Cornwall congregation joins LCC

CORNWALL, Ont. – St. Matthew’s Evangelical Lutheran Church of Cornwall, Ontario and its pastor, Rev. Connor Longaphie, were officially welcomed into Lutheran Church–Canada (LCC) on Sunday, October 26. The joyous event was the culmination of an ongoing process to seek membership in LCC and took place following the approval of the congregation’s new constitution by LCC.

LCC East Regional Pastor Marvin Bublitz was on hand for the event, conducting a rite of welcome for the congregation and its pastor, following which the church erupted in applause.

LCC East Regional Pastor Marvin Bublitz was on hand for the event, conducting a rite of welcome for the congregation and its pastor, following which the church erupted in applause.

After the rite was concluded, the church held a Divine Service, with East Regional Pastor Bublitz preaching, Circuit Counsellor David Smilek conducting the Liturgy of the Word, and local pastor Rev. Longaphie serving as celebrant for the Liturgy of the Altar.

A potluck luncheon followed the service, at which time members of the congregation got the chance to speak with East Regional Pastor Bublitz and Rev. Smilek and ask any questions that they had. The occasion was also blessed by the presence of laity from surrounding LCC congregations, as well as a few of St. Matthew’s founding members who have been apart from the congregation for nearly two decades.

St. Matthew’s Evangelical Lutheran Church was founded as a mission congregation of the former Lutheran Church in America (LCA) in Cornwall, on the St. Lawrence River, in 1962. It was incorporated into the 1986 merger of church bodies that became the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC). Following the move to accept homosexuality in the ELCIC, St. Matthew’s joined the Canadian Association of Lutheran Congregations (CALC). The congregation remained in fellowship with CALC until voting to formally break fellowship with the association in 2025 over concerns of Lutheran identity and confessional unity.

St. Matthew’s has been served by Rev. Longaphie since 2021, and the church will formally sign Lutheran Church–Canada’s constitution at the next synodical convention in June 2026.

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