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Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada  

Although the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) was formed in 1986, the history of Lutherans in present-day Canada goes back almost 400 years. The first Lutheran worship service in North America took place in 1619 near Churchill in northern Manitoba. It was led by a Danish pastor, Rasmus Jensen, who accompanied an ill-fated expedition searching for a northwest passage from Europe to the Far East. Early German Lutheran settlement in the eastern province of Nova Scotia began over 250 years ago.

To find pastors and serve communities, relationships developed among various Lutheran synods and councils in North America. Many of the institutional links for Canadian Lutherans were north-south into the United States of America rather than across Canada. In 1967 and 1968, the Canadian congregations of the American Lutheran Church formed the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Canada (ELCC). In 1986, the ELCC joined with the Canada Section of the Lutheran Church in America to form the ELCIC.

There are approximately 189,000 baptized ELCIC members gathered in 627 congregations. Rev. Raymond Schultz serves as National Bishop. There are five ELCIC synods ranging in membership from 15,000 to 73,000 members. A bishop serves each of these. The ELCIC national offices are located in Winnipeg.

ELCIC Worship Web site

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