The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) gathered on Saturday, September 27 in worship and celebration for the installation of Rev. Dr. Larry Kochendorfer as the church’s fifth National Bishop.
Taking place in the afternoon at Faith Lutheran Church, Winnipeg, MB, the installation of the new National Bishop brought together rostered leaders, ELCIC members, staff and ecumenical guests. The service was filled with the beauty of choir and musicians, lifting hearts in joyous song, and with prayers carrying deep meaning and hope.
Lutheran, ecumenical, and interfaith pastors and bishops in attendance robed in red vestments and processed into the sanctuary to the hymn Soli Deo Gloria. Scripture readings from Isaiah 43, Psalm 46, and Ephesians 4 were shared, reminding all of God’s steadfast love, strength, and the call to unity.
“We do not fully know the future, but we have what we need, dear church,” Kochendorfer said. “Jesus is feeding us. We have bread and wine, we have the scriptures, we have each other. We will not get to where we are going without going together and with others. Jesus comes alongside. Love is at our side. Hope, faith and love, these are the tools of our calling. Hope, the ability to hear the melody of the future. Faith the courage to dance to its rhythm. Love, the stubborn and unwavering commitment. And together we seek to live out God’s grace and God’s unconditional love.”
The Most Rev. Linda Nicholls, former Archbishop and Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, preached at the installation, sharing words of encouragement and hope for Kochendorfer’s ministry and for the ongoing work and mission of the ELCIC amid current worldly challenges.
“My prayer for the ELCIC and for Bishop Larry is that you will keep singing,” Archbishop Nicholls shared. “Singing with joy, hope and passion, and that you do that in partnership with us Anglicans, so that we might together show the world that we are not alone; we do not fear. Jesus lives and we will live together with all the gifts that God has given us.”
Those gathered both in-person and online had the opportunity to take the Sacraments through communion shortly after the laying on of hands on Bishop Kochendorfer. The new National Bishop was presented with the gifts of a pectoral cross, a crosier and the Holy scriptures.
Synod Bishops Rev. Trish Schmermund, Rev. Kathy Martin, Rev. Dr. Ali Tote, Rev. Carla Blakley, and Rev. Jason Zinko were all present to offer their blessing and support alongside many rostered leaders and lay representatives from across the wider church.
The service concluded with a blessing, while congregants sung Hope Everlasting as the new National Bishop and clergy processed out of the sanctuary.
About National Bishop Larry Kochendorfer
Kochendorfer, 64, most recently served as interim pastor at Our Redeemer, Penticton, B.C., and assistant to the bishop in the British Columbia Synod. He previously served as Bishop of the Synod of Alberta and the Territories (2012–2024) and has been a parish pastor at congregations in Dickson, Lethbridge and Edmonton, Alberta.
He has served the wider church through the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) as a council member from 2017–2023, chair of the LWF’s Mutual Responsibility Task Force, and co-chair of the Lutheran portion of the Joint Anglican-Lutheran Commission.
Kochendorfer has been married to his wife Cathy for 42 years; together they have raised four children and are proud grandparents to five grandchildren.
Kochendorfer was elected National Bishop at the 2025 ELCIC National Convention in Winnipeg on July 12. He becomes the fifth National Bishop in the ELCIC, following Donald Sjoberg (1986–1993), Telmor Sartison (1993–2001), Raymond Schultz (2001–2007), and Susan Johnson (2007–2025).
