History
The History of Christ the King -Dietrich Bonhoeffer Lutheran Church
In January 1989 the idea to merge the congregation of "Christ the King" with the one of "Dietrich Bonhoeffer" became reality, thanks to the initiative of a few members of both congregations. Having been blessed with the amalgamation in the years thereafter we can celebrate this decision, and be grateful to all who worked tirelessly for this effort.
In 1988 both of these Lutheran Congregations north of Toronto were pondering their future. "Christ the King" was in a period of declining membership and in need of a pastor who could help them to reverse that trend. "Dietrich Bonhoeffer" was too small a congregation to fulfill their hope to move from their rented premises to a church of their own.
"Christ the King" had been founded in 1966 as a Community Church, attracting English speaking Lutherans in the neighbourhood. The congregation owned a parsonage and in 1968 laid the cornerstone for a church building. It also established a day care centre for local children that became an important contribution to the community at large.
"Dietrich Bonhoeffer" was founded in November 1979 with the desire to provide services to German immigrants in their native tongue north of Toronto. However, services were also held in English, primarily for the children of these immigrants as well as for people of other ethnic backgrounds. Like in other German congregations in Toronto, it soon became apparent that English services were poorly attended. With the generous support of the Evangelical -Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) and the foreign office of Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany (EKD), German language services could be maintained. The EKD provided pastors from Germany. During their time in Toronto, these pastors worked within the ELCIC, and established good relationships with neighbouring churches.
In the spirit of out-reach, Soenke Schmidt-Lange, Pastor of "Dietrich Bonhoeffer" at the time, helped out at "Christ the King" as frequent guest preacher. This led to the efforts of Günther Thase of "Christ the King" to engage the two congregations in dialogue for the possibility of a merger. A special committee with the following members: Volker Kirstein, Rollin Matsui, Ed Stahlberg, Sigismund Sturm, Günther Thase and Nancy Kehrli was formed. This committee was to make sure that the concerns of the two congregations would be duly considered in merger negotiations, and that it would support the two respective church councils in their decision making and their understanding of the need for bilingual Ministers. Based on the experiences with and the support from the ELCIC and the EKD-Germany we were confident that a merger could be achieved.
An example of the good will and positive spirit is the letter that Pastor Dietrich Buettner, who was chosen to replace Pastor Soenke Schmidt-Lange, wrote to the then chairman of the council of "Christ the King", Rollin Matsui.
Muenster, July 6th, 1988
Dear sisters and brothers in Christ dear Mr. Matsui!
A few weeks ago Mr. Kirstein informed me of the coming amalgamation between Bonhoeffer Church and your congregation. I suppose that it will be a very difficult decision, especially for the members of your parish, because you must cope with a German minister, who is not even fluent in your mother tongue!
When I heard of your plans I felt encouraged to take over this challenging task. I am looking forward to the chance of a bilingual Christian community, although it will probably take a couple of months until my problems with the English language will be solved. I never lived in an English speaking country, but I learned English in school for nine years and practiced English during several visits in the United States and Great Britain. My wife spent one year as an exchange student in California and graduated from an American high school.
Our whole family is looking forward to moving to Toronto. We'll attempt to integrate into the Canadian society as far as possible. But perhaps our German background and our different experiences will open a new way of intercultural respective learning and understanding between our congregations.
The spirit of our Lord will be with you when you come together for that fundamental decision.
God bless you. Yours (signed) Dietrich Buettner
Following Pastor Buettner (1988-1993) after his return to Germany we had two more pastors from Germany to serve the Christ the King-Dietrich Bonhoeffer congregation. These were Pastor S. Panitz (1993-1997) and Pastor M. Giebel (1997-2009). The sensitivity and dedication to our cause, the linguistic skills and spiritual guidance of these three ministers, supported by their wives, were essential to the amalgamation of the two congregations into the one of Christ the King - Dietrich Bonhoeffer Lutheran Church.
This amalgamation, however, could not have happened without the dedication to this cause of so many members of the church. Their enthusiasm resulted in the immediate renovation of the church, followed by the construction of a building extension to house a community hall in which regular social events occur. These get-togethers strengthen the bonds between churchgoers.
When Pastor Giebel decided to become a citizen of Canada and subsequently followed a call to ministry of another congregation, the ELCIC arranged for Pastor J. R. Bestvater to be interim pastor during our search to fill the vacancy. Pastor Bestvater will be fondly remembered by the congregation for his spiritual support and his care for individual members.
By God's Grace we count ourselves blessed that pastor Sebastian Meadows-Helmer has now, since Sept. 2010, become our new pastor. Supported by his wife and through his youthful energy he gives us much hope for the future of Christ the King-Dietrich Bonhoeffer Lutheran Church.
Sigismund Sturm
Toronto, January, 2011
Here is a list of the pastors that served or are serving at Christ-the-King, Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the amalgamated church:
Pastors at Christ the King
Arnold Weigel (1965-1975)
Mark Innes (1975-1979)
Ray Elberson (1979-1985)
Stephen Gross (1986-1988)
Pastors at Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Vicar Reinhard Keding (1975-1976)
Vicar Michael Lange (1976-1977)
Vicar Hans Ulrich Kruse (1977-1978)
Hartmut Barsnick (1979-1981)
Soenke Schmidt-Lange (1982-1987)
Pastors at Christ the King - Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Dietrich Buettner (1988-1993)
Sunny Panitz (1993-1997)
Martin Giebel (1997-2009)
J.R. Bestvater, Interim (2009-2010)
Sebastian Meadows Helmer (2010 - 2016)
Pastors at Thornhill Lutheran Church
Sebastian Meadows-Helmer (2016 - 2017)
Christian Cecconi (2017 - 2018)
Peter Lisinski (2018 - 2023)
Victoria Featherston (2024 - present)
In January 1989 the idea to merge the congregation of "Christ the King" with the one of "Dietrich Bonhoeffer" became reality, thanks to the initiative of a few members of both congregations. Having been blessed with the amalgamation in the years thereafter we can celebrate this decision, and be grateful to all who worked tirelessly for this effort.
In 1988 both of these Lutheran Congregations north of Toronto were pondering their future. "Christ the King" was in a period of declining membership and in need of a pastor who could help them to reverse that trend. "Dietrich Bonhoeffer" was too small a congregation to fulfill their hope to move from their rented premises to a church of their own.
"Christ the King" had been founded in 1966 as a Community Church, attracting English speaking Lutherans in the neighbourhood. The congregation owned a parsonage and in 1968 laid the cornerstone for a church building. It also established a day care centre for local children that became an important contribution to the community at large.
"Dietrich Bonhoeffer" was founded in November 1979 with the desire to provide services to German immigrants in their native tongue north of Toronto. However, services were also held in English, primarily for the children of these immigrants as well as for people of other ethnic backgrounds. Like in other German congregations in Toronto, it soon became apparent that English services were poorly attended. With the generous support of the Evangelical -Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) and the foreign office of Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany (EKD), German language services could be maintained. The EKD provided pastors from Germany. During their time in Toronto, these pastors worked within the ELCIC, and established good relationships with neighbouring churches.
In the spirit of out-reach, Soenke Schmidt-Lange, Pastor of "Dietrich Bonhoeffer" at the time, helped out at "Christ the King" as frequent guest preacher. This led to the efforts of Günther Thase of "Christ the King" to engage the two congregations in dialogue for the possibility of a merger. A special committee with the following members: Volker Kirstein, Rollin Matsui, Ed Stahlberg, Sigismund Sturm, Günther Thase and Nancy Kehrli was formed. This committee was to make sure that the concerns of the two congregations would be duly considered in merger negotiations, and that it would support the two respective church councils in their decision making and their understanding of the need for bilingual Ministers. Based on the experiences with and the support from the ELCIC and the EKD-Germany we were confident that a merger could be achieved.
An example of the good will and positive spirit is the letter that Pastor Dietrich Buettner, who was chosen to replace Pastor Soenke Schmidt-Lange, wrote to the then chairman of the council of "Christ the King", Rollin Matsui.
Muenster, July 6th, 1988
Dear sisters and brothers in Christ dear Mr. Matsui!
A few weeks ago Mr. Kirstein informed me of the coming amalgamation between Bonhoeffer Church and your congregation. I suppose that it will be a very difficult decision, especially for the members of your parish, because you must cope with a German minister, who is not even fluent in your mother tongue!
When I heard of your plans I felt encouraged to take over this challenging task. I am looking forward to the chance of a bilingual Christian community, although it will probably take a couple of months until my problems with the English language will be solved. I never lived in an English speaking country, but I learned English in school for nine years and practiced English during several visits in the United States and Great Britain. My wife spent one year as an exchange student in California and graduated from an American high school.
Our whole family is looking forward to moving to Toronto. We'll attempt to integrate into the Canadian society as far as possible. But perhaps our German background and our different experiences will open a new way of intercultural respective learning and understanding between our congregations.
The spirit of our Lord will be with you when you come together for that fundamental decision.
God bless you. Yours (signed) Dietrich Buettner
Following Pastor Buettner (1988-1993) after his return to Germany we had two more pastors from Germany to serve the Christ the King-Dietrich Bonhoeffer congregation. These were Pastor S. Panitz (1993-1997) and Pastor M. Giebel (1997-2009). The sensitivity and dedication to our cause, the linguistic skills and spiritual guidance of these three ministers, supported by their wives, were essential to the amalgamation of the two congregations into the one of Christ the King - Dietrich Bonhoeffer Lutheran Church.
This amalgamation, however, could not have happened without the dedication to this cause of so many members of the church. Their enthusiasm resulted in the immediate renovation of the church, followed by the construction of a building extension to house a community hall in which regular social events occur. These get-togethers strengthen the bonds between churchgoers.
When Pastor Giebel decided to become a citizen of Canada and subsequently followed a call to ministry of another congregation, the ELCIC arranged for Pastor J. R. Bestvater to be interim pastor during our search to fill the vacancy. Pastor Bestvater will be fondly remembered by the congregation for his spiritual support and his care for individual members.
By God's Grace we count ourselves blessed that pastor Sebastian Meadows-Helmer has now, since Sept. 2010, become our new pastor. Supported by his wife and through his youthful energy he gives us much hope for the future of Christ the King-Dietrich Bonhoeffer Lutheran Church.
Sigismund Sturm
Toronto, January, 2011
Here is a list of the pastors that served or are serving at Christ-the-King, Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the amalgamated church:
Pastors at Christ the King
Arnold Weigel (1965-1975)
Mark Innes (1975-1979)
Ray Elberson (1979-1985)
Stephen Gross (1986-1988)
Pastors at Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Vicar Reinhard Keding (1975-1976)
Vicar Michael Lange (1976-1977)
Vicar Hans Ulrich Kruse (1977-1978)
Hartmut Barsnick (1979-1981)
Soenke Schmidt-Lange (1982-1987)
Pastors at Christ the King - Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Dietrich Buettner (1988-1993)
Sunny Panitz (1993-1997)
Martin Giebel (1997-2009)
J.R. Bestvater, Interim (2009-2010)
Sebastian Meadows Helmer (2010 - 2016)
Pastors at Thornhill Lutheran Church
Sebastian Meadows-Helmer (2016 - 2017)
Christian Cecconi (2017 - 2018)
Peter Lisinski (2018 - 2023)
Victoria Featherston (2024 - present)