As we celebrate 65 years of Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, we have been reflecting on the many things that have given our congregation its distinctive character and welcomed generations of people through our doors.

One of those treasures is quite literally our doors.

Our beautiful carved entrance doors, featuring the archangels Michael and Gabriel, have welcomed worshippers, visitors, families, community groups and friends into Gloria Dei for many years. Over time, however, they had become badly weathered and were in need of restoration and refinishing.

We are delighted that this important work has now been undertaken, giving these remarkable doors new life. On Sunday, October 18, we will gather for a special service of re-dedication, giving thanks for these restored doors and for all that they represent in the life of Gloria Dei.

An Anniversary Gift

As part of our 65th Anniversary celebration, we invite you to consider making a special anniversary gift toward the restoration of our doors.

A generous member of our congregation has made it possible for the restoration to proceed by covering a significant portion of the cost. We now invite others who would like to participate to help offset that expense and, together, celebrate and preserve this beautiful part of our church.

Whether your anniversary gift is large or small, each gift is a way of saying:

“I am grateful for Gloria Dei, and I want to help preserve what makes this place special.”

If you would like to contribute, please designate your gift

“65th Anniversary – Archangel Doors.”

We hope you will join us on October 18 for the re-dedication of the doors and, as you enter Gloria Dei through them, see them not only as works of art, but as a reminder of the many people who have entered here before us—and of all those whom we hope to welcome in the years ahead.

Thank you for helping us celebrate 65 years by caring for this special part of our Gloria Dei story.

In a time of deep polarization, how can Christians move beyond slogans and engage in the realities of Palestine and Israel with humility, compassion, and courage? Gloria Dei has partnered together with Lynn Valley United Church to explore this question. Come and take part in an eye-opening panel conversation exploring the complex intersection of faith, politics, history, justice, and peace. The event takes place on November 14 at 3:00pm, at Lynn Valley United Church, 3201 Mountain Highway North Vancouver. 

Doors open at 2:45pm and the event begins at 3:00pm. Click the button below to register today!

Come and join our panelists, Rabbi Laura Duhan-Kaplan, Shadia Qubti, and Ron Dart for a thoughtful afternoon of listening and learning through honest conversation.

Learn more about the featured speakers below:

Rabbi Laura Duhan-Kaplan, Ph.D. is Dean of the ALEPH Ordination Program, the Jewish Renewal Seminary. She currently teaches courses on the histories of Israel and Palestine, deep ecumenism, leadership, and modern Jewish environmental thought. Previously, she was Director of Inter-Religious Studies and Professor of Jewish Studies at Vancouver School of Theology, where her teaching and community work brought Jewish, Christian, Islamic, and Indigenous perspectives into conversation. An award-winning teacher of philosophy and religion, Rabbi Laura has written four books on philosophical reflection, spiritual practice, mysticism, and biblical ecology, including the recent Mouth of the Donkey: Re-imagining Biblical Animals. She has also brought scholars together to create seven collaborative books, including Encountering the Other, Spirit of Reconciliation, Regional Conflicts and the Philosophy of Peace, and Multi-Religious Reflections on Friendship. A dual citizen of the US and Canada, Rabbi Laura lives in Vancouver with her husband, Charles, a musician and retired psychologist.

Shadia Qubti is a Palestinian-Christian born and raised in Nazareth who has worked in faith-based peacebuilding and advocacy initiatives through local and international organizations in Israel and Palestine for fifteen years. Her academic and public speaking interests focus on theological conversations between Palestinian Christian and North American Indigenous understandings of land, explored in her Masters thesis at Vancouver School of Theology. She seeks to develop a contextual decolonial approach through Palestinian land-based readings of biblical narratives, including recent work on the Nativity story and an upcoming exploration of Jesus at Gethsemane. As a Palestinian-Christian and member of a faith community, she grapples with theological responses amid genocide. She is particularly dedicated to amplifying the voices and perspectives of women and other marginalized communities, which led to the co-founding of the Women Behind the Wall podcast. She is currently working as the Community Engagement Animator at Trinity Grace United Church in Vancouver and serves as a Commissioner to the 45th General Council of the United Church of Canada.

Ron Dart taught in the Department of Political Science, Philosophy, and Religious Studies at the University of Fraser Valley (British Columbia) for 33 years. Before joining UCFV, he was on staff with Amnesty International in the 1980s where he was the pointperson for a variety of states in the Middle East that were known as violators (in various ways and means) of elementary and fundamental human rights. He has published and edited more than forty books, including Canadian Christian Zionism: a Tangled Tale, and is a regular contributor to Clarion: Journal for Religion, Peace and Justice. Ron also teaches Classical Studies at a graduate level at St. Stephen’s University, and just finished instructing a 4-month class on Homer’s Odyssey. In his spare time, he is an avid mountaineer. 

This year, as we celebrate the Season of Creation, our theme is Living Water. Water is God’s gift—essential to every living thing, and a sign throughout Scripture of God’s grace, renewal and abundant life.

As we give thanks for this precious gift, we are also invited to consider how we might become part of God’s life-giving work in the world. We do not give in order to earn God’s favour; we give because we have already received so much. In grateful response to God’s generosity, we are blessed to become God’s hands and feet for others.

People in refugee camps often have to walk great distances to access clean water. And when they arrive at a water point,  there are often long queues. "We walked five kilometers to collect water. But there were so many people that it could take five hours of waiting to fill only one jerrycan," said one refugee. 

Canadian Lutheran World Relief (CLWR), is raising funds to connect a refugee camp in Somalia to a clean-water supply. A new pipeline will carry enough water for approximately 15,000 people. $150 adds 10metres of pipe to the project. Could Gloria Dei help provide 10 metres of life-giving water? It would take just 30 people giving $5 each to reach that goal.

If you are able and would like to participate, please consider making a gift to CLWR’s Living Water campaign. Together, we can respond to God’s gift of water by helping make that gift accessible to refugees who urgently need it.

You can make your donation through the church marking your donation "For CLWR Living Water project." 

If you missed the online gathering from Sept. 13 with Bishop Larry Kochendorfer you can watch the recording on the ELCIC Youtube Channel.  Taking place in the Season of Creation, Bishop Larry was joined by panelists Dr. Mary Philip (Joy), Rev. Tim Wray, Eva Wray, and Korpo Sailly, who shared deep reflections on why environmental stewardship is an immediate priority for the modern church. 

 The final online gathering for the year is scheduled for Sunday, November 29, 2026, which marks the first Sunday of Advent. 

As we celebrate Gloria Dei’s 65th anniversary, we’re looking back to 1961—the year our congregation was incorporated.

Over the next few newsletter issues we will look at what was happening in the world, in Canada, and right here on the North Shore when Gloria Dei began its journey. Here are three events that happened in the world that year. 

Jan 5 The Beatles perform with Paul McCartney on bass guitar for the first time at Litherland Town Hall in Lancashire, England

Feb 10 Niagara Falls hydroelectric project begins producing power

Apr 17 33rd Academy Awards: "Apartment" wins best film, Burt Lancaster & Elizabeth Taylor win best actor, actress.