Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada

Member church of the Lutheran World Federation

Spotlight

Ash Wednesday

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On Ash Wednesday, Bishop Michael and his Assistants invite you to gather for a Synod-Wide Live-Streamed Worship Service at 6:30pm EST (7:30pm AST).

Those gathered for this unique Synod-Wide worship opportunity will be invited to impose their own ashes (if ashes have been provided by their local congregation), or make a sign of the cross using water or simply their finger.

All worship materials (including a copy of Bishop Michael’s sermon), live-stream links, and other resources will be available on this page one week in advance. Resources may be reproduced and shared with those who do not have access or ability to participate in mediated worship.

Bishop Michael and Pastors Christie, Doug and Adam look forward to gathering with you as we begin the season of Lent.  

All The Colors of Christmas

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We are pleased to share a very special project with you today, that we hope will be useful to you as we enter into these final days of Advent and prepare for the season of Christmas.

All The Colors of Christmas is a book that my assistants and I have enjoyed reading and sharing with those we love over these past few weeks. At a time when so very much is unfamiliar to us, this book reminds us of the unchanging promise that comes to us anew each Christmas.

We have so enjoyed this book, that we reached out to the publisher who has granted us permission to record a reading of this story and reproduce it’s artwork for use in mediated worship across the Eastern Synod and ELCIC.

This video is now available on our YouTube Channel, across our Social Media platforms, and will be available to download through the BOX Resource Library for Worship Leaders.

Please feel free to use this video in your mediated worship services, share with your congregations, use it as a bedtime story with your loved ones. Perhaps it might even be used in place of a sermon on the First Sunday of Christmas!

Blessings to you, dear friends. Please know that I, and my assistants, continue to hold you in prayer. May God bless you and keep you as you prepare to experience the good news with joy and gladness!

Bishop Michael

Worship Resources for the Seasons of Advent and Christmas

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Over the past number of weeks, the Task Force for the Resumption of In-Person Worship has been working with leaders across the Eastern Synod to develop a new series of worship resources to support congregations during the seasons of Advent & Christmas. 

Today, we are pleased to share this robust collection with you!

Worship Resources for the Seasons of Advent and ChristmasDownload
Worship Resources for the Seasons of Advent and Christmas features a number of new original worship texts crafted by Rostered and Lay Leaders across the Eastern Synod. 

In addition to these liturgical texts, we are also pleased to share a number of musical resources for use during in-person or mediated worship:

+ Trevor Hicks has composed and recorded a new musical resource entitled, Lead Us Towards Christ, to enhance Advent Candle liturgies.

+ Rev. Mark Ehlebracht will be sharing musical recordings from St. Peter’s TV Ministry as they become available. St. Peter’s will also be sharing a complete service for use on the first Sunday of Christmas (Dec 27, 2020).

+ Tim McNabb, Director of Music at Resurrection, Halifax will be sharing a number of creative re-imaginings of beloved Advent hymns from Evangelical Lutheran Worship.

In addition to the PDF document attached above, all liturgical and musical resources are available for download through our BOX Resource Library. If you are not currently connected with this growing resource library, please contact Liz Zehr (ezehr@elcic.ca) or Cindy Stubbs (cstubbs@elcic.ca) to obtain access. 

Lastly, I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation to all those who participated in this project. Thank you for your gift of time and creativity! 

Peace to you, as you plan and prepare!
Rev. Adam Snook
Assistant to the Bishop

Our Ministry Together – Candidacy

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Grace and peace to you!

As October draws to a close, I am pleased to share the second video in the Our Ministry Together project.

Our Ministry Together is a series of twelve short videos intended to highlight and celebrate areas of our common mission across the Eastern Synod.

Each month we will spend time hearing from, seeing, and learning about our synodical ministries, many of which are funded through congregational benevolence.

In today’s video, we spend time with Rev. Doug Reble, Assistant to the Bishop and Candidate for Ministry, Bethan Riehle-Johns. Together, they explore the work of the Candidacy Committee, and our close relationship with Martin Luther University College.

We encourage you to share these videos on social media, in virtual worship services, and during in-person gatherings. All videos will be featured on our YouTube channel, and alternatively can be downloaded by accessing a shared BOX folder. 

For more information about the Our Ministry Together project, or to submit photos that highlight our Eastern Synod ministries for upcoming videos, please contact Rev. Adam Snook (asnook@elcic.ca).

Thank you for your gifts of prayer and financial support!This is, indeed, Our Ministry Together!

Rev. Adam Snook
Assistant to the Bishop

Bishop’s Company

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Bishop’s Company for Mission – October, 2020. Please sign up for one of the sessions below. A Zoom link will be sent to you along with instructions as to how to join online. See you in October!

Register – October 14 @ 7pm
Register – October 21 @ 1pm
Register – October 31 @ 1pm

Image of Luther Hammering His 95 Theses is credited to: Ferdinand Pauwels / Public domain https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ferdinand_Pauwels_-_Luther_hammers_his_95_theses_to_the_door.jpg

Music: “Dreams” from www.bensound.com

A Person of Hope and Kindness

Posted: | Filed Under: Local, Spotlight

The time of COVID-19 has sped up what is a very fast-paced ministry on any given day, says Rev. Dan Bowyer, who serves as the chaplain at Trinity Village, Kitchener, a long-term care centre that is a ministry of the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, full-communion partner of the Anglican Church of Canada.

Asked if in retrospect he felt adequately prepared for dealing with the pandemic crisis in his role as a healthcare chaplain, Bowyer points out that he is thankful that he has served in ordained ministry in the Diocese of Huron for fourteen years before accepting this role at a long-term care facility.

“The chaplaincy ministry at Trinity Village is not one that I would have wanted to begin without having had some pastoral experience in ordained ministry”, says Bowyer.

   He admits that he often found himself recalling the words of his supervisor at his parish internship placement back in the summer of 2005, before he was ordained:

“He pointed out the importance of being present in the moment, so that God’s presence could be made known for those I am called to serve in the times of great pastoral need and to find time afterwards to do my own processing.  I have never forgotten this, and it has been particularly helpful now.”

Part of the stress during the pandemic has come from the unpredictability of what each day will bring, says Bowyer. Strict rules introduced at the home care facility have imposed various limitations to the usual way of providing his ministry. Worship, discussion groups, music ministries – all activities he typically leads or co-ordinates at Trinity Village – require group gatherings, and those have been on hold for months. Rev. Bowyer’s role has been directed to one-on-one spiritual and pastoral daily support. And this has been done in difficult circumstances with limited movements throughout the facility while wearing personal protective equipment.

    “We have to change into new PPE when we move from one area of Trinity Village to another and I change into new PPE immediately after I have visited and offered prayer in the room of a resident who has COVID-19”, says Bowyer.

   As the numbers of infected declines and life at the residence slowly returns to what resembles the “old normal”, the chaplain is able to contemplate on what has given him strength to persist in his role in the last several months.

   “This experience has shown me that God’s presence is faithful in the midst of challenges. Prayer and the knowledge of God’s guidance with me, first and foremost has been the source of my strength, hope and encouragement”, reflects Bowyer.

   Many of the staff have told Rev. Dan that prayer has helped them in their everyday tasks throughout these difficult times.

   “Dan’s gentle words of comfort and encouragement gave many of us the strength and courage”, says Charlotte, Trinity Village RPN summing up a notion which emerged at this time of crisis – that having a chaplain on staff at any long term centre is a necessity.

READ REV. HILTON GOMES’ STORY: ‘Give the best you have, and it will never be enough’

   For Trinity Village residents and their families these last few months have only reaffirmed that Rev. Dan Bowyer’s presence covers much more than providing religious services. In the words of Natalie, one of the family members, the time of anxiousness and fear amplified the need to have a chaplain at the long-term care facility, especially one like Rev. Dan:

   “He is a person of hope and calmness – a reason to smile”.

Rev. Dan Bowyer is thankful to his wife Sarah who has been a constant support amid his exhaustion. He has also much appreciated the pastoral care and support of Bishop Todd who has checked in with him pastorally numerous times.  His gratitude goes to Bishop Mike at the Eastern Synod of the ELCiC, his Archdeacon Megan and all colleagues in the Deanery of Waterloo of the Diocese of Huron who have assured him of their prayers and have sent gifts to Trinity Village for the staff, like donations of lunch and “ear savers” for staff’s masks.

   “I have been blessed by God’s work through so many different people to make known his presence both with me and with Trinity Village in these days”, concludes Rev. Bowyer.

Davor Milicevic
From the Huron Church News
Used with permission