Our Congregation

The people of Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church of New Hamburg are gathered as one of a number of congregations in the Kitchener-Waterloo Conference of the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC). The ELCIC, in turn, holds membership in the Lutheran World Federation, the Canadian Council of Churches, and the World Council of Churches.

The community of Trinity Lutheran Church seeks to embrace all of God's people in Christ's name. We further seek, as we are able, to foster a climate of inclusion and of warm relations with people of neighbouring faith communities.

Trinity Church is staffed by Pastors André Lavergne and Anne Anderson. Pastor Lavergne shares his time with the national church, where he serves as Assistant to the Bishop, Ecumenical and Interfaith. In addition, Pastor Bob Thaler, United Church of Canada, preaches once a month while Pastor Helen Toman, who serves part-time at St. Matthew's, East Zorra, provides ten hours a week of pastoral care. Vicar Jennifer Famme, who is serving a two-year (2010-2012) half-time internship, rounds out the pastoral staff.

Trinity's ministry is supported by Director of Music Gywin Murray, by Jill Merner, our parish secretary, and by Brian Racho, our sexton. In addition, the Rev. Syd Hills, retired to our community,serves in an honourary capacity as Pastoral Assistant.

Trinity offers a broad range of parish ministry in the congregation proper and beyond. As well, Trinity is home to a large number of community-based programs.

Founded in 1834, Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church of New Hamburg is one of two Lutheran churches in a community which includes many Mennonites, Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Uniteds and others. The community of New Hamburg was born in the early 19th Century around a grist mill and has flourished as a small centre of commerce and industry ever since. The population of New Hamburg is about 7,300 in a township (Wilmot) of about 19,000 and a regional municipality (Waterloo) of 520,000 which includes the cities of Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge. The cities of Kitchener and Waterloo are about 15 minutes away, Cambridge is about 25, while the cities of Toronto and London are about an hour away.

The weather in New Hamburg is sometimes like the weather in Kitchener and sometimes like the weather in Stratford. You can read about it, usually after the fact, in the New Hamburg Independent.

The congregation of Trinity Church is made up primarily of people who live in New Hamburg and area but who may work in New Hamburg, Kitchener-Waterloo (East), Stratford (West) or environs.

Location and Directions

Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church is located off Highway 7, between Kitchener and Stratford, in the Village of New Hamburg, Township of Wilmot, in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.

If you click on the "+" sign on the map to the right, you can zoom in on the location of Trinity Church. If you move your mouse with the left button held depressed, you can bring adjacent locations into view.

From Highway 401 (East-West) between Toronto and London, take Highway 8 West into Kitchener via exit 278 (Cambridge / Kitchener-Waterloo).

From Highway 8 West follow the signs toward Highway 7/8 West and Stratford. New Hamburg is about 20 km West of Kitchener, half-way to Stratford.

From Highway 7 West, turn right (North) at the second set of lights onto Peel Street in New Hamburg..

Off Peel Street, take the second left onto Church Street. You can't miss us. We've been around so long that they named the street after us... Sort of.

Contacting the Church

For individual directions, travel times, and any other form of assistance, please call the church at (519) 662-1810 or drop us a note at mail@telc.ca. Our fax number is (519) 662-4713.

The mailing address is Trinity Lutheran Church, 23 Church Street, New Hamburg, Ontario. N3A 1J1.