The Lutheran Church as a movement within Christendom is traditionally dated from October 31, 1517. On that day Martin Luther posted 95 theses (statements) in Wittenberg, Germany, questioning some of the practices in the church of his day, particularly the sale of indulgences (certificates signed by the Pope, reducing the time a soul must spend in purgatory).
The term "Lutheran" was first applied as an insult to the followers of Luther. Luther objected to the name for a different reason. He wanted his followers to be know only as "Christian" but "Lutheran" has stuck.
With Bible, Catechism and Hymnbook packed among their belongings, Lutherans formed an important group of immigrants to Canada. During the winter of 1619 a group of Danes, under Captain Jens Munck and with Chaplain Rasmus Jensen, conducted Lutheran worship services on the shores of Hudson Bay.
Canada's first Lutheran congregation was St. George's of Halifax. It was built in 1755 by Lutheran settlers who accompanied Lord Cornwallis to Halifax. Although part of the Anglican Church for over a hundred years now, the church building, also known as Little Dutch Church, is shared by both denominations today. Not far away, in Lunenburg, stands Zion Lutheran Church, founded in 1772. It is the oldest Lutheran congregation in Canada. In its tower hangs the bell which had once rung in the chapel tower of Fort Louisburg.
The number of Lutherans in Canada increased after the American Revolution when many Americans of German background emigrated to Canada. Not long after, waves of German immigrants poured into Ontario. By 1861 there were enough congregations to organize a Canada Synod. A little later, as the West was opened, large numbers of German, Scandinavian and Icelandic Lutherans were among the founds of this vast part of our country.
(Excerpt from a Lutheran Council in Canada publication)
The oldest congregation of our synod, St. Matthew's, Spruce Grove, was organized in 1891. Less than twenty years later ten antecedent Lutheran church bodies were working in Alberta. A merger in 1917 reduced this number to eight; one in 1930 reduced it to seven; one in 1960 to five; one in 1962 to two. By then the Canada District of the American Lutheran Church was semi-autonomous as the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Canada (ELCC) and the Canadian synods of the Lutheran Church in America as the LCA-Canada Section (LCA-CS).
On January 2, 1967 the ELCC began functioning as a full autonomous church body. At its first convention it extended an invitation to the LCA-CS and the semi-autonomous Canadian districts of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, later known as the Lutheran Church-Canada (LC-C), to enter into negotiations to form one Canadian Lutheran Church. Both accepted, but soon the LC-C withdrew. (Note that hence the Missouri Synod is not one of the antecedent church bodies otherwise referred to in this sketch.) The ELCC and LCA-CS continued negotiations, culminating in the constituting convention of our present Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) May 16 - 19, 1985. The new church body began functioning legally on January 1, 1986.
The constitution of the ELCIC provided for five synods, of which ours is one. The constituting convention of the Synod of Alberta and the Territories was held June 6 - 8, 1985. It too became a legal entity on January 1, 1986, with its head office in Edmonton. Subsequently an unofficial office opened in Calgary.
The constitution of the ELCIC provided for officers and a national church council to oversee the ongoing life of the church between biennial conventions. The synods had a corresponding structure. In 1995, a national convention resolution clearly defined the areas of responsibility between the national church and the synodical church. (For a copy of this chart, please call the synod office at 780, 439-2636).
With reference to our synod, its executive officers are: bishop, chairperson, secretary, and treasurer. With the Synod Council, these oversee the ongoing life of the synod between its biennial conventions. Our Synod has altered the structure with which it began currently using program committees ordered by the Synod Council which will meet the priorities of the Synod. With the other western synods our synod is responsible for underwriting the cost of operating Lutheran Theological Seminary, Saskatoon. Hence our synod in convention elects representatives to the Seminary Board of Governors. As do the other synods, the Synod of Alberta and the Territories negotiates a national remittance amount annually to provide for the ELCIC operating budget.
Our synod is divided into five conferences. These meet in annual conventions for information, inspiration and to elect synod clergy delegates to the national church convention every other year. The deans meet occasionally with the bishop as an advisory council. They assist the bishop by performing such responsibilities as he/she assigns to them.
As one of the constituent synods of the ELCIC, our synod participates in a number of wider fellowships: Lutheran Council in Canada; Canadian Lutheran World Relief and Global Hunger and Development Appeal; Lutheran World Federation and the World Council of Churches.
Some comparative figures give a statistical sense of the constituency:
In 1986 there were 40,761 baptized members gathered in 142 congregations, served by 191 clergy with a budget of $994,000.
In 1996 there were 43,682 baptized members gathered in 153 congregations, served by 217 clergy with a budget of $946,200.
(This was prepared by The Rev. Dr. George O. Evenson)
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