WHO WE ARE
We celebrate the goodness and love of God whenever we worship together and hear the message of forgiveness and of new life that has been freely given to us. In our life together we emphasize the good news of our salvation through Jesus of Nazareth, whom we confess as Lord. We believe this salvation is available to everyone freely as a gift, allowing us to have hope and confidence and giving us our true worth.
One of the important ways that God touches us is through the Sacraments of Holy Baptism and Holy Communion. These empower us to be disciples of the crucified and resurrected Christ, live for others, and carry out God’s mission in the world. Inspired by God’s Holy Spirit, we try to be faithful to that calling and we invite you to join us in this exciting task.
We are a non-profit. Charity BN/Registration # 10803 9520 RR0001
OUR VISION
Touched by the grace of Christ, we seek to connect with God, neighbour and self.
Vision statement:
We are a diverse and inclusive Lutheran faith community touched by the grace of Christ to find God and self as we connect with our neighbours. We practise hospitality of open hearts and open arms. We unite with partners to make a difference in our neighbourhood. We nurture the community of Christ.
Values supporting the vision:
- Our Lutheran heritage of grace
- Our call to pray, worship and learn as we grow in our Christian faith
- Our needs to gather and belong in Christian community
- The call to love our neighbours as Christ loves us
- The acceptance of all people as children of God
- The opportunities to meet God everywhere
(February 2017)
COME AND WORSHIP
The Lutheran Church is known for worship services which center around the Word of God and for its fine musical tradition, expressing faith in the language of the people. Worship, study and education are important because a personal faith cannot develop apart from the community of the church.
We believe that fellowship and times for gathering, whether to learn or simply enjoy ourselves, are also important. St. Philip’s offers many opportunities for people to meet, talk and become better acquainted.
ABOUT THE LUTHERAN CHURCH
The Lutheran Church is the largest Protestant denomination in the world; the third largest denomination of Christians. Although we are part of one of the largest Christian groups in the world, we Lutherans aren't very well known in Canada. Part of the reason is that there aren't very many of us in Canada. We Lutherans, active and inactive, form a bit more than two percent of Canada's population.
Lutherans follow the Bible and the Augsburg Confession regarding Word and Sacrament. We derive our teachings from the Holy Scriptures and confess the three ecumenical creeds of the Christian church. We hold to orthodox catholic theology as enunciated in the ecumenical councils of the first five centuries of Christianity.
We trace our roots as a confessing movement to the reformation of the catholic church initiated by Dr. Martin Luther in Germany in the 1500s. See Project Wittenberg for a great deal of primary source information. From Germany, Lutheranism spread to Scandinavia and the Baltic states, as well as to other areas in central and eastern Europe. Today, Lutherans are to be found around the world.
The first Lutherans came to Canada from Denmark. The Danish Lutheran captain, Jens Munck, and his crew of over 60 men arrived at Churchill, Manitoba, September 7, 1619. The survivors of this voyage returned to Denmark in 1620. Lutherans have been continually present in Canada since the 1750s, when German Lutheran immigrants arrived in Halifax.
St. Philip’s (established in 1958) is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC), consisting of about 640 congregations across Canada. This affiliation of churches makes possible the worldwide mission work that seeks to reach out to all. The ELCIC is a young denomination. We began in 1986, through the merger of two Lutheran groups which in turn resulted from other mergers before that.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada holds membership in the Lutheran World Federation, the Canadian Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada is in full communion with the Anglican Church of Canada. See the joint Waterloo Declaration for details.