On behalf of Chief Executive Officer, Debby Riepert, I am excited to announce that our 29th Annual Golf Tournament  is approaching! Please mark your calendars for Monday, June 1st, 2026 This year’s tournament will support the “Trinity Village Housing & Services Capital Expansion Project”. Funds raised will help redevelop the Trinity Village Studios to create more housing and expand programs and services to enhance the lives of older adults in our community. We Can Do Far More Together Than on Our Own More details about the tournament including registration and other information will be shared soon. In the meantime, please save the date, start practicing your swing and get your best Hawaiian look ready! 

Join us in the Yukon for a four-day immersive gathering designed to heal and inspire. A partnership of the Anglican, Lutheran, and United Church traditions, this practice-forward retreat offers a restorative balance of deep contemplation and vibrant, embodied worship.

Whitehorse Worship Arts Festival | Experience Worship & Inspiration – Register Today

www.worshipartsfest.ca includes further festival details and recommendations for those traveling for the first time to the Yukon, and includes a promo code for discounted flights to Whitehorse courtesy of one of our local sponsors, Air North! We would be honoured to welcome our siblings from the East to the Yukon this July. “Early Bird” registration pricing is available now through March 15th.

With gratitude for your partnership in the Gospel,

This three day gathering for lay and rostered leaders focuses on developing the skills, relationships, and theological imagination needed for collaborative ministry in a rapidly changing church. Together, we will explore two central questions: What is the church for, now? and What ministry do we need to sustain a vital Christian presence in communities across Canada? Through keynote presentations – including from Rev. Dr. Kayko Driedger Hesslein, Lutheran Theological Seminary, Saskatoon – workshops, and structured conversations, participants will engage emerging models of church and ministry that move beyond the colonial, Christendom patterns we have inherited. 

More information is available at https://www.sharedway.ca/
The early registration deadline is March 20. 

Join us Feb. 23rd for ‘Hearing, Seeing, Connecting: Making Hybrid Worship Meaningful for All

Emily Graff: New Pastor for First Lutheran

Pastor Emily Graff, M. Div., has taken up duties at First Lutheran in downtown Toronto effective February 1. Her installation will take place on Sunday, February 22, 3:00 pm. Pastor Katherine Gohm, Assistant to the Bishop of the Eastern Synod will perform the installation, and Pastor Adam Snook, Assistant to the Bishop of the Eastern Synod will preach. The service is open to the public. All are welcome; refreshments to follow.

Pastor Graff grew up in Illinois. A graduate of Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota, she was ordained in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, in 2024. She and her wife and daughter have moved to Toronto from North Carolina, where she has been serving a Lutheran parish since ordination.

First Lutheran Church has a mission to serve its downtown neighborhood, including the Toronto Metropolitan University community, the homeless (especially through its Little Free Pantry), condo dwellers, and newcomers to the GTA. First Lutheran is celebrating its 175^th anniversary in 2026. The friendly and diverse congregation holds services every Sunday at 10:30 am at 116 Bond Street. 

For more information contact Masha Koyama, Church Council Chair- chair@firstelc.ca