope.”
- Psalm 130:5 -
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Unearthing My Identity: Alberta Youth Retreat
PIGEON LAKE, Alta. – The second Alberta Lutheran Spring Youth Retreat was held May 2-4, 2025, at Camp Bar-V-Nok on the north side of Pigeon Lake. Around 60 people attended, with youth groups from seven different congregations participating. It was great to see many people returning from the previous year, as well as new people joining this year.
The theme of the retreat was “Unearthing My Identity,” with 1 John 3:1 serving as the theme verse: “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” The topic of identity was unearthed through a series of small group Bible studies and chapel services. The retreat was also filled with the opportunity for singing, with
favourite hymns being requested, including the longest hymns in the hymnal. The group enjoyed a Bible verse scavenger hunt, delicious food, games, and free time in a beautiful camp setting. The weekend also included a servant event that gave youth the opportunity to make care packages for some church workers in the region.
The committee is grateful for the many partners they had in order to make this retreat possible: the West Region Mission and Ministry Council for supporting the retreat with a grant in order to keep the cost affordable; Concordia Lutheran Seminary for being present throughout the weekend and providing chapel leaders, seminary students Ben Rast and Kristian Berg, Interim President Joel Heck, and the crowd favourite
giveaway, lightsabers; Lutheran Laymen’s League of Canada for being present throughout the weekend, coordinating the servant event and keeping youth encouraged throughout the weekend with the clothespin activity; Rev. Don Hennig for leading Saturday morning’s chapel service; and the youth who attended with their leaders, for those who volunteered, the congregations who sent youth, and all those who supported and prayed for the retreat.
The committee is already looking forward to next year’s retreat. To learn more about future retreats and to stay connected visit lutheranyouthretreat. ca or follow @lutheranyouthretreat on Instagram.
Samantha Neeb on behalf of the Organizing Committee
CENTRAL REGION NEWS Lutheran singles retreat
FORT QU’APPELLE, Sask. –Lutheran Church–Canada’s (LCC) Central Region—with co-sponsor Camp Lutherland—hosted its first ever Lutheran Singles Camp for young adults from June 20-24, 2025, at Camp Lutherland. Even with a small group, the retreat had a national scope, with thirteen attendees coming from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.
The three speakers hailed from across LCC’s three regions: Rev. Kurt Lantz drove all the way from St. Catharines, Ontario, to present
on the biblical foundations of marriage, choosing a spouse, and the role of the single young adult in the family and community. Rev. Daniel Cunningham’s journey from Kitimat, B.C. took three airplanes and an hour-long car ride. Rev. Cunningham presented on Ecclesiastes 4 and longdistance relationships. Finally, Vicar Albert Ho from Winkler, Manitoba, presented on the vocation of singleness and considerations when desiring marriage.
All present were blessed with a time of relaxation and connection at
the facilities of Camp Lutherland, where they were treated to beautiful views, great company with likeminded brothers and sisters in Christ, food that was the perfect combination of comforting and creative, and nights with snacks by the campfire. Above all, the retreat addressed a growing want and need from Lutheran young adults across Canada for a sense of community and belonging across the Lutheran Church, and many friendships were built and strengthened.
Albert Ho
Photos: Nathan Friesen
CENTRAL REGION NEWS
Installation in Thunder Bay
David Haberstock (Central Regional Pastor), Ed Govaski (Calvary, Thunder Bay), Steve Bartlett (Epiphany, Thunder Bay), and seminarian Tim Bayha.
THUNDER BAY, Ont. – July 8, 2025, marked the installation of Rev. Peter Noble as pastor of Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church in Thunder Bay. Rev. Noble hails from Australia, having grown up near Sydney, studied for ministry at Ridley College in Melbourne and Australian Lutheran College (ALC) in Adelaide, and served previously in Queensland and Tasmania.
Christ Lutheran is delighted to receive a pastor after an 11-month vacancy. Rev. Noble is the third Australian pastor to be installed in the Central Region (the fourth in Lutheran Church–Canada) in the last few years. Fellow Australian and ALC classmate, the Rev. Shaun Manning preached for the service, and fellow Australian, Tim Bayha—a student at Concordia Lutheran Theological
Seminary (St. Catharines, Ontario)— served as crucifer.
Rev. Noble notes that he and his family are “grateful to be here, and are very thankful towards Rev. Haberstock, Christ Thunder Bay, and Chairman Maunula and all at Christ who have been able to logistically support us coming to Canada through the proper call process.”
South Saskatchewan church workers meet
REGINA – Twice a year (May and November), the church workers of southern Saskatchewan gather in Regina for a Regional Winkel. On May 20, 16 clergy met at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church for a day of worship, fellowship, and discussion.
Rev. Adrian Kramer (Oxbow) presented a Bible study entitled “Life and Death in a Modern World: A Christian Response to Physician Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia.” Copies of the study
are available by requesting a copy from Rev. Kramer (admax71@ gmail.com). The study was very informative and generated much discussion. A follow-up discussion will take place at the next meeting on how pastors can respond to members who are considering or have decided to apply for MAID.
Rev. Dr. John Kreutzwieser led a discussion on the LCC Lay Service Guidelines (available for download from LCC’s website). This is an important document for all pastors,
elders, and congregational leaders to read and discuss for developing plans for worship services, especially in the absence of a called pastor. The participants encourage the President’s Ministry Council to develop an abstract for simplified information for congregational leaders, and to develop a resource booklet of the suggested services that can be practically used by worship leaders in congregations.
Rev. John Kreutzwieser
Those in attendance for the installation were (l-r): Revs. Randy Kleemola (emeritus), Jacob Quast (LCC Director of Domestic Missions), Keith Blom (emeritus), Dan Repo (emeritus), Shaun Manning (Redeemer, Winnipeg, MB), Peter Noble,
Rev. Peter Nobel and his family.
Last fall I wrote about Redeemer in Winnipeg receiving a pastor from Australia, the Rev. Shaun Manning. On July 8, another church in Central Region, Christ in Thunder Bay, Ontario, received a classmate of his, Rev. Peter Noble. Rev. Noble, like Rev. Manning, is a convert to Lutheranism and is also an energetic and outgoing Aussie. He brings incredible musical and relational gifts to the ministry of Word and Sacrament.
The reason for both of these pastors accepting calls on the other side of the world are events in the Lutheran Church of Australia and New Zealand (LCANZ). In October 2024, LCANZ synod convention opened the door to that church body ordaining women to the office of ministry. This is against the clear Word of God (1 Corinthians 14:26-40; 1 Timothy 2:1-15; 3:1-2ff). Historically, the ordination of women has been a litmus test for faithfulness to the Word of God. Sadly, history shows that when a church body starts down this road, it is not the last stop on the path away from our Lord’s Word. As such, this departure from God’s Word has greatly grieved many Lutherans in Australia, laity and pastors alike. There has been a great upheaval down under as some congregations have voted to leave LCANZ, and many, many more laity and pastors have left congregations that their families have been members of for generations in order to be faithful to our Lord and His Word of truth.
At the LCANZ convention our Synod President, Dr. Teuscher, gave greetings and noted that while their
CENTRAL REGION NEWS
THE AUSTRALIAN INVASION, PART DEUX
FROM THE REGIONAL PASTOR | REV. DAVID HABERSTOCK
vote might end the controversy about this issue in their midst, that it would open many more problems. Indeed, one such ramification is that this vote has broken the fellowship that LCC has had with LCANZ for decades. Spiritually this is already the case. Formally, however, our fellowship agreement with LCANZ will not be broken until Synod meets in convention in 2026 to officially vote to end that agreement.
In the meantime, LCC does not wish to “steal” pastors, nor talent, from our Australian brothers and sisters in Christ. However, we are willing to provide refuge for pastors seeking a call to a faithful congregation and synod that will allow them to minister according to the confession they made when they were ordained. That’s the situation as it stands now.
The reality is that there are a number of pastors in Australia willing to cross the world to serve the people of God according to Holy Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions. We thank God for these bold and faithful men, and their families, for their zeal to follow our Lord’s call across oceans, continents, and cultures.
Already three professors from Australian Lutheran College (the LCANZ seminary) have accepted calls to LCMS universities and seminaries. Meanwhile, a fourth professor was on the short list for Concordia Lutheran Seminary, Edmonton’s presidential search. Three pastors from Australia— Revs. Adrian Kramer (installed in 2021), Shaun Manning (installed 2024), and Peter Noble (installed 2025)—have accepted calls to the
Central Region, and Rev. Guntars Baikovs has accepted a call and been installed in East Region. (Rev. Baikovs served over a decade in Australia but is originally from Latvia and did years of further study at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri). There are also a handful of other talented Australian pastors on call lists in Canada, and many young men training for seminary are leaving Australia to get a thoroughly confessional education. I met two Australians studying at LCMS seminaries in January. Another has completed his first year at Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary in St. Catharines, Ontario (Tim Bayha, who served as crucifier at Rev. Noble’s installation), and others have been accepted for the next school year at St. Catharines. This is a shocking tidal wave of humanity for small church bodies like LCC and LCANZ, which neither LCC or LCANZ expected.
As Lutheran Mission Australia (a new confessional Lutheran church body in Australia) gets going and establishes new congregations across Australia, perhaps some of the pastors seeking refuge in our midst may eventually return home. But for now, we are happy to have these Commonwealth compatriots join us and extend Christ’s mission in Canada. What lesson might we all learn from this? Faithfulness to our Lord and His Word matters. It has impacts. What may seem like a small change to you is momentous if our Lord has spoken on the issue. Lord, (please!) keep us steadfast in Your Word!
CENTRAL REGION NEWS
Pastors’ wives retreat
FORT QU’APPELLE, Sask. –
Smoke-filled skies could not dampen the enthusiasm for the Central Region Pastors’ Wives Retreat, held May 30 to June 1, 2025 at beautiful Camp Lutherland. Fourteen women gathered to study, worship, share, and care for each other, as they discussed “The Story I’m Telling Myself.” The theme addressed mental health issues for the clergy household, and was facilitated by Lise Haberstock of Winnipeg. Lise has a background in psychology and mental health, and is passionate about addressing mental health issues for church workers and their families.
The women were blessed by the presence of the support couple for the Central Region, Rev. Ken and Bernice Keller of Bruno, Saskatchewan. Rev. Keller led the communion service on Sunday morning.
The leadership team of the Central Region thanks the Regional Mission and Ministry Committee (RMMC); LWML-Canada; Zion Lutheran Ladies of Melville, Saskatchewan; New Beginnings Lutheran of Regina; and an anonymous donor for financial support, without which the retreat could not happen. Thanks also to the women of New Beginnings for providing muffins and cookies for the weekend.
Encourage the pastor’s wife in your congregation to attend the next retreat: she will be blessed by the experience!
Deanna Hautz
Left column, top to bottom: Darlene Heide (LAMP, Warmen, SK), Kristin Schneider (Holy Trinity/Hope, Inglis/Grandview, MB), Suzanne Heide (Mt. Calvary, Swift Current, SK), Kari Olson (Good Shepherd, Regina), Deanna Hautz (Regina). Middle column, top to bottom: Lise Haberstock (Winnipeg), Joyce Magnus (St. John, Humboldt, SK), Natalie Keith (St. Paul's, Saskatoon, SK), Regan Schultz (Emmanuel, Moose Jaw, SK). Right column, top to bottom: Audrey Solie (Regina), Vawn McLean (North East Lutheran Parish, Saskatchewan), Tarja Kleemola (St. Pierre-Jolys, MB), Bernice Keller (Support Couple, Bruno, SK), Connie Barr (Chaplain, SK). And Rev. Ken Keller (Support Couple, Bruno, SK).
EAST REGION NEWS
Installation in Oshawa
OSHAWA, Ont. – On Sunday, July 6, the Lord of the Church gave a new under-shepherd to Grace Lutheran Church as circuit counsellor Rev. Vishal Paul installed Rev. Guntars Baikovs.
Rev. Baikovs grew up in Latvia, in the former Soviet Union. The Lord had to put in repeated effort to bring into His flock this unlikely convert. After seminary studies, ordination in 2007 on St. Stephen’s Day, and a period of
ministry to the saints in Latvia, this new pastor was sent to be continually shaped by studying in the Masters of Sacred Theology and PhD programs at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. Thus, the Baikovs’ family of six found their new home for four years on the seminary campus.
When this stage of preparation was complete, our full-of-surprises Lord chose to send Rev. Baikovs to the homeland of Australian Lutheranism,
Barossa Valley, to share what was so abundantly received during his time of studies. Nine years, many sermons, Bible studies, Christian conversations, theological conferences, and articles and books later, Rev. Baikovs accepted the call to serve the Underdale-Glandore congregation in Adelaide. The battle for the future of confessional Lutheranism in Australia was heating up, and the Lord of the Church was doing a new thing through the emergence of new confessional Lutheran body, Lutheran MissionAustralia.
But then, in March 2025, in His characteristically surprising way, the Lord of the Church called Rev. Baikovs to serve in Canada. Leaving their children in Australia, Rev. Baikovs and Jana moved continents once again, trusting that the Lord of the Church knows what He is doing and why. Welcomed in Christian love by the members of Grace and fellow brothers in the ministry, Rev. Baikovs and Jana are looking forward to seeing how the Lord will use them to bless and be blessed by the saints in Canada.
Sainte-Trinité celebrates wedding anniversary
QUEBEC CITY, Que. – On June 15, 2025, the congregation of Église Évangélique Luthérienne de la Sainte-Trinité (Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity) celebrated the 65th wedding anniversary of Rev. Frank and Nancy Morgret. Rev. Morgret serves as Resident Pastoral Advisor for the congregation.
The celebration took place on the Feast of the Holy Trinity—a significant connection to the life of the Trinity for and in us through His gifts, such as marriage.
The anniversary, which fell on June 9, was recognized with prayers and blessings during the service led by Rev. Marco Antonio
Jacobsen, followed by a reception at the church. Most members of the congregation were in attendance, along with one of the Morgrets’ daughters, Mary Morgret-Thomas, who travelled from Ontario to mark the occasion.
The following day, Rev. Morgret shared this reflection: “The brothers and sisters in Christ in Ste-Trinité are a genuine blessing to Nancy and me. Tertullian wrote of the love for their Lord and for one another he saw among thirdcentury Christians. It is also easy to see here among these folks as we know well.”
Rev. Dr. David Somers
EAST REGION NEWS
“What God Has Joined Together” conference
KITCHENER, Ont. – From May 9-11, 2025, around 110 Christians from all stages of life gathered again at Grace Lutheran Church for the second “What God Has Joined Together” conference. Families, married couples, and single folks from across Ontario—and a few from the United States—gathered
Limits of Attention
MISSISSAUGA, Ont. – More than 40 people gathered at Risen Christ Lutheran on May 31, 2025, to attend a seminar by Dr. Daniel Smilek on “Limits of Attention”.
Dr. Smilek is a Professor of Psychology who specializes in cognitive neuroscience. His research focuses on understanding human attention and how attention can be optimized in everyday life. He has published more than 180 peerreviewed research articles along with an undergraduate textbook on cognitive psychology. His research has been published in top scientific journals (e.g., Nature), and according to Google Scholar, his work has been cited over 20,000 times. Dr. Smilek is member of Grace Lutheran Church in Kitchener.
The seminar was broken into three sessions:
Session 1: The Capture of our Attention and the Experience of Reality. The take-home message was that there are considerable limitations
for lectures, worship, and joyful fellowship as they were fed in body and in wisdom from God’s Word.
Rev. Dr. Adam Koontz, Pastor at Redeemer Lutheran Church, Oakmont, Pennsylvania, was the guest lecturer at this year’s conference. He thoughtfully and scripturally made the case for four gifts from God in
marriage and in life: the blessing of children; the importance of the wisdom of elders; sanctification and growth in marriage; and the blessing of being a burden, particularly in old age. Rev. Koontz also preached about the gifts of marriage during two Divine Services held over the weekend, over which Rev. Rob Korsch presided.
The organizers give thanks to the Lord for the success of the event, and especially for the many hands that were involved in its organization and execution. If you missed the conference and are interested in listening to the lectures, they were recorded and uploaded to Rev. Koontz’ podcast, at www.abriefhistoryofpower.com as episodes 300 and 301.
Rev. Jason Gillard
on what we can attend to, yet what we attend to shapes our conscious experience, behaviour, and our understanding of reality.
Session 2: Usurpation of Attention. This session explored how external actors can profoundly influence and control our attention, and how this can manifest in our Christian lives.
Session 3: Attention and Worldview Subversion. This session discussed the history of propaganda and how public opinion is controlled through mass
media and other societal “megaphones.” The highlight was the importance of grounding our worldview in Holy Scripture and of sharing the Christian message with those in the world.
Testimonials from those in attendance reflected on the heaviness of the topic but the importance of addressing it, especially within a church setting, and spoke about how engaging and applicable the presentations were.
Rev. Vishal Paul
You may have heard someone say it. You may have said it yourself. I am sure I have said it at some point: “I miss the good old days.”
As we prepare for the next convention and review our life together since restructuring, some may say they long for the good old days. But just how accurate is that memory of the “good old days”?
A number of years ago I was visiting an elderly woman. She often bemoaned the current age and longed for the good old days, as she always called them. One day I asked her to tell me about the days of old. She spoke about life on the family farm, things like making their own butter and soap. She told me how hard the work was and how she would simply collapse in bed at the end of the day, exhausted. Then she would be sound asleep until she woke up and knew she should not have had that extra glass of water before bed, because now it meant a late-night trip to the little brown shack out back.
“What was that trip like in the winter?” I asked. “Oh,” she said, “cold and quick. And that Sears catalogue was not for reading if you know what I mean, Pastor.”
“What was transportation like?” I asked. “We either walked or took the carriage. I remember one winter,” she said, “when my sister had her baby. I went every other day by cutter to help her because she was so sick, and her husband had gone to find work in the next town. It was two hours each way. The air was so cold, seeing the horses’ breath you would think they were smoking.”
“Why didn’t you just stay with her instead of traveling back and forth?”
EAST REGION NEWS
AH, THE GOOD OLD DAYS
FROM THE REGIONAL PASTOR | REV. MARVIN BUBLITZ
She shot me a look and said, “Well, who would milk my cows if I did that? And that was hard to do when I got home with frozen hands from holding those reins for two hours.”
“Too bad,” I said, “that she did not have nurses or home care like you have to help her out.” “Are you kidding,” she shot back, “why, by the time the doctor could get there, she was either going to be dead or pregnant again.”
“You know,” I teased gently, “long cold rides in the carriage, cold latenight trips to the brown shack, limited health care... I can see why you long for the good old days.” She shot me a look and said, “Well, they was good the way I remember them, but not the way you remember.” Like many, she practiced selective memory.
As the children of Israel made their journey through the wilderness from Egypt to the promised land, they often practiced selective memory. “And the people complained in the hearing of the L ORD about their misfortunes, and when the L ORD heard it, his anger was kindled, and the fire of the LORD burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp. Then the people cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to the LORD, and the fire died down. So the name of that place was called Taberah, because the fire of the LORD burned among them. Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also wept again and said, ‘Oh that we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. But now our strength is dried up, and there is
nothing at all but this manna to look at’” (Numbers 11:1-6).
Ah, how one’s memory can reinvent the past. They remembered the melons in their belly but forgot the taskmaster’s whip on their back.
In truth, God was bestowing His blessings upon them all along. In the past when they were enslaved in Egypt, He strengthened and sustained them. When He brought the plagues on Egypt, He spared His people. When the Angel of Death came, He passed over their houses because of the lamb’s blood on the doorpost. He fed them in the wilderness with manna and quail. He gave them water to drink.
Glancing back, they could see His mighty hand sustaining them. Even in the midst of their disobedience, even in the midst of His wrath, even in the midst of His punishment, He showed his grace and mercy, so great is His love. His divine grace sustained them.
As we journey from slavery to sin and death unto the promised land of our Father’s Kingdom, His divine grace sustains us. His Word and Sacraments feed us.
Only two people could have said in truth that they longed for the good old days. Adam and Eve, after they sinned, were banned from the garden paradise and the tree of life. They could truly look back and say they longed for the good old days. But for the rest of us, the best days are ahead in the promised land. So, we set on eyes on those things above— the things unseen—and we trust our loving Father to sustain us on this wilderness journey.
EAST REGION NEWS
Anniversary celebrations in Windsor
WINDSOR, Ont. – From June 6-8, 2025, First Lutheran Church and Christian Academy celebrated their 105 th and 30 th anniversaries respectively. The weekend started off at the school with live music, tree planting, speeches, food, beverages, and lots of fun, laughs, and even some happy tears. The courtyard was packed with lots of students, past and present, as well as many from the congregation, friends, and family.
On Saturday, events moved to the church where attendees celebrated 105 years of God’s providence; this was meant to be celebrated in 2020 for the 100th and came back bigger and better in 2025!
Those in attendance enjoyed a nine-foot charcuterie board, greetings from Mayor Drew Dilkens, Counsellor Renaldo Agostino, FLC’s pastor Rev. Robert Bugbee, East Regional Pastor Rev. Marvin Bublitz, and many others.
The event was catered, with special memorabilia for purchase, and a large stroll down memory lane with many photos and old items lovingly dug out of homes and the church and beautifully arranged. Some danced the night away under an outdoor tent with music playing from the band Big Louie on a warm and beautiful night.
Sunday morning was the finale to a marvelous weekend! East Regional Pastor Bublitz spoke and communion was celebrated as a church family during the German service. Everyone enjoyed one last moment with so many friends past and present that joined this special event.
God was evident that weekend, just as He has been for the past 105 years. And the church and school look forward to what He’s currently doing and will do in the next 105 years!
Lee Watson
New Growth Among the Shan: A Joyful Update from Thailand
THAILAND – By the grace of God, Thailand Concordia Lutheran Church (TCLC), with support from Lutheran Church–Canada (LCC), is celebrating remarkable progress in a new mission outreach among the Shan people in Chiang Mai.
This ministry began when a student at the Lutheran Institute of Theology (LI-T), after receiving faithful instruction in the Word, expressed a heartfelt desire to bring
the Gospel to the Shan community living in Chiang Mai. With prayerful discernment, leaders from TCLC visited and assessed the area. By the end of 2024, a new mission for this community was established.
Thanks to the support provided by LCC and the sacrificial contributions of the local Shan believers, a worship space was secured and renovated. The believers not only gave from their resources but also offered
their time and labour to complete the project—an inspiring act of stewardship and unity in Christ. The space is now actively being used for worship and teaching.
Preparations are underway for a special thanksgiving service to mark the completion of the renovations and to prepare new believers for confirmation and reception of the Lord’s Supper.
This mission is a living testimony to what the Lord is doing among the Shan people through faithful teaching, generous partnership, and the power of the Gospel. We give thanks for this encouraging development and invite your continued prayers as we look ahead to future needs and ongoing support for this vibrant ministry.
Please continue to pray for:
• The spiritual growth of the Shan believers
• The upcoming confirmation and First Communion
• Financial support for the continued work and care of the church planter via lutheranchurch. ca/missions/
Partnering for Long-Term Ministry in First Nations Communities
From June 16–17, representatives from LCC, The Lutheran Church— Missouri Synod, the Lutheran Association of Missionaries and Pilots (LAMP), Lutheran Bible Translators of Canada, and the B.C. Mission Boat Society (BCMBS) met in Winnipeg to strengthen collaboration in Indigenous ministry. Discussions focused on how best to coordinate efforts in communities where these ministries are already present, particularly by providing consistency in pastoral care. The group also explored sustainable funding models to support long-term ministry.
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CANADA – Expanding outreach to Indigenous Peoples has been identified as a key priority by members of Lutheran Church–Canada (LCC), building on longstanding relationships in First Nations communities across the country.
Equipping Servants for Christ’s Church in Nicaragua
NICARAGUA – A new seminary class has begun at the Mission Centre in Chinandega, Nicaragua—marking a significant step forward in the formation of faithful church workers for service in Christ’s Church. Supported by Lutheran Church–Canada (LCC) in partnership with the Lutheran Church Synod of Nicaragua (Iglesia Luterana Sínodo de Nicaragua – ILSN), this initiative provides sound theological education rooted in Holy Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions.
This year’s class includes seven men preparing for the Office of the Holy Ministry and seventeen women preparing for diaconal service within
their congregations and communities. These candidates are not only learning sound doctrine, they are being equipped to care for souls, extend mercy, and proclaim Christ with clarity and conviction.
The academic year began in February with an Introduction to the Old Testament course, taught by Rev. Paul Roggow, pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Kitchener, Ontario. The course guided students through the promises of God across the Old Testament, highlighting their fulfillment in Christ. In May, Rev. M.L. Smith, LCC’s Director of International Missions, taught
In July, Rev. Jacob Quast, LCC’s Director of Domestic Missions, joined BCMBS on a mission trip to the remote First Nations community of Klemtu, B.C. There, the team shared the Gospel through children’s ministry (Kids Club) and other opportunities for
outreach among both youth and adults. BCMBS has served in Klemtu for over twenty-five years and has built a deep relationship with the community. The welcome was warm, and the need and desire for increased spiritual and pastoral care was clearly expressed.
a course on Law, Gospel, and the Means of Grace , focusing on the proper distinction between Law and Gospel, and the way God delivers His life-giving gifts through Word and Sacrament.
The establishment of this seminary class reflects a long-term commitment to strengthening the church in Nicaragua through faithful teaching and the formation of dedicated servants. These students represent the future of the church—pastors who will preach Christ crucified and risen, administering His gifts to the people they serve, and deaconesses who will carry out works of mercy in their congregations and communities in His name. United in purpose, they are being prepared to serve with humility, faithfulness, and joy.
We invite you to pray for these students, their instructors, and all who support theological education in Nicaragua. The Church is built up when the Word is taught clearly and faithfully. And by God’s grace, the fruit of this work will extend far beyond the classroom—for the strengthening of Christ’s Church and the salvation of many.
Rev. Quast encourages LCC members to keep this work in prayer— that the peace and comfort of our Lord Jesus Christ may be known and received in all the communities where LCC and our partner organizations are privileged to serve.
Rev. Jacob Quast and the BCMBS team in Klemtu, B.C.
The mission of the Church remains forever the same: to share the Great Evangel (Gospel), the message of Jesus Christ crucified for sinners. This is accomplished by individual Christians through their many and varied daily vocations. The word “vocation” in English originates from the Latin word vocare, meaning “to call.” As we go about our daily lives, into whatever vocations God has currently called us to serve, we are given opportunities to share the love of Jesus with others: whether that be in the Estate of the Family, the State, or the Church. Primarily, however, we rejoice that each of us Christians has been called by God to faith in Jesus.
VOCATION: THE CALL TO FAITH IN CHRIST
In his explanation to the Third Article of the Apostles’ Creed, Martin Luther teaches us that Christians individually and the entire Church together is called by the Holy Spirit to faith in Jesus. We confess: “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him. But the Holy Spirit has called me through the Gospel… just as He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth.”
The Holy Spirit calls people through the Word and the Sacraments to convert them from unbelief to faith through the reception of the Gospel Word of Christ crucified. So, the Christian’s primary “call” or “vocation” in life is that of being a Christian—a recipient of God’s grace in Jesus. Therefore, St. Paul exhorts us to “not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord… who
MISSION AND VOCATION: WHERE HAS GOD CALLED YOU TO SERVE?
DIRECTOR OF DOMESTIC MISSIONS | REV. JACOB QUAST
saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of His own purpose and grace” (2 Timothy 2:8-9). No matter where you find yourself—in whatever life situation— remember, you are a baptized believer in Jesus! That is the heart and centre of your identity.
ONE VOCATION LEADS TO ANOTHER
While our primary vocation above all others is being a disciple of Jesus, this vocation permeates other callings/vocations in our lives in the aforementioned “Three Estates”— vocations such as citizen, parent, child, worker, employer, sibling, church member, and so forth. At the root of all of our other vocations lies the call we have received to faith in Jesus.
In all our vocations, we are given opportunities by the Spirit to share our faith in Christ with others. The mission field is everywhere around us in our vocations. And every vocation gives us the opportunity to advance the mission of the Church. Parents and grandparents read the Scriptures to their children and grandchildren. Coworkers pray with and for one another. Citizens speak on moral and ethical issues according to biblical truth. Congregation members serve the church in order to bless the wider body of Christ.
CALLED TO USE ONE’S GIFTS IN SERVICE
The Holy Spirit not only calls us to faith, He also empowers us with many and various gifts to be used in the service of others. St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians emphasizes this: “I
therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called…. But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift” (4:1,7).
Having called us to a life of faith and service in the Church and world, God further equips us with gifts for use in our daily vocations. Whether we are pounding nails into boards to help in a construction project, baking a casserole for a sick neighbour, or praying with a friend in need, all Christians have been given gifts to help and serve their neighbour. In vocational service, then, we are given opportunities to share and demonstrate the love of God for all people in Jesus. As Jesus said: “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).
THE CHURCH’S GREAT VOCATION
The Great Commission in Matthew 28 is not a command “to go,” but rather an exhortation and encouragement that—“as you are going”—we make disciples by baptizing and teaching. That’s the vocation of pastors particularly, but the wider body of Christ is also invited to share the Gospel with others “as we are going.” We get to tell people about Jesus! We proclaim all that Jesus has told us in His Word and live our lives in all our vocations according to the Scriptures. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, the mission of the Church grows as Christians use their God-given gifts to serve their neighbour in love. What joy! What a privilege! What a call! What a vocation!
CLS bids farewell to Interim President, welcomes Interim VPs
EDMONTON – Concordia Lutheran Seminary (CLS) has announced the departure of Rev. Dr. Joel Heck, marking the conclusion of his time as Interim President. The seminary expressed deep gratitude to God for Dr. Heck’s faithful leadership during this transitional season.
“We now welcome our three Interim Vice Presidents, who have
graciously stepped forward to serve Concordia Lutheran Seminary in this next chapter,” CLS shared.
• Mr. Ron Ludke, Vice-President of Finance and Development
• Rev. Jan Pastucha, Senior Vice-President, Vice-President of Administration
• Rev. Jim Fritsche, VicePresident of Church Relations
CLS issues Call for President to Rev. Jonathan Kraemer
EDMONTON – The Board of Regents of Concordia Lutheran Seminary (CLS) is pleased to announce that Rev. Jonathan Kraemer has been called to serve as the seminary’s new president. Rev. Kraemer is an alumnus of CLS, having graduated in 1998. He has served Peace and Trinity Lutheran Churches in Trail and Fruitvale, B.C., and is currently serving All Saints Lutheran Church in Edmonton, Alberta. From 2006-2016, Rev. Kraemer was a member of the CLS
faculty, serving as Assistant Professor of Exegetical Theology.
The Board of Regents asks for prayers for Rev. Kraemer and his family, for the members of All Saints Lutheran Church, and for the faculty and staff at CLS during this time of discernment and transition.
At the time of publication, CLS has not yet announced a response from Rev. Kraemer. For the latest information, see CLS’ website at concordiasem.ab.ca.
New resource for ministers addresses spiritual warfare
USA – This summer, Baker Books released a new book by Rev. Dr. Harold Ristau entitled Spiritual Warfare and Deliverance: How to Minister to the Demonically Oppressed and Possessed
“Drawing from Scripture, history, and his own experiences as a missionary and a military chaplain, Harold Ristau helps mature Christians develop a biblical understanding of their spiritual vulnerability in both ‘ordinary’ life, such as personal temptation, and ‘extraordinary’ situations such as demonic oppression and possession,” promotional material notes. “He takes readers beyond theory, where many other resources stop, laying out practical tools to equip them for their own personal battles and steps to take to protect themselves and others from the evil forces at work in the world. He also lays out an effective, proven process for mature ministers and clergy to follow when
performing an exorcism.”
Promotional material goes on to note that “for pastors and mature lay Christians who desire to be prepared for the battles that lie ahead, this book is a grounded, thorough, and hope-filled guide to ministering to the demonically oppressed or possessed.”
Dr. Ristau is a professor with Luther Classical College (Casper, Wyoming) and a former professor with Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary (St. Catharines, Ontario). He has previously published on the subject of spiritual warfare and deliverance ministry, including a 2016 book from Wipf & Stock entitled My First Exorcism and a 2023 book from Lexham Press entitled Spiritual Warfare: For the Care of Souls.
Your Role in Recruiting Future Church Workers
by James Kellerman and Mike Kuhn
“The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few” – Matt 9:37b
Have you heard the one about the preacher who needed to raise money to re-shingle the roof of the church? He stood before his congregation and said, “I have bad news, good news, and then more bad news. The bad news is that the church roof needs new shingles. The good news is that we already have all the money we need for the project, but the bad news is that the money is in your pockets!”
Lutheran Church–Canada does not need to re-shingle their headquarters, but there is a growing need in our church for labourers to work the harvest fields, or pastors and deacons to engage in and support the ministry of the Gospel in our churches and the communities they serve. Is it possible that, as in the joke, these workers are already in our midst but have not yet been brought forward to the church?
Earlier this year, a survey was sent to all pastors and to a lay leader from each congregation. When asked how many
people in their congregation would be suitable for full-time church work, 107 pastors did not respond, presumably because they did not think they had any potential church workers. However, 88 said that they knew of at least one such person. In fact, some knew at least five such individuals in their churches. Altogether, the 88 pastors knew 161 people who would be good candidates to become either a pastor or deacon. A higher percentage of lay leaders (53 out of 100) responded, and these 53 people could think of 74 individuals in their churches who had the potential to become future church workers.
So, how are we going to make sure that a significant number of those potential pastors or deacons become church workers? Here are some steps:
PRAY: As Christ urged His disciples, we can all pray that God provides more workers for His kingdom work, trusting that He will answer and provide.
IDENTIFY: Look within your own church for people that you think have the potential to be trained as
church workers, whether they are youth, young adult, or mid-career.
ENCOURAGE: Approach these potential workers to affirm them in the gifts and character that you see in them and suggest that they talk to your pastor about potential service.
REFER: Whether a potential candidate is convinced of their desire to serve or simply wanting to have a conversation to learn more, you or your pastor can help them to connect with one of our two seminaries.
For more information, you can contact the recruitment directors at LCC’s two seminaries: Rev. Mike Kuhn (Concordia Lutheran Seminary, Edmonton, AB) at mkuhn@concordiasem.ab.ca; and Dr. James Kellerman (Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary, St. Catharines, ON) at jkellerman@ concordia-seminary.ca.
Good News for Every Language LUTHERAN
BIBLE TRANSLATORS OF
CANADA
Jesus (said)… “You will see greater things than these.”
John 1:50
That verse comes to mind often because of the great things our Lord is doing in us, among us, and through us! People across Canada often ask, “What’s happening with LBTC? How are things going?” And the answer is right there in Psalm 126. “The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad.” Here are a few of those “great things”!
THE LORD HAS DONE GREAT THINGS FOR US, AND WE ARE FILLED WITH JOY. Psalm 126:3
WHAT’S HAPPENING…
…in Thailand? Great things!
and his wife.
Translation work is beginning in earnest in the Southern Thai language! Pastor Yungtanayot has translated portions of Luke’s Gospel and some early chapters of Genesis. He is working on developing a list of ten pericopes to which Southern Thai speakers can easily relate. These he will begin to translate with the help of Pastor Chujit and a few others who will serve as revisers.
Those pericopes will then be shared with the broader Christian community to determine how much interest there is in having a Southern Thai translation and to see if others will help.
There is a great deal of excitement among the Thai Lutherans and they are eager to move forward with this project. The translators will also have the opportunity to try out some cutting edge translation technology including AI.
The annual International Bible Translation Conference will take place in Chiang Mai, Thailand in October. Pastor Mohr will attend the conference and hopes
Pastor Yongthanayot and perhaps others will attend with him. This will provide an excellent opportunity to talk about this project with other Bible translation experts and better assess how best to move forward.
…in Cameroon? Great things!
LBTC’s three language projects (Nizaa, Dii, and Dowayo) are continuing to make progress. In each one the translators are working diligently to complete various Bible books.
In Nizaa, Pastor Ousmanou and his team are readying the Gospels of Luke and John, epistles by John and Peter, and Romans and other books for the revisers. Other team members are holding literacy classes and developing new resources for teaching the language.
The Dii and Dowayo translators are working diligently on Old Testament books. The whole community is excitedly awaiting a whole Bible in their languages.
Pastor Yungtanayot
What’s happening, continued
Pastor Bakari Boukar (Director of Translation and Literacy) and Bokdogo Sylvain (Dowayo translator) are finishing up Year 1 of 3 in their iDelta training. This provides them with continuing education in Bible translation as well as other areas supporting that work. Pastor Ousmanou Dieudonne (Nizaa translator) graduated from the program a few years ago and now serves as an adjunct faculty member in it. All three were/are being supported by LBTC special projects donations.
Kayla Falkenholt
Kayla Falkenholt served as a Missionary Kids Teacher for the past three years. She began teaching Pastor Mike and Kara Kuhn’s kids in their homeschool setting, team teaching with Kara. When the Kuhns moved back to Canada she decided to stay on in Cameroon, teaching at the Greenhouse School, a primary school for missionary/ex-pat kids, in Yaounde. She is back in Canada for the summer, but has decided the Lord is continuing to call her to serve in Yaounde for another year. What follows is her own account of the past year at the Greenhouse School. Rejoice with her in what Jesus is doing through her and in the lives of the kids she works with.
God’s Jenga Tower
By Kayla Falkenholt
Would you believe me if I told you that a successful mission is like a Jenga tower? Let me back up so you’ll understand what I mean.
Even as a young teen, I felt drawn to mission work. I wasn’t sure how, or where, but I knew I wanted to go. As I got older, however, I realized my giftings weren’t in evangelism, linguistics, or translation. I wasn’t a pastor or a doctor. Those were the only kinds of missionaries I knew, so I reluctantly gave up on my dream.
A few years later, though, I found out the role of missionary teacher existed! A few months later, my bags were packed and I flew across the ocean to Cameroon to serve God with what I was really good at—teaching kids.
My job is to teach the kids of all the other missionaries so they can focus their days on outreach, preaching, and translation. This past year, the mission school I serve at welcomed students from five different countries—Canada, USA, Austria, China, and South Korea.
It’s been three years now of serving as a missionary kids’ teacher, and as I look at the community around me, I am realizing just how many different roles there are. Yes, there are pastors and Bible translators. There are also surveyors and statisticians who figure out which languages are top priority for the next translation projects. There are scripture use engagement specialists who make sure churches and their members can actually use the new scriptures they receive. We need ethnomusicologists to help people worship God in their own language and musical style. We need airplane and helicopter pilots to get all of those people out to the villages, and mechanics to do maintenance on said aircraft.
We have families in my neighbourhood who have come to dig wells and set up domestic abuse
continued next page
The three men involved in the iDelta program.
Jenga tower, continued shelters. We need teachers, librarians, classroom aides, and principals to run the schools. We rely on mission nurses to keep our bodies healthy. Our IT technicians and financial secretaries keep things running smoothly.
Back home in Canada, we need a whole team, too: mission directors, board members, accountants, office managers, fundraisers, financial donors, prayer partners, envelope stuffers, and more.
Each of these people is like a single jenga block in a tower. Sure, you can take out a couple of pieces and the tower will stay standing, but it will be wobbly, and only a matter of time before one missing block sends the whole thing crumbling to the ground.
God didn’t make a mistake when He made us all different. All kinds of people are needed in the grand design of God’s Jenga tower.
Kayla Falkenholt has been serving in Cameroon with Lutheran Bible Translators of Canada since 2022. If you would like to make a monetary donation to support Kayla’s work, you can donate online at lbtc.ca. f you would like to receive updates and prayer letters from Kayla, you can contact her at kayla@lbtc.ca to be added to her email list. Or just email her to ask random questions!
WHAT’S HAPPENING…
…in Canada? Great things!
LBTC director, Pastor Mohr, joined representatives from LAMP, BC Mission Boat, LCMS and LCC missions personnel in a meeting to discuss ministry among Canada’s First Nations communities. LAMP and the BC Mission Boat have been serving in these communities for many years. They have established excellent relationships with community leaders and families— and especially with the kids. Both organizations have provided opportunities for LBTC to make connections
LBTC booth at the National Youth Gathering.
with the First Nations communities they minister in. What a blessing for LBTC to have that kind of welcoming entré as we seek to determine how best to proceed in bringing God’s life-giving Word to these communities in their heart languages.
A music class.
First Nations ministry meeting in Winnipeg.
Canada, continued
LBTC was joyfully involved in the recent LCC National Youth Gathering in Waterloo, Ont. We had a booth in the exhibit area along with many other LSOs, auxiliaries, and our two seminaries. Many young people and adults came by our booth, asked questions about LBTC, and enjoyed the yo-yos we gave away.
Pastor Mohr also held a breakout session at the Gathering where he talked with the youth about LBTC’s work and how they might serve in the Lord’s mission through LBTC. He also served on a panel discussion with Concordia Lutheran Mission Society, Haiti Lutheran Mission Society, and Team Zion (one of the teams that does mission trips to Nicaragua). The people who attended these sessions were quite engaged in the discussion of mission efforts.
LBTC also held a servant event with the youth at their offices in Waterloo. Young people from across the country heard Pastor Ousmanou (Nizaa translator) talk from Cameroon by video link about his work, his country, and his family. Each participant was then given
the name of a Cameroonian translator or language centre worker and was told a bit about that person’s work and the challenges they are facing. They were then asked to write a prayer for that person which Pastor Mohr will take with him when he is next in Cameroon. Again, the young people were very engaged in every aspect of the event.
All of these “great things” are happening because our gracious and all-powerful God is at work through His Word. These “great things” are happening because you, Jesus’ faithful people, are praying for that Word to go out into all the world. These “great things” are happening because you continue to respond to our Lord’s generous blessings with generous support for His work through LBTC. Thank you! And praise be to our awesome God!
With all of this said, the Words of Jesus that began this article are even more exciting still. “You will see greater things than these!” Your continuing prayers and support make you participants in these “greater things”! All glory be to God!
Your prayers and donations are a vital part of LBTC’s ministry. For more information or to make a donation please contact our office at 519-7423361 or 866518-7071, at our website lbtc.ca, or by email at pastor.r.mohr@lbtc.ca.
The NYG Servant Event held by LBTC at their offices.
C OME ...
L ET US BUILD
“By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established, and by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.”
Proverbs 24:3-4
Christian Planning
Build on the firm foundation of God’s Word for future generations.
For a free seminar on Christian Estate Planning, contact:
Rev. Kevin Platz, serving Grace (Port Alberni, BC) to Candidate (Port Alberni, BC).
Rev. Russell Howard, serving King of Kings (Spruce View, AB) to Emeritus (Dickson, AB).
2025 ANNUAL REPORT
Lutheran Church–Canada’s 2025 Annual Report highlights our shared mission and ministry across Canada and around the world.
Photo by Anna Kraemer, All Saints Lutheran Church (Edmonton, AB)
OPRESIDENT'S PONDERINGS
LUTHER ON CHURCH WORKER RECRUITMENT AND SUPPORT
SYNOD PRESIDENT | REV. DR. TIMOTHY TEUSCHER
ne of the Strategic Initiatives of our synod is the recruitment, education, and support of church workers. This is nothing new—as Jesus Himself says: “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into the harvest” (Luke 10:2).
In this regard, we would do well to take to heart what Martin Luther said in a 1530 sermon entitled “On Keeping Children in School” (Luther’s Works Vol. 46). Here he addresses a situation similar to our day, when the number of young people going into church work was diminishing. In this sermon, Luther emphasizes three things that are still applicable for us today.
First, he affirms the high value and eternal impact of the office of the ministry, stating: “There is no dearer treasure, no nobler thing on earth or in this life than a good and faithful pastor and preacher.” While many in our society regard pastors as irrelevant and even some church members dismiss the importance of pastors, not so with Luther. The reason? “[Christ] paid dearly that men might everywhere have this office of preaching, baptizing, loosing, binding, giving the sacrament, comforting, warning, and exhorting with God’s word, and whatever else belongs to the pastoral office,” Luther says. “For this office not only helps to further and sustain this temporal life and all the worldly estates, but it also gives eternal life and delivers from sin and death, which is its proper and chief work.” Many young people today wish to invest their lives in meaningful causes, like caring for the environment or helping the poor and the suffering. But what more meaningful cause is there than that which gives heavenly, eternal blessings to the spiritually poor and suffering?
Second, Luther emphasizes the need to encourage young men to pursue the office of the ministry. He regards the mission of the Church as hinging on the pastoral office. This is why his goal is not just filling the office with warm bodies, but with raising up pastors of the highest character and abilities. To parents who did not regard this vocation highly, Luther says: “[God] has not given you your children and the means to support them simply so that you may do with them as you please, or train them
just to get ahead in the world…. Your children are not so wholly yours that you need give nothing of them to God. He too will have what is rightfully His—and they are more His than yours.”
But Luther does not just rebuke Christians for failing to encourage the brightest and best young men to prepare for ministry; he holds forth the joy experienced in directing youth toward professional church work. “How much more should you rejoice if you have raised a son for this office of preaching in which you are sure that he serves God so gloriously, helps men so generously, and smites the devil in such knightly fashion?” he asks. “You have made of your son such a true and excellent sacrifice to God that the very angels must look upon it as a splendid miracle.”
Third, Luther advocates the financial support of young people who pursue the office of the holy ministry. To send one’s son to be formed as a pastor was a sacrifice in Luther’s time, and it is also so today. It is not cheap to train pastors and deacons, nor is it inexpensive for those who prepare to be such. This can place financial stress upon seminarians and their families—including their parents— as they prepare for pastoral and diaconal ministry. But the financial burden should not be borne by them alone. The broader church community is called to sacrifice and support seminarians and other church workers, as well as those who are called to teach at our seminaries. In fact, Luther says, there is no better investment that a person could make. “A man ought to be willing to crawl on his hands and knees to the ends of the earth to be able to invest his money so gloriously well,” he writes. “Yet right there in your own house and on your own lap you have that in which you can make such an investment. Shame, shame, and shame again upon our blind and despicable ingratitude that we should fail to see what extraordinary service we could render to God, indeed, how distinguished we could be in His sight with just a little application of effort and our own money and property.”
What a timely word of exhortation and encouragement from the Reformer! What a necessary word for us to hear and take to heart! So Luther adds: “Let the rich make their wills with this work in view, as some have
done. This is the right way to bequeath your money to the church, for in this way you… maintain God’s offices [and] help the living and those to come so that they are redeemed from hell and go to heaven…. That would be a praise-worthy Christian testament. God would have delight and pleasure in it, and would bless and honour you in return by giving you pleasure and joy in Him.”
Luther concludes: “God grant that we may obey His Word, in praise and thanksgiving to our dear Lord for His precious blood so freely offered for us; and may He preserve us from the abominable sin of ingratitude and forgetfulness of His blessings. Amen.”
Missouri North traces the history of Lutheran Church–Canada (LCC) from its beginnings in the mid-1800s down to the present day.
MISSOURI
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
