Special Appeal for Donations by our Church Treasurer on behalf of Church Council

Our church currently has a large financial deficit. Donations to the general household are down and overhead expenses are back to pre-pandemic levels. To be able to keep our church doing the good work it does, we need financial help.

Members have hopefully already received our detailed letter about the financial situation of our church sent out mid-October 2022. If you haven’t received the letter, let Marlena Muller in the church office know, 416-251-8293, office@martinluther.ca. She will be happy to send it to you.

In response, some people have increased their donation by pre-authorized remittance (PDF Pre-Authorized Remittance = PAR) or sent in a one-time donation. We thank all generous donors. See our donation webpage for ways to contribute.

See our donation webpage for ways to contribute. Please continue to keep the church in your prayers.

We have spoken to many congregational members and answered questions. If you would like to receive a call to ask your questions, please write a message to Martin Haefele, Treasurer Martin Luther Church, Toronto treasurer@martinluther.ca

Please also keep the Martin Luther church in your prayers.

This appeal also goes out to past members, now spread across the world, who may consider Martin Luther Church, Toronto close to their hearts. Dear children of our church family and visitors, our continued existence may be important to you too? Even though you may no longer attend services and groups. This is your legacy (and your German heritage). Your parents were believing Lutherans in Toronto who joined together because they wanted to remain true to the faith of their fathers and their mother tongue. The Second World War and the great destruction of Germany resulted in a huge wave of emigration. Many German speakers (Austrians, Swiss) who had lost their homes sought a new beginning and a secure life in Canada.

In the early 1950s Toronto’s German-speaking church services were held in various churches. Active groups emerged, including ours, which grew relatively quickly to become Martin Luther Evangelical Lutheran Church and was recognized by the local church authority Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC). Over the decades, we have attracted many German-speakers to our church who like to hear their faith spoken and sung in German.

History Book

In 2006 Martin Luther Church Toronto published a history book on its 50th anniversary entitled “50 Jahre Martin Luther Kirche, Toronto – Celebrating the 50th Anniversary” covering the years of 1955 to 2005.

Here, to download and read, are the English pages, text and photos, year by year [PDF].

Check out our history book webspage.

The photos and text for this book were meticulously compiled by the editorial committee of Olaf Weigelin, Helmut Herrmann, Maike Wolf, Pastor Stefan Wolf, Heinz Gutsch, Kathe Kleinau, Else Weigelin, and Annette Gutsch.

It was dedicated
… to the founders and first members, whose faith and trust in God was the foundation stone for this congregation.
… to the present congregation, which with God’s help, a constant willingness to give, and with drive and action has acquired this church as a lasting place of worship.
… to our children and future generations as a legacy of our faith and as an incentive to uphold this inheritance with dignity.
… to the one God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, for the blessing received. Glory to him from eternity to eternity.
Amen.