Come, share the gifts of God with us,

and serve the world together,

at

OUR SAVIOUR'S LUTHERAN CHURCH,

10 Farrand Street (at River),

THUNDER BAY, ONTARIO, CANADA

807.344.1926 osimm@tbaytel.net

Our congregation is located on the traditional territory of the Ojibwa of Anemki Wajiw (the Fort William First Nation), a signatory to the Robinson-Superior Treaty of 1850.

Welcome!

We invite you to be part of our community of grace and faith, active in Thunder Bay for the past 118 years. We seek to continue to be a place where people can grow in their understanding of God's forgiving love revealed through Jesus. Gathered in to worship, God's Spirit calls us out to share in word and action what it means to be people of God.

OUR VISION:

"Come share the gifts of God - serve the world"

Our Facebook page is 'Our Saviour's Thunder Bay'

Our YouTube channel is Our Saviour's Lutheran Church of Thunder Bay.

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Recorded Services:

Our services, are recorded and uploaded to our YouTube channel.

New - June 29 - Time after Pentecost (Service of the Word)

https://youtu.be/wglF6DVgOpk

June 22 - Time after Pentecost (Service of the Word)

https://youtu.be/9QZqpIW4bco

June 15 - The Holy Trinity (Holy Communion)

https://youtu.be/AR2bq0j3eS4

June 8 - Day of Pentecost (Service of the Word)

https://youtu.be/K_jcJR1Y0Jo

Newsletter:

To receive a copy of the monthly 'Ambassador' by email, please send a request to osimm@tbaytel.net.

The text version of our June 2025 Newsletter is on the page 'Our Newsletter'.

Deadline for Summer 2025 'Ambassador' articles: June 30.

What's Happening, July 7-13

Monday

8:30 p.m. Friendly A.A. Group

Tuesday

5:45 p.m. TOPS

Wednesday

Thursday

8:00 p.m. A.A. meeting

Friday

Saturday

Sunday - Time after Pentecost

10:30 a.m. Service of the Word

11:15 a.m. Fellowship Hour

Worship

We gather each Sunday at 10:30 a.m., celebrating Holy Communion on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of the month and festivals. In July we will share the sacrament on the 6th and 20th.

Sundays July 13 and 27 will be Service of the Word.

Worship with the Band returns on Sun. Sept. 28.

As we meet, we record the services. They are uploaded later on Sunday to our YouTube channel, ‘Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church of Thunder Bay’.

Closed captions are available on the video – corrections and song lyrics are added as time allows.

Texts of the bulletin and sermon are also mailed out on Saturday: sign up for our enews: osimm@tbaytel.net. They are posted on our website on Saturday: www.oursaviourstbay.org .

Holy Communion at Our Saviour's

At the time of the sharing of Communion, all are invited to come up the centre aisle to the foot of the chancel steps to receive the bread and the wine/grape juice. Gluten-free wafers are available. After taking a glass, please go off to the side and drink. There is a receptacle for the used glasses as we go back to our seats via the side aisles.

If you are unable to come to the front, please tell the usher and the elements will be brought to you.

Those who do not receive Communion are welcome to come forward for a blessing.

If watching online, when the presiding minister says, ‘The body and blood of Christ given and shed for you’, we welcome all to take and eat a piece of bread, and then to take a glass of wine or other beverage, remembering and giving thanks for the promises of grace, forgiveness, love, new life, and community given us in Christ Jesus.

The Health Unit continues to recommend the wearing of masks in public areas when exposed to the corona virus or immunocompromised.

The Congregational Council endorses this for those who wish to wear masks, and continues to make masks and hand sanitizer available in the front hall and Immanuel Hall.

Children:

The Summer edition of our seasonal children's' activity pack is available for pick-up or drop off. Email:

osimm@tbaytel.net.

Our Sunday School classes normally are twice monthly, on the first and third Sundays. We are now on break until after Labour Day. There will be a children's message each Sunday during worship for the children who attend.

The sessions, for children in JK – Gr. 6, begin downstairs in Immanuel Hall at 10:30 a.m. for Bible stories, crafts, and other activities. Then those in the class come up to share Holy Communion. See Karen Bishop, co-ordinator, for more info.

Activity sheets for each Sunday are available in the front hall and are also emailed on Thursday. To sign up for these:

osimm@tbaytel.net .

There are Adventure activity bags under the mailboxes inside the entrance to the sanctuary, for children to enjoy during worship.

Food Collection

Food donations received in the wicker basket in the front hall are being given to the Gathering Table’s food bank and to those in need. Thank you!

Churches mark International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia

May 13, 2025

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and The Anglican Church of Canada join with people and communities around the world in observing the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT) on May 17, 2025.

Raising awareness of the violence and discrimination experienced by members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community is an important step in creating safe, healthy communities for all people. An ongoing concern is that deliberate disinformation takes aim at care and safer spaces for transgender and gender non-conforming youth; hateful rhetoric, discriminatory legislation, and restrictions directly place their health, safety, and well-being at risk.

The 2025 theme for IDAHOBIT is The power of communities, reflecting the diversity and richness within 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, from the grass roots to the global, and celebrating our varied and intersecting backgrounds, identities, and experiences. The theme for 2025 highlights the strength and resilience that emerges from our collective solidarity, recognising the contributions of human rights defenders, 2SLGBTQIA+ civil society groups, allies, and millions of people in our communities who support human rights and collective liberation.

Please join us in:

praying for the dignity and acceptance for all people, for the safety of those made more vulnerable by recent government actions, for a world where everyone finds loving community, and for God’s guidance in our thoughts, words, and deeds;
providing spaces and opportunities for safe, respectful conversations, where people feel support and love, and experience ongoing affirmation and transformation;
celebrating the gifts for witness, service, spiritual care and leadership that 2SLGBTQIA+ people offer to faith communities;
learning more about human rights, terminology, and pathways to liberation for 2SLGBTQIA+ people;
speaking out against rhetoric that dehumanizes and demonizes anyone made in the image of God, and promoting accurate information about our neighbours and issues of public concern;
advocating for 2SLGBTQIA+ rights at the local, provincial, and federal level; and
preparing for the possibility of providing welcome to those fleeing persecution based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.

May the God of love and liberation hear our lament. May each of us be bold in our witness. May we all work to bring an end to attacks against people God has named beloved. May the power of communities enrich the life and work of the church.

For it was you who formed my inward parts;

you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Wonderful are your works;

that I know very well.

Psalm 139:13-14

Yours in Christ,

+Susan C Johnson

The Rev. Susan Johnson

National Bishop

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada

+Anne Germond

The Most Rev. Anne Germond

Acting Primate

Anglican Church of Canada

ELCIC National Bishop calls for prayer for peace in the Middle East

June 16, 2025

Dear friends in Christ,

I invite you to join with me in praying for peace in the Middle East and for our partner church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL).

For nearly two years, the people in Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem have been suffering under devastating violence. Now, rather than an end to this bloodshed that we have prayed for, we are facing a war of a new scale that threatens to engulf the entire region in catastrophe. Israel’s recent attacks on Iran are a dangerous escalation of tensions in the region, to which Iran has already begun their retaliation.

Since the beginning of June 2025, Bishop Dr. Sani Ibrahim Azar, Bishop of the ELCJHL, has written two letters about the deteriorating situation in the Land we call Holy. In the first letter, Bishop Azar condemned the June 5, 2025 attack against the Al Ahli Hospital and all attacks against hospitals, clinics, and other places of healing in Gaza ( https://elcic.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Statement-on-OngoingHospital-Attacks.pdf). And, in a letter sent June 14, 2025, ( https://elcic.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Letter-from-Bishop-Azar-6.14-English-1.pdf ). Bishop Azar expressed grave concern for the expanded war, “As we have prayed fervently for 20 months for the end to the genocide in Gaza, we pray now for an immediate end to these new acts of war that have already caused suffering and death for hundreds of people and threaten to do so for thousands more.”

Through our partnership with the Anglican Church of Canada, KAIROS and other ecumenical partners, we have been fervently advocating for a cease fire, access to humanitarian aid and an end to occupation so a just peace can begin. I invite you to consider sharing your concerns with your local Member of Parliament.

Our relationship with the ELCJHL is long-standing and I am deeply concerned for our siblings in the region. Prior to this recent escalation, I was able to be with Bishop Azar and the members of the ELCJHL to see and hear first-hand how the ongoing war has restricted their movement and is dimming their hope. This visit was a reminder to the people of the ELCJHL that they are not alone. Our presence, prayer and accompaniment is a vital expression of our shared faith and commitment to justice and peace.

Let us pray: God of Hope, we pray for all those impacted by war, death and destruction. We lift our eyes to the one who brings comfort, peace and justice to the world—our Lord Jesus Christ. Even as the ground shakes beneath our feet, we keep our trust in Christ. Holy One, bring an end to this violence and guide our work for true peace throughout Gaza, Israel, the Westbank, and the whole Middle East. Amen.

Yours in Christ, Rev. Susan C. Johnson, National Bishop Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC)

World Council of Churches: Ecumenical Prayer Cycle

The Ecumenical Prayer Cycle takes us through every region of the world over the course of a year. Praying for each place on earth and its people at least once a year, we affirm our solidarity with Christians all over the world, brothers and sisters living in diverse situations, experiencing diverse problems and sharing diverse gifts. Pray with us!

Prayer is at the very heart of the ecumenical movement. Jesus prayed that we – his followers – may all be one. When we pray with and for one another, we can feel God’s gift of unity. Prayer sustains us on our way towards a unity that all can see, “so that the world may believe”. (John 17:21)

The suggested prayer texts are based on the publication "Pilgrim Prayer – an Ecumenical Prayer Cycle". The book and the website offer valuable aids for intercessory prayers, prayer on behalf of and in solidarity with others.

Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda

06 - 12 July 2025

https://www.oikoumene.org/resources/prayer-cycle/sudan-south-sudan-uganda

Kenya, Tanzania

29 June - 05 July 2025

https://www.oikoumene.org/resources/prayer-cycle/kenya-tanzania

OFFERINGS

Thank you for your offerings, sharing the gifts of God so that together we might serve the world!

During our worship, you are able to share your donations during the passing of the plates at the Offering.

Envelopes for your 2025 offerings are available. If you wish to receive a supply, please contact the office, 344-1926, osimm@tbaytel.net.

At other times, and for those unable to attend worship, here are options:

1. Mail envelopes to the church

Mailing address: 10 Farrand St. Thunder Bay P7A 3H5

2. Drop envelopes off at church

You can drop off envelopes in the mailbox beside the parking lot doors. Calling to let us know, 344-1926, is appreciated, so that the offering can be brought inside as soon as possible.

3. E-Transfer online banking

a. If you use online banking, log into your account

b. Add Our Saviour’s as a recipient using our office email address:

osimm.office@tbaytel.net

c. Enter the desired amount and click ‘send’.

4. Sign up for Pre-Authorized Withdrawal (PAR)

You are able to have your monthly offerings directly deposited from your financial institution to that of the church. You can designate it 1-3 ways: Weekly, Building, Forward in Mission. You also can receive undated envelopes for other offerings. To sign up, call the office. If you desire to make any changes at any time of the year, or if you have updates on your address or financial institution, please call the church office, 344-1926.

5. Canada Helps

Our regional synod office has set up Canada Helps button link, you can use to donate to congregations. The charitiable donation receipt will be issued by Canada Helps directly. (It is important to note that there is a cost to using Canada Helps as our donation service. Please considering adding 4% to your donation to cover these costs.)

http://mnosynod.org/donate/

Again, we are so thankful for your faithful generosity.

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