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Living Faith Lutheran installs Rev. James Luke as new minister

May 18, 2017   ·   0 Comments

By Jasen Obermeyer

Orangeville’s Living Faith Lutheran Church has installed Rev. James Luke as their new minister.

Born in Pakistan but raised in a Christian family, and the only Pakistani-ordained Pastor in the Lutheran Church–Canada, Mr. Luke has had a long and interesting history with the church. He migrated to Canada in 1992, and served as President of Canadian Christian Association (CCA).

Before that, he served Pakistan Air Force for 27 years as an Aeronautical Engineer and reached the rank of Group Captain (Colonel). He was decorated with Tamgha-e-Basalat (Medal of Outstanding performance of duty) and the Chief of the Air Staff commendation Certificate. He currently serves at the Horizon Seniors Regional Committee, which gives recommendations to the Minister of Seniors for project funding.

Mr. Luke has two parishes, one English and one Urdu, Greater Toronto Area Missionary and Intercultural Minister. He preaches on radio AM770 Toronto, every Sunday morning, the program called “Masih ki Awaz” (Voice of Christ).

He currently serves in a dual ministry to his congregation in Orangeville and as a missionary-at-large to the Muslim population in the GTA, looking after nine churches there.

In an interview with the Citizen, Mr. Luke says he wants to bring pastoral care to the Orangeville congregation, connect with senior homes and do “some evangelism in the area, so more and more people can come to the church.”

He says he can connect to Christians, Muslims, Sikhs, and Hindus because of his family background (though born into a Christian family, his father was a Sikh descendant, his mother a Hindu descendant).

He recalled that in Pakistan, as it’s predominantly a Muslim country, his friends “were asking me a lot of questions about Christianity.”

He added he wants Canadians to know the various beliefs and faiths of that area. “Through my sermons and everything, I also try to educate people on South Asian culture and religions, so we are a very multicultural society.”

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