Rev. Eifert marks 65th anniversary of ordination

EDMONTON – When asked about the 65th anniversary of his ordination, Rev. Paul Eifert remarks that he had “always believed that my call to the holy ministry was no higher a call than that received by all God’s baptized, who are called to serve Him and His people in a wide variety of vocations.” He feels “grateful and privileged to have been called to serve God and His people as a pastor in Lutheran Church–Canada.”  

Rev. Eifert’s father was also a Lutheran pastor, and he is grateful to his parents who brought him to baptism in infancy, raised him in a Christian home, and brought him to church every Sunday. “I don’t recall ever not wanting to go to church, and I was eager to go to Concordia College in Edmonton to begin training to become a Lutheran pastor,” Rev. Eifert said. 

He graduated from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis in 1958 and was ordained in July of that year at Trinity Lutheran Church (London, Ontario) where he was called to be the first pastor of a mission congregation (now Our Saviour Lutheran Church). He subsequently served parishes in Ontario (Redeemer, Sarnia), Quebec (Christ Memorial, Montreal), Alberta (All Saints, Edmonton), and B.C. (Mt. Olivet, North Vancouver), which gave him an appreciation and understanding of much of this great country. 

“…a profound sense of gratitude for God’s grace that called me to serve Him and His people as a pastor…” 

In his retirement years, Rev. Eifert was blessed and found joy in continued service in God’s church, spending a year and a half helping found an English-speaking Lutheran church in Johannesburg, South Africa. He further served two vacant congregations in Edmonton while working part-time as an assistant to the President of Concordia in Edmonton as a fundraiser. He also served on numerous boards, which helped him to understand how extensive the ministry of the church is beyond the local congregation.  

As Rev. Eifert reflects on the past 90 years of his life, he has “a profound sense of gratitude for God’s grace that called me to serve Him and His people as a pastor, a calling that gave me much joy and personal satisfaction.” 

Rev. Paul G. Eifert 

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