Welcome
Services
About Us
We’re just ordinary people from different walks of life. None of us are perfect and we welcome everyone into our church. Come as you are, on your own, with a friend or with your family. If you’re new, read more about what it’s like when you come for the first time please see below.
So where does the Lutheran Church come from?
The Lutheran Church is the first of the protestant churches (those that split from the Roman Catholic Church; which includes Baptists and Presbyterian) and started in Germany. Martin Luther, a priest, stood up against an incorrect gospel that said you could buy forgiveness, and wrote 95 theses to protect against this deviation from the gospel. The gospel teaches us the grace is a free gift from God, and not something you can earn. This was back in 1517 and was called the Reformation. Following this the Lutheran Church grew. In 2017 churches around the world celebrated 500 years since the Reformation of the Christian church.
Our Beginnings
St Paul’s Lutheran Church was once located in the city on the site of our present Art Gallery on the corner of Worcester and Montreal Streets. The site was bought back in 1872 by the German Benefit Assn which was set up to assist settlers of German nationality who were finding it difficult to assimilate in to the Canterbury community. They wanted a church in which services could be conducted in German. An appeal was launched and £550 was raised. As many more German settlers were expected, the Provincial Government contributed another £250. The Germans built a wooden church with a bell tower. Unfortunately the money ran out before they bells could be bought. However, the German Chancellor, Otto von Bismark, pledged a peal of three bells, weighing more than a tonne. They were set in the bell tower and rung for the first time during a Christmas Even dedication ceremony in 1874.
Final Service Surprise
The original German Church on the Art Gallery site had a magnificent peal of bells donated by the German Government. Sadly, they were taken down and smashed at the time of the First World War. In the foundry where the bells were melted down, the foreman, Joe Mantell, picked up a piece of the bronze embedded in the earthen floor and fashioned it into a miniature Bible. Upon reading an article about the final service of the city church (2 August 1987), Joe Mantell’s son, Rex Mantell, decided that the bell memento should be returned to its true home. This was the surprise that he presented during the final service. It was very gratefully received. You can see the Bible memento in the glass case in our present church hallway. What a history this little treasure can tell!
What we believe
The Lutheran Church is an evangelical church – one that teaches in accordance to the gospel in the New Testament. The doctrine or beliefs of the Lutheran Church is simply that of the Christian faith described in the New Testament and summarised in the Apostle’s Creed.
- We believe humans are created by God.
- We believe that God created us free moral beings, including freedom to disobey our Creator.
- Humans did disobey their Creator, and the result is sin.
- We believe that God did not abandon us in our sin, he revealed Himself as the Saviour, in his son, Jesus Christ.
- Our Saviours birth was a miraculous one by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary.
- Jesus suffered death on the cross and paid the debt of our sins.
- We believe that He rose again and overcame sin, once and for all.
- All have sinned and need Gods forgiveness.
- As Christians we are baptised and profess that Jesus Christ is our Lord.
- We are not perfect and welcome imperfect people to come and experience the love and grace of God.
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New to St Paul’s?
Often people who haven’t visited a church before, or even in a while, wonder what to expect. While every church is different, this is what you would typically find any given Sunday at St Paul’s.
Here at St Paul’s we welcome you as you are.
When you arrive
Firstly, there are two entrances to the car park, and heaps of room, so please do drive in. You can access it from Burwood Road, just before you get to Travis Road heading south. If you come from Travis Road or QEII Drive you can enter through Travis Country Drive, and turn left into St Pauls Place – just head to the end.
The Service
We follow a liturgy, which is the overall shape and structure of the service. It includes things as collectively spoke or sung words, led by our pastor or church leaders. We usually have communion each Sunday, which you are invited to go up and partake in if you have been baptised and believe in Jesus Christ. You do not have to go up. If you do go up, we kneel (or stand) at the rail and receive the wafer and then sip from the communal cup or have an individual cup.
What we do
We start at 10:00 am, but people are welcome to wander in a little late too! Upon arrival you’ll be given a bulletin so you know what is happening and what Bible passages will be read and preached on during the service. Sometimes you’ll be given songs books or the songs and service are displayed on the screen during the service. Sometimes there are spoken bits by the whole congregation, sometimes even sung parts – join in when you feel comfortable doing so.
Children & Parents
We have an area at the back of the church that is open and suitable for toddlers and children to spread out with their parents, so please do make use of this area during the service if you wish. Part way into the service the children are invited to head out to Sunday School and they come back in at the end to share what they’ve been learning about.
Following the Service
Everyone is welcome to chat over a cuppa and morning tea in the hall right next to the sanctuary after the service. This is the best time to get to know people.