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
807.344.1926 osimm@tbaytel.net
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.
"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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Our services, are recorded and uploaded to our YouTube channel.
New - July 13 - Time after Pentecost (Service of the Word)
July 6 - Time after Pentecost (Holy Communion)
June 29 - Time after Pentecost (Service of the Word)
June 22 - Time after Pentecost (Service of the Word)
To receive a copy of the monthly 'Ambassador' by email, please send a request to osimm@tbaytel.net.
The text version of our Summer 2025 Newsletter is on the page 'Our Newsletter'.
Deadline for September 2025 'Ambassador' articles: September 2.
8:30 p.m. Friendly A.A. Group
5:45 p.m. TOPS
8:00 p.m. A.A. meeting
10:30 a.m. Holy Communion
11:15 a.m. Fellowship Hour - Birthday Sunday
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 .
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.
The Summer edition of our seasonal children's' activity pack is available for pick-up or drop off. Email:
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:
There are Adventure activity bags under the mailboxes inside the entrance to the sanctuary, for children to enjoy during worship.
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!
On Sunday morning, July 13, the 2025 ELCIC National Convention concluded with a closing worship service.
Delegates, visitors, and special guests gathered to rejoice, pray and sing all together, one final time before departing home.
Outgoing National Bishop Susan Johnson served as the presiding minister for the service, and Bishop Elizabeth Eaton, Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and longtime friend of Bishop Johnson, preached the sermon. Readings from Deuteronomy 30:9-14 and Colossians 1:1-14 were read, along with the Gospel, Luke 10:25-37, delivered by Deacon Sherry Coman.
The Gospel reading, the parable of the Good Samaritan and Bishop Eaton’s message, uplifted Jesus’ important and wonderful question, “Who is my neighbour?” A familiar question, a frequent question.
“Who is my neighbour? How far must I extend my totality, my care, my compassion, my resources?” Bishop Eaton asked.
Offering delegates a parting reminder of unexpected hope, and mercy, she proclaimed that “who we were expecting was not the one who actually showed up,” and that God used this unexpected person (the Samaritan) to come along and bring wholeness and peace.
“Every one of us is a member one of another, so the suffering that people are enduring in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land is our suffering as well, and we dare not distance ourselves from that, or from missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, or anything that is happening out of climate change,” she preached, encouraging the gathering to journey with Jesus down difficult roads and continue to embrace the call to action, to propel ourselves to be healed, with the reminder that Jesus might also use us to bring others from death to life.
Closing worship included a blessing of the Bishop-elect Rev. Dr. Larry Kochendorfer, in which the gathering extended hands as the conference of bishops offered words of blessing. The installation of Officers and the National Church Council also followed.
Throughout the service, joyful music was heard through various musician and instrument accompaniment for hymns, including the violin, piano, shakers, and a djembe, along with choir performances. The instrumentals for worship were led by musicians Sarah Harrington and Melissa Gingrich.
The offering hymn, “God, Who This World Created,” was commissioned by Canadian Lutheran World Relief (CLWR) as a resource for the Friends of Creation initiative, in memory of Daniel O. Schickedanz, a faithful companion of the mission of CLWR. Sunday’s offering was designated for CLWR.
After Holy Communion, the service concluded with a parting blessing from Bishop-elect Kochendorfer, rooted in the words of Romans 15:13.
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may have hope for the power of the Holy Spirit,” he spoke, concluding the gathering with a resounding reminder of hope, and why we rejoice.
“In this new moment we can hear God calling; in this new time, all shall work together. In this new moment we learn to change what is wrong, though no one is able to do this alone,” the first verse of “Momento Nuevo” (English: In this New Moment) rang out, as those gathered joined in song one last time as they prepared for the journey back to their home communities, invigorated, inspired, and hopeful for the future ahead of us, and ready to continue in the work and mission of the ELCIC.
Delegates at the 2025 ELCIC National Convention have elected Rev. Dr. Larry Kochendorfer to serve as its fifth National Bishop.
The sixth and final ballot was cast by 156 voting delegates at the 2025 ELCIC National Convention in Winnipeg on Saturday morning, July 12.
“Dear siblings, you have committed through your baptism into Christ to a journey together. Based on this commitment, I am pleased and honoured to serve you as your National Bishop,” Kochendorfer said.
“Dear friends, hope, faith and love, these are the tools of our calling,” Kochendorfer added. “We don’t know the future, but we have what we need. Just look around you. Look at this room that God has created. We have what we need. Jesus is feeding us; we have bread, we have wine, we have the scriptures, we have each other. We know that we will not get to where we’re going without going together and with others. And to think of that Emmaus journey (Luke 24:13-35), we remember that Jesus comes alongside. Love is at our side.”
Kochendorfer becomes the fifth National Bishop in the ELCIC, following Donald Sjoberg (1986-1993), Telmor Sartison (1993-2001), Raymond Schultz (2001-2007) and Susan Johnson (2007-2025).
Currently, Kochendorfer is serving as interim pastor at Our Redeemer, Penticton, B.C., as well as assistant to the bishop in the British Columbia (BC) Synod. Following the announcement of the election, Kochendorfer asked for prayers for his congregation, the BC Synod and his Synod Bishop, Rev. Kathy Martin.
Kochendorfer served as Bishop of the Synod of Alberta and the Territories (2012-24) and has also worked in congregations in Dickson, Lethbridge and Edmonton, Alberta.
Having served the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) as a council member from 2017-23, Kochendorfer is currently chair of the LWF’s Mutual Responsibility Task Force and was recently co-chair of the Lutheran portion of the Joint Anglican Lutheran Commission.
“We are committed as a church to this journey together,” Kochendorfer concluded. “I ask you continue to pray for Bishop Susan, the national staff and National Church Council. Would you pray for Cathy, for me, our family, Our Redeemer Lutheran in Penticton and the BC Synod.”
Kochendorfer has been married to his wife Cathy for 42 years, and the two have raised four children together.
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.
20 - 26 July 2025
https://www.oikoumene.org/resources/prayer-cycle/djibouti-somalia
13 - 19 July 2025
https://www.oikoumene.org/resources/prayer-cycle/eritrea-ethiopia
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.)
Again, we are so thankful for your faithful generosity.