Emmaus Road Anglican Church began in the fall of 2016 with a group of people who felt passionate about exploring the good news of the gospel in their lives and extending it to those in our city. Under the care of Fr. Chad Block, the church was planted as Via Langley under the covering of a movement based in Lethbridge called Via Apostolica.
Via Apostolica consisted of a small group of churches that God was leading into the Anglican Way. As our local church was being established, Via Apostolica was welcomed into the Anglican Church of North America (ACNA) as a missionary district of churches. As a Via church, we were excited to see how God would teach us what it looked like to be an Anglican church whose life together is marked by the grace of God by way of His Spirit, Word, and Sacrament.
In our early years, God faithfully led us forward, calling us to lay a firm foundation - these were rich years during which we grew in a depth of community, listened together for God's calling on us as a church, and gained a clarity around the gospel that marked our lives in beautiful and transformative ways. In September of 2021 after 5 years of church planting work, we celebrated our official launch at a commissioning service, knowing that God had established us upon the firm foundations that we had faithfully laid.
Shortly prior to our comissioning service, Via Apostolica's Bishop was placed on a leave of absence by the leadership of the ACNA, triggering a multi-year process that brought us into a complex season that felt very delicate for us as a church. But, we leaned into prayer together, turning to Jesus, trusting for His guidance, provision, and protection for us as a church. When it became clear that our Bishop wouldn't be returning and that the missionary district of Via Apostolica would cease to exist as a result, we began to earnestly pray for God's direction and care as we discerned our way forward as a church that was now in search of a new home.
This was a difficult season for us, but it was also one where God faithfully spoke a clear identity and calling over as a church. God answered our prayers for direction and care, and provided a new home for us, graciously leading us to confidently come under the covering of the Anglican Diocese of Canada - a diocese in the ACNA.
We talk a lot about "story" and "journey" at Emmaus Road; about how God is writing a beautiful story in our lives, one step at a time. Like Abraham's journey from his father's house toward the promised land, our story has been marked by many unexpected twists and turns, but at every moment, in the most amazing ways, God has taught us over and over that "He who promised is faithful!" Hebrews 10.23