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"Well Done, Good and Faithful Servant": LCC's First President Called to Glory
Rev. Dr. Edwin Lehman, President Emeritus of Lutheran Church–Canada (LCC), was called to glory during the morning of December 5, 2024. He was 92 years old.
Dr. Lehman was the first synodical president of Lutheran Church–Canada, elected to lead the newly-autonomous church during its founding convention in 1988. He was reelected as president in 1990 and again in 1993. Dr. Lehman continued as president until his retirement in 1996, when he declined to stand for reelection.
This was a critical period in the development of Lutheran Church–Canada. During President Lehman’s tenure, LCC took its first steps as an autonomous church body; established its national synodical office in Winnipeg; developed missions in Thailand and Ukraine (places where LCC is still active today); entered into fellowship with partner churches in several countries around the world; and initiated conversations that would eventually lead to the establishment of the diaconate in LCC.
Dr. Lehman later reflected on his time as president in the 2022 book Missouri North: The History of Lutheran Church–Canada “God had been good to us—far better than we deserved,” Dr. Lehman wrote in his contribution to the book. “God had blessed us with a strong sense of unity. He had opened doors of opportunity, bringing the Gospel to lands we would not have entered had we not been autonomous. We were training our pastors and lay leaders, with two excellent seminaries and a college.”
“Not surprisingly, some of our good intentions did not materialize,” Dr. Lehman continued. “But a new day was dawning…. God had used us as His instrument, and there would be much more to come.”
Prior to becoming president of Lutheran Church–Canada, Dr. Lehman served from 1978-1988 as District President of the AlbertaBritish Columbia District (then still part of The Lutheran Church— Missouri Synod). His tenure as district president saw the founding of Concordia Lutheran Seminary (CLS) in Edmonton. He earlier served the district as First Vice-President and as Chairman of the Mission Department.
Dr. Lehman served as a pastor of congregations in Richmond, B.C. (1967-1978); Red Deer, Alberta (19581967); and Wadena, Saskatchewan (1956-1958).
Following his time as LCC President, Dr. Lehman continued to serve the Canadian church in many ways, including two periods as Interim President of Concordia Lutheran Seminary in Edmonton as well as service on the governing board of Concordia Lutheran Mission Society.
In addition to serving the Canadian church, Dr. Lehman held important leadership roles in global Lutheranism. He was elected Chairman of the International Lutheran Conference (ILC) in 1991 and given the task—alongside the ILC’s Vice Chairman, Bishop Jobst Schöne of Germany—of elevating the ILC from a conference to a formal council of confessional Lutheran church bodies. The constitution of this reorganized International Lutheran Council was adopted at the 1993 ILC World Conference, at which time Dr. Lehman was also elected to a second term as Chairman.
During this second term, the ILC’s executive committee founded a newsletter, appointing Dr. Lehman as the editor of ILC News. Following the completion of his service as Chairman in 1995, Dr. Lehman continued to serve the ILC as news editor until 1998.
Dr. Lehman was predeceased by his wife Marjorie in 2015.
Lutheran Church–Canada’s current president, Rev. Dr. Timothy Teuscher, expressed the thankfulness of the entire church for the life and ministry of President Emeritus Lehman. “Although small in stature, Ed not only cast a large shadow over Lutheran Church–Canada, but also over worldwide confessional Lutheranism,” he noted. “Upon my election to this office of President of LCC in 2017 and in the years since, I have cherished his many kind words of support and encouragement.”
A funeral for Dr. Lehman took place on December 20 at Concordia Lutheran Church in Edmonton. The service was also broadcast online. Preaching for the funeral was LCC’s Past President Robert Bugbee, as President Teuscher was recovering from surgery at the time.
Past President Bugbee noted that, in addition to the personal grief felt by Dr. Lehman’s family, “it’s an emotional moment also for the entire Lutheran Church –Canada family across the land, which bids farewell today to its irreplaceable first synodical president.”
“If I were to start reciting things that Ed Lehman said and did to help us as a group and as individuals in our life of faith, it would get wearying in very short order because there are so many,” Dr. Bugbee said. “And even then, it would be a very abbreviated list.”
But that’s not what President Emeritus Lehman wanted. In fact, as Dr. Bugbee noted, President Emeritus Lehman had planned in advance what he wanted at his funeral, including the Gospel text and the sermon theme.
“In lifting out this particular word of Scripture, he was pointing to the heart of what sorrowing Christians need to know upon funeral day,” Dr. Bugbee said. “And these words shine the spotlight on what really matters for an occasion like this: and they point to Jesus, not quite so much to Edwin Lehman—which would have been quite fine with him.”
That Gospel text was John 5:24—“‘I tell you the truth,’ said Jesus, ‘whoever hears My Word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not be condemned. He has passed from death to life.’”
It was this Good News for people in the here and now that President Emeritus Lehman was privileged to bear witness to throughout his ministry. It was this Good News that Past President Bugbee preached at Dr. Lehman’s funeral in his stead. And it is this Good News which comforts LCC members across the country, as they remember the life and witness to Jesus Christ of Edwin Lehman.
In lieu of flowers, the family of Edwin Lehman encouraged memorial donations be made to Concordia Lutheran Mission Society or Concordia Lutheran Seminary in Edmonton.
