60th anniversary for St. Catharines congregation

60th Anniversary Celebration of Resurrection Lutheran Church in St. Catharines.

ST. CATHARINES, Ont. – Good Shepherd Sunday always marks the anniversary of Resurrection Lutheran Church in St. Catharines.  

It is a fitting tie to the active involvement that the congregation has had with the formation of pastors at Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary. The seminary’s first classes were held in the basement of Resurrection’s church building, and now the congregation is housed within the seminary’s building.  

Having hosted dozens of seminary field work students and some vicars, it was fitting for this year’s celebration to include the three members of the congregation who are currently enrolled in the pastoral program. Vijay Samuel (who was serving Redeemer Lutheran Church in Waterloo as a Vicar at the time—and who has since graduated from CLTS’ MDiv program) preached the sermon on “One Flock, One Shepherd.” His fellow church members and seminarians, Mark Du and Andrew Hayes, also assisted in the service. The seminary choir sang two choral pieces under the direction of Andrew Hayes.  

After the service, greetings were shared from Pastor Emeritus Dennis Putzman, who pastored the congregation for nearly half of its 60 years. Current seminary field work student, Tim Bayha (from Waikerie, Australia), led a sing-a-long of an Australian favourite at the barbeque lunch.  

Over the years, Resurrection Lutheran Church has been served by Rev. Robert Grabowski (1965-1966); Rev. Milford Murray (1966-1970); Rev. Dr. Roger Humann (1970-1976); Rev. John Balash Jr. (1977-1978); Rev. Dennis Putzman (1979-2008); and Rev. Kurt Lantz (2009-present). 

Rev. Kurt Lantz

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