Epiphany Thunder Bay moves to new building

Epiphany Lutheran Church’s new building

THUNDER BAY, Ont. – Epiphany Lutheran Church was established and built in the 1960s. The average attendance has never been much above 80 people per Sunday, and like most churches built in that era, it was a non-energy-efficient building. Designed by a Missouri Synod architect from Alabama, the sanctuary comfortably fit 250, and the building included a sizeable education wing to start a school that never materialized. 

Due to the size of the old property, the congregation was able to both purchase this new property about nine blocks away from the old one, and will be able to renovate, make accessibility improvements, and invest some of the money in order to help fund their ongoing ministry.

Thunder Bay’s main industries have not been doing well for decades, and thus it is one of the oldest urban areas in Canada. While Rev. David Haberstock served at Epiphany from 2004-2015, there was a six-month period in which five founding members died, which had a significant impact on the attendance, morale, and finances of the congregation. 

Congregational leadership is excited about this new start, and the Lord has brought new members to the congregation in the last year.

During the pandemic, the congregation was experiencing a variety of challenges and sought to deal with them. They chose to sell their building to a man who was going to open a dormitory for troubled young men in the education wing and use the rest of the building for training programs. 

While most of the coloured glass in the building is not theological in nature, ships are an ancient image in church imagery, based on the flood and Noah’s ark.

The local United church had closed before the pandemic and their building was available. Due to the size of the old property, the congregation was able to both purchase this new property about nine blocks away from the old one, and will be able to renovate, make accessibility improvements, and invest some of the money in order to help fund their ongoing ministry. 

The closing service at the old building took place on June 26, 2022, and the first service in the new building occurred July 7. There is still much work to be done to the building and a service of dedication is hoped to be held in the fall. 

Congregational leadership is excited about this new start, and the Lord has brought new members to the congregation in the last year. Some members have transferred to other LCC churches nearby, but there is much hope for being newly rooted in the community at a new place and space.

Rev. David Haberstock

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