Those victorious words will ring out in our churches on Resurrection Sunday! These are words which proclaim a fundamental change in our relationship with God, a fundamental change in our view of death, and consequently a fundamental change in how we can live our lives. These are words of hope and of power.
If we truly believe these words, the trajectory of our life is changed. We can live in hope. Our world is no longer constricted by what we cannot do but is enlarged by what God can do. The One who conquered death can do anything.
My prayer is that these words, “He Is Risen,” will truly transform how we think as members of CALC. Yes, we are small in numbers. Yes, our nation is large geographically. But we know and trust in a God who is infinite and can do great things—Even raise the dead!
Be strong in the Lord!
Pastor Jim President
Canadian Association of Lutheran Congregations
Growing the Church
On September 12, 1962, American President John F. Kennedy delivered a speech at Rice University in Texas entitled “We Choose to go to the Moon.” This was intended to bolster the US stated goal of putting a man on the moon by 1970. It was an audacious goal. When first stated in 1961 a Gallup Poll showed that 58% of Americans were opposed. Yet that goal was achieved on July 20, 1969 while most who were alive at the time watched on television.
We the members of CALC can also have audacious goals which can be achieved by the power of an even more audacious God. Here is a goal articulated by Pastor Marc Lapointe of Kamloops:
We as members of CALC aim to establish one CALC congregation in every major Canadian city and from there in every province of Canada.
We currently have congregations in major cities such as Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa. But what about Halifax, Moncton/Saint John, Montreal, Gatineau, Kingston/Belleville, SW Ontario, Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon, Kitchener-Waterloo. A couple of those are in process.
Big dream? Yes. An Even Bigger God? AMEN!
This vision/dream will be discussed on various levels of our church and at this point has no official status. But let’s think about this and pray about it.
April 21-22 2023 Annual General Convention Holiday Inn & Suites Edmonton Airport - Conference Center, Nisku, AB Registration fee for in-person attendance: $240.00 per person.
Registration fee for online attendance: $125.00 per person. Click here for a brochure on the convention. Click here to register for the convention.
April 19-20 CALC Pastors' Study Retreat 2023 Hastings Bible Camp, Sherwood Park, AB Registration Fee: $120.00 per person. Click here for a brochure on the study retreat. Click hereto register for the study retreat
There will be two vacancies on our National Council which must be filled at the business meeting of our 2023 Annual General Convention on Saturday April 22, 2023.
The vacancies are:
Vice President(currently Mr. Fred Schickedanz)
Treasurer (currently Mrs. Helen Zacharias)
Click hereto access information on the office of the Vice President, the office Treasurer and the procedure for nominating a candidate.
Click here to nominate a candidate for either of these offices.
ATTENTION FRIENDS
(OR FRIENDS OF FRIENDS)
IN THE KITCHENER/WATERLOO AREA OF ONTARIO
CALC Bible Study is being launched
1:30 -3:30 PM
Wednesday
April 26
Location Langs Village Community Health Centre
1145 Concession Road Cambridge, ON N3H 4L5
GOAL: BUILDING COMMUNITY THROUGH THE WORD OF GOD
INSTITUTE of LUTHERAN THEOLOGY
NEWS & EVENTS
Announcing Christ School of Theology’s - Theology in Residence Gathering
The inaugural meeting of the Christ School of Theology’s (CST) Theology in Residence Gathering is taking place on June 12-17, 2023, in Brookings, SD.
CST students are invited to join with fellow theologians, scholars and faculty as they engage in personal theological research. Participants will pursue their individual, theological research efforts while refining their research through conversations with fellow scholars and on-site faculty, combined with guided academic coaching and research support from the CST Dean of Library and Research. Participants and faculty will share a mid-day meal each day of the event where they will be able to enjoy the fellowship that nourishes the body, mind and soul.
This meeting is held in conjunction with Graduation week. Other activities going on during the week of June 12-17 include:
Board Meeting: June 12-14, 2023
Alumni Association Dinner: Wednesday, June 14, 2023 at 6:00 p.m.
Graduation Ceremony: Thursday, June 15, 2023 at 4:00 p.m.
Graduation Dinner: Thursday, June 15, 2023 at 6:00 p.m.
Faculty Retreat: June 16 and 17, 2023
Please join us for all or any of these events!
To RSVP, please contact Kelli Anawski by emailing her at: kanawski@ilt.edu.
Bardo Lutheran Church was founded by Norwegian immigrants in the Bardo district, south of Tofield, with the Rev. Bersvend Anderson as its first pastor in 1895. Immigrants arrived in the region and named it after their homeland, Bardu, in northern Norway. Rev. Bersvend was a buggy riding Norwegian pastor of the Hauge Synod who began to plant churches in the area at the young age of 73; he continued itinerant circuit ministry among small rural communities until his death. Bardo is the oldest church in Tofield, although its building has been rebuilt multiple times.
The Haugian revivals placed great emphasis on personal faith, discipleship, conversion, and mission. Early documents describe church members from Bardo going door to door sharing their faith with pamphlets and testimonies because they realized that people’s hearts needed to be transformed. They were unique among many early Lutherans of that time because they realized that often people would not come to church if they just built a building and rang a church bell. Their mission and discipleship were innovative and exemplary to believers then and now. Bardo has a precious legacy of mission and revival and commitment to following Jesus.
Tofield is a small town of approximately 2000 people 50 minutes from Edmonton. Like most small towns, it has struggled with depopulation and the brain drain of younger people. Presently Bardo is in a different season of life. Most of the Scandinavian farming community is no longer extant or are not practicing Christians. Approximately 50 people attend Bardo monthly either online or in person, with an average of 30-35 people each week. Like most rural Lutheran churches, few regular attenders are not part of the Interwar or Baby Boomer generation. Depopulation, secularization, materialism, and nominalism have severely shaken the future of this local church, although thankfully there are many faithful Christians in other communities in the area. Almost everyone under 55 did not grow up Lutheran, so the type of faith they exhibit is often deliberate and chosen. This can be a healthy thing as the focus of church can be focused on the essential aspects of the Good News of Jesus. Currently the church engages in targeted service projects, an annual mission trip, visiting people in the community, a weekly small group and evening prayer, weekly worship services, and many other things. Bardo is very good at showing love and acceptance of all types of people, no matter their social status or education; we have people recovering from all sorts of abuse or trauma as well as people who have “ideal” middle class lives. As in many of our churches, we need to pray for God to change our hearts and the hearts of our neighbours so that we might turn from the idols of our time and find our joy, hope, and purpose in Jesus.
Pastor Peter Beckman
Pastor Peter Beckman and his wife Emily
BARDO LUTHERAN CHURCH
5609-48th Street, PO Box 538, Tofield AB T0B 4J0
Telephone: 780-662-3411 Website: Click here.
Email: Connect@bardolutheranchurch.ca
Pastor: Peter Beckman
News From Rwanda
Dear Rev. Jim,
President of CALC
May the grace of God continue to be with you and your family and to your children and grandchildren!
We continued to find some Christian members of our church: Widows and other women and even men coming to our church requesting to meet with me telling me that they need us to help them with food and that they are in need of it. And we do not have anything to donate to them. We kept praying for them, and telling them to go in peace and that we shall continue to pray for them.
In Rwanda, the Food Price Inflation has continued to increase very much. But now is beyond there are no food in communities.
For the information look at what World bank is saying in regarding of this to Rwanda February 16, 2023, click here.
In that link you found out that in Rwanda we had a domestic decline in food production (in 2022, food crops production experienced a 2.1% decline, with a 5.1% decline in the 2nd agricultural season).
Reverend and to all brothers and sisters in Christ, we kindly request you to stand in prayers with us in regarding of the donation of food to God's people. We shall be thankful to God for His grace and love to His people in Jesus Christ.
God bless you and God bless your country of Canada.
In His Services!
Pastor Jean Claude MANIRAGABA
Church President
Reformed Lutheran Church of Rwanda
Founder & President
Harvest of Friends and Compassion
St. Olaf's Lutheran of Kindersley and Trinity Lutheran of Brooks have applied for full membership in CALC. As directed by our governing documents, the National Council accepted their applications at a meeting held on March 10, 2023, and admitted them as Associate Member congregations. They will be admitted as full member congregations as the first order of business at the business meeting of CALC's annual general convention to be held on April 22, 2023.
The March For Life 2023
May 11, 2023 12:30 -3:30 PM (EDT)
Theme: STAND FIRM
“Stand firm therefore, having belted your waist with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness.” (Ephesians 6:14)
All pictures and content from the event's website.
Rally & March 2023
May 11th | 12:30 -3:30 pm EDT
12:30 pm – Rally on Parliament Hill
1:30 pm – March downtown Ottawa
2:30 pm – Silent No More Awareness Testimonies
3:00 pm Closing Prayer Service: Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute
The National March for Life, typically the largest annual protest on Parliament Hill, takes place in May to mark the Day of Infamy, when the 1969 omnibus bill passed under Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, decriminalizing abortion. Pro-lifers rally in front of our Parliament building and march through downtown Ottawa, demanding that our elected representatives fight for the right to life of every human being.
The National March for Life is organized by Campaign Life Coalition, the leading pro-life and pro-family organization in Canada. The March began in 1998, with a mere 700 in attendance. At first, there was a bit of support for the March from political, cultural and spiritual leaders, but as the event grew, so did the extent of support. It remains a grassroots movement today, bringing together pro-lifers of all ages, including thousands of young people.
The event is the most prominent forum for pro-life Canadians to demand justice for the 100,000 children who are killed in their mothers’ wombs each year by abortion. Currently, Canada is the only Western nation with zero legal protection for the preborn, meaning abortion is permitted for any reason or no reason whatsoever, up till the moment of birth.
Since the legalization of euthanasia and assisted suicide in 2016, the March has also become an opportunity to condemn the steadily increasing number of vulnerable citizens killed by medical professionals under the euphemism “MAiD” or “medical assistance in dying.”
Each year, we arrange for several speakers, including pro-life parliamentarians, religious leaders, and activists, to deliver statements that call our government to account, and inspire and encourage rally attendees to take action.
Afterwards, thousands of pro-life Canadians begin to march through the streets of Ottawa. They are led by the Ottawa police and volunteer marshals, who keep the route safe and clear.
When the March ends, people re-assemble on the lawn of Parliament Hill to listen to moving testimonies from the post-abortive men and women of the Silent No More Awareness campaign, which are followed by a prayer service.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 march was entirely virtual. In 2021, we held a “hybrid” event, with an in-person rally and March for Life in Ottawa, complemented by a full program of virtual events, which remain available for viewing on our March for Life Canada YouTube channel.
Last year we continued the Hybrid model due to uncertainty regarding the ongoing lockdowns. This year’s march will be our 26th. While we are still planning extensive online programming, including our Life on Film series, we’re happy to announce a return to a full roster of in-person events. The Candlelight Vigil, Rally on the Hill and March for Life, Rose Dinner, Youth Banquet, and Youth Summit – are all coming back.
Click here to access the "National March for Life" website.
EWTN will be broadcast the event live. Click here to access EWTN EWTN is Eternal Word Television Network - a Catholic Broadcaster headquartered in the USA.
World Water Day
Dear Members of CALC,
Have you ever thought about how many cups of water you drink each day? What about how much water you use to clean? There are so many uses for water! It is an amazing and needed resource – which makes it all the more devastating when any child, woman or man doesn’t have access to clean, safe water.
Wednesday, March 22 is World Water Day. An international day to recognize the importance of water in our lives and to recognize the billions of people who must live without access to safe water.
And water scarcity is food scarcity – because we need water for food.
So, on the Sunday before World Water Day - which is Sunday, March 19 – we’re asking you to make note of this day in your church service. We have provided aWorship Resource which even includes an activity for children. This year, we have also created a3-minute videowhich is mainly a prayer for this issue.
At Canadian Foodgrains Bank we really believe that as A Christian Response to Hunger, we must take these issues before God regularly in prayer. And for World Water Day, I’m asking you to join us.
Thank you for your compassion,
Arisnel Mesidor
Public Engagement Manager
We hope you were blessed by this month's edition of the e-Connector. Our hope and prayer is that this electronic newsletter will truly keep CALC informed and connected.
If your congregation is celebrating a milestone, such an anniversary, the installation of a new pastor, new construction, a mission activity, and/or the launch of a special new ministry, let us know. We would love to share your joy with the other members of CALC
Contact info for the editorial team: Pastor Ed Skutshek: Tel: (250) 801-3860 Email: skutsheke@gmail.com Sarah Dunphy: Tel: (613) 324-6554 Email: sarahdunphy@calc.ca
