We are Lutherans, and that means we are: Christ centered & sacramental, Biblical & liturgical, evangelical & catholic
Jesus Christ died for sinners, and we are sinners washed, forgiven, and made new by being connected and bound to Jesus in Holy Bapitsm. He feeds us and keeps us forgiven and free every day by His Holy Word read and preached and taught and He is with us to give us forgiveness, life and salvation in His Supper as He said. “I am with you always, even to the end of the age,” says the Good Shepherd, and He reigns through these simple but divine means, for He is our Saviour King.
We follow traditional liturgies – not because they are old, but because they are full of Scripture and so feed and teach people according to God’s will, and give expression to our Christian confession about ourselves and about the living God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We strive for the clear preaching of God’s Word, focusing on His forgiveness of our sins for the sake of Jesus’ death for us. We concentrate on the spoken Word, on meaningful music and on letting the Holy Spirit do His miraculous work of calling, gathering, enlightening, sanctifying and keeping people with Jesus Christ in the one true faith.
A lot of religion today bends to society’s pressures. We strive to be faithful to God and to His Church, so that Jesus, the light and life that cannot be found anywhere else, can shine brightly through His uncommon but rescuing Word. The message of Jesus Christ crucified for sinners is proclaimed here in a way that does not excuse sin or downplay the purpose of God sending His Son to die for you. It’s a hard message, but it’s the truth and the good news of the Resurrection is good news because of Jesus’ death for us. Because of His suffering and death for you, you can share in His Resurrection. We don’t want that message to get lost so we stick to historic Christianity without the fads.
Our statement of mission and ministry since 1991 hangs on our narthex wall and tells a bit more about how we understand out calling as Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Moncton NB – not just to serve one another but others for whom Christ died too:
We have a unique challenge and opportunity, serving the Gospel Ministry in a growing and mixed community – but also serving our “Diaspora” (scattered) membership, many who live at great distances – and to establish a strong confessional Lutheran base in Atlantic Canada.
Good Shepherd is a member congregation of Lutheran Church-Canada (LCC), a family (or synod) of confessing Lutheran pastors and congregations bound together by our common teaching, believing, and confessing of the historic Lutheran confession of the Christian Faith. This is by no means merely a local or even a national confession of faith: this IS the catholic, universal or only faith, the faith expressed in the creeds and taught by the Scriptures themselves – “the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3).
This same Christ-centered and historic faith is held and proclaimed together with other Lutheran church bodies worldwide, among which is our sister church, the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS). This means that you will find the confession of faith of all our sister churches to be the same as ours – the truth of God does not change! “If you abide in My Word,” Jesus says, “you are truly My disciples, and you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32).
Christ sends pastors and other church workers to serve at Good Shepherd in +His name
God sends pastors especially and His Church in general so that people can receive the Good News of His Forgiveness of sins in Jesus. There are a lot of ways to talk about it (so the Bible is a big book), so that you – unique and different and the same and complicated as you are – can hear it too. And rejoice to have God’s Good News applied to you too!
God has called the Rev. David Milette to be our current pastor since 1999. He is originally from Montreal, Qc, and has a background in science and technology, and language teaching and linguistics. Since 2015, he has been serving Good Shepherd bi-vocationally, also working as a Teacher of English and French as a second language in colleges and universities in the greater Moncton area, and providing support for LCC francophone ministries.
We are also grateful for the other Gospel workers who have served among us for a time, to the great blessing of many near and farther afield. These have included:
- Our founding pastor, the Rev. Robert “Bob” Bruer (1987-1998)
- the now Rev. David Gallas (vicarage/pastoral internship 1995-96)
- the Rev. Deane Detlefsen (vacancy pastor 1998-1999)
- the now Rev. Kurt Schultz (summer vicar/seminarian, summers 2009-2010)
- Deacon Shelaine Clasper (principal/teacher, Concordia Academy of GSLC, 2010-2012)
- the Rev. Padre Paul Williams (GSLC Visiting Pastor, 2009-2012)
- the Rev. Timothy Teuscher (GSLC Visiting Pastor for Good Shepherd-Charlottetown PEI, Summer 2013)
- the Rev. Mark Smith (GSLC Visiting Pastor for Good Shepherd-Charlottetown PEI, 2015-2016)
We rejoice in the partnership we have in the Gospel with so many and the help and encouragement through the Good News of Jesus Christ our Saviour which we continue to receive by God’s grace!
Other points of presence which Good Shepherd has been happy to provide for and support in Atlantic canada:
From Halifax NS, to the Annapolis Valley NS, and beyond: St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church
St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church (previously Faith Lutheran Church/Nova Scotia Lutheran Outreach) grew out of a preaching station under Good Shepherd’s pastoral care since 1999, and was established at the commissioning of Missionary-at-Large to the Maritime Provinces Rev. David Maffett in June 2000, a position in which he continued to serve until May 2008. From 2008 to 2012, Pastor Milette served them as Supervising Pastor, both onsite and by sending a steady stream of visiting pastors to them to provide solid preaching and teaching; starting in 2010, Pastor Milette provided for them especially with the help of Pastor Paul Williams who eventually relocated to the Halifax area to serve them better and to serve the Canadian Forces-Reserves as chaplain. In 2011, a preaching station was started in the Annapolis Valley NS, and in Summer 2012, Faith was “adopted” by St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, Stratford Ont, and Pastor Timothy Teuscher became their official Supervising Pastor, while Pastor Williams continued to serve them locally until 2013 when he accepted a call to another congregation. In Spring 2013, Faith moved from Dartmouth to their present location in Halifax and took on the new name St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church to signify their fraternal relationship with St. Peter’s (in the Bible, Andrew is Peter’s brother). LCC Military Chaplain Padre David Jackson served the women and men of the Canadian Forces stationed in the Halifax area from 2013 to 2015. From 2015-2018, Pastor Mark Smith served them as the LCC Atlantic Region Circuit Riding Pastor, also providing care for others across the Atlantic Provinces. Already in 2015, Good Shepherd asked Pastor Smith to take over care for our one catechumen in Newfoundland and, in late 2016, invited St. Andrew’s to take over pastoral care for its Charlottetown, PEI preaching station. After Pastor Smith accepted a call to a Synodical position, the Rev. Ron Mohr and then the Rev. Kurt Reinheart served as succesive vacancy pastors from 2018-2019, providing a steady rotation of visiting pastors to care for them as they prepared to call their first pastor as a congregation. In September 2019, the Rev. John Nieminen was installed as the Pastor of St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church where he continues to serve faithfully to this day.
Though far-reaching, the mission of St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church continues to center around a worshiping congregation in Halifax, NS.
Prince Edward Island
Since July 2007, Good Shepherd has sought out and ministered to Lutherans and those interested in the Lutheran confession of the Faith on Prince Edward Island with a monthly Divine Service. We had helpers here too, and have been blessed to have serving among us Vicar Kurt Schultz (summer 2009-2010), Rev. Paul Williams (2009-2011), and Rev. Timothy Teuscher (summer 2012). From mid 2015, Pastor Mark Smith, the LCC Atlantic Region Circuit Riding Pastor, also assisted Good Shepherd with regular and exceptional pastoral care there as Good Shepherd’s Visiting Pastor for PEI, and in 2016 we asked St. Andrew’s in NS to take over pastoral care for the preaching station as they were in a better position to provide more care for our members there.
Across the Atlantic Provinces
If you live in Atlantic Canada and you are a Lutheran; if you are interested in finding out more about Lutherans or the Lutheran Church; or if you are simply looking for help to grow as a Christian or find answers to your questions, we would love to hear from you!