Christ Lutheran is a member church body belonging to the Canadian Association of Lutheran Congregations
In November 1996, Christ Lutheran Church in Morden, MB left the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) and joined the Canadian Association of Lutheran Congregations (CALC). When Christ Lutheran joined CALC there were only four congregations, a situation that had not changed much since a decade earlier. As of December 2014, CALC numbers 33 congregations – the third largest Lutheran church body in Canada after the ELCIC and Lutheran Church-Canada – serving congregations in BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario. A lot of the recent growth has arisen as an aftermath of controversial motions passed at the ELCIC’s National Convention in July 2011. CALC was birthed in the early 1990s out of the ELCIC by lay people and clergy who were uncomfortable with the theological trends, particularly a departure from the authority of Scripture, which were already evident in the ELCIC so soon after its creation in 1986. First constituted in Calgary in October 1992, CALC became a Canadian federally-chartered church body through an Act of Parliament in June 1994.
(A more extensive history, entitled, “CALC – Proud History of Canadian Lutherans Who Chose to Take a Stand”, is available for download at CALC’s web site by clicking here.)
CALC was formed to unite, serve, equip, encourage and empower congregations and individuals who share a common belief that:
- The Holy Bible is the inspired and inerrant Word of God
- Our faith and life is rooted in and is shaped by the Holy Bible and our Lutheran Confessions
- Our mission is found in Christ’s Great Commission: His call to us to be His disciples and make others His disciples.
CALC believes that Christ’s Great Commission is lived out in the local congregation, yet, each congregation is a part of the greater Body of Christ and naturally seeks union with other congregations in order to more effectively fulfill its mission.
For more about CALC, go to www.calc.ca