calgary unity lutheran church
The Full Story
Established in September 2022, the Lutheran Bethlehem Fellowship emerged with a founding group of 15 individuals from various Lutheran congregations, united in their commitment to regular Sunday gatherings and Saturday Bible studies. For the generosity of Rev. Kristian Wold and the Church Council of the Hope Lutheran Church, we are free to use the Muti-purpose Room for Sunday Worship. This initiative arose as a providential opportunity to extend outreach to students hailing from Hong Kong pursuing post-secondary education in Calgary, as well as to new families and their children from June 2020. With the increasing likelihood of more individuals from Hong Kong immigrating to Canada, particularly Alberta, drawn by its affordable housing and cost of living, we foresee a growing demand that our current worship space may not adequately accommodate. In response to this, we sense a divine prompting to either establish a new mission church within the framework of Hope Lutheran Church or explore potential ministry partnerships to better serve our expanding community.
The important dates
01
SEP 2022
25
FEB 2023
27
MAY 2023
Started with a group of 15 individuals from various Lutheran congregations
Consultations with Bishop Larry Kochendorfer, Rev. Kristian Wold, Joyce McKenny, Council Chair, and Fellowship members about using the main sanctuary for Sunday worship
Meeting with Bishop Larry Kochendorfer and the members of the Fellowship to discuss the official planting of a new mission church
Vision
We inspired by God to learn as we grow in our Christian Faith, connect students and families in our community, share Christ’s good news by what we say and do.
Mission
We pursue our mission by
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Nurturing our members through Bible Study of our Christian Basic Faith and doctrine from a Lutheran perspective
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Building relationship by engaging fellowship and caring through services in their physical and spiritual needs
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Sharing Christ’s good news by what we say and do
Our core value
1
Faithfulness
God always comes first in your life and everything you do should be in service to Him. Whether things are going well or are difficult, remaining faithful to God.
2
Love
Jesus’ main mission on Earth was to spread love throughout the world, and for His disciples are called to follow in His footsteps in their daily lives.
3
Patience
It is an important part of loving and understanding one another. By being patient, we can better appreciate others and what they are going through, putting us in a better position to help them.
4
Joy
Joy involves being grateful for the life God has given you and being happy with the other people around you and celebrating their lives.
5
Service
Service means helping others who may be less fortunate than us. This is what Jesus did during His life, and it is one of the ways to spread love throughout the world. Serving others including helping someone in need, volunteering your time and efforts, and even charitable giving.
Confession of Faith
The Confession of Faith shall be that of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC)
session I
This congregation confesses the triune God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—as the one true God. It proclaims the Father as Creator and Preserver; his Son, Jesus Christ, as Redeemer and Lord; and the Holy Spirit as Regenerator and Sanctifier.
session II
This congregation confesses that the gospel is the revelation of God's saving will and grace in Jesus Christ, which he imparts through Word and Sacrament. Through these means of grace the Holy Spirit creates believers and unites them with their Lord and with one another in the fellowship of the Holy Christian Church.
session III
This congregation confesses the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the inspired Word of God, through which God still speaks, and as the only source of the church's doctrine and the authoritative standard for the faith and life of the church.
session IV
This congregation subscribes to the documents of the Book of Concord of 1580 as witnesses to the way in which the Holy Scriptures have been correctly understood, explained and confessed for the sake of the gospel, namely:
a. The Apostles’, the Nicene, and the Athanasian Creeds as the chief confessions of the Christian faith;
b. The unaltered Augsburg Confession as its basic formulation of Christian doctrine;
c. Luther's Small Catechism as a clear summary of Christian doctrine; and
d. The Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Luther's Large Catechism, the Smalcald Articles with the Treatise, and the Formula of Concord as further witnesses to the unaltered Augsburg Confession.