Why We're Unique

 

Hills of Peace is a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) and the home church of over 425 people and 130 families.

We began in 1976 when Pastor Vern Sundmark began knocking on doors and gathering interest for a Lutheran church in the upper Sahali area of Kamloops. In 1977 a small group began holding weekly worship services in a local school (Beattie Elementary) using the name Sahali Lutheran Church. On March 19, 1978 the congregation was formally organized under the new name Hills of Peace. In 1981 Sunday worship moved to Aberdeen Elementary School.

Less than a decade after we chartered, construction on a church building began and on April 27, 1986 our current building on the corner of Summit and Robson Drives was dedicated.

Hills of Peace likes to contribute to the wider community whenever possible and we make our building available to a variety of community groups including Girl Guides, Brownies, Kamloops Festival of the Performing Arts, Elections Canada, Overlander Women’s Institute and several other occasional users groups. Being at the junction of two of western Canada’s most travelled highways, the Trans-Canada Highway and the Yellowhead Route, Kamloops is often frequented by travellers and Hills of Peace has regularly hosted groups who are passing through the region.

We have been very intentional about fostering an environment where all people feel welcome and relaxed. We are all companions on a spiritual journey and are committed to working together for the benefit of all. We try to be good stewards of our volunteers and respect the fact that everyone has limitations on their time. Gratitude and recognition of all that our people do to contribute to the mission and ministry of our church is important to Hills of Peace. We also encourage our people to be active in the wider community and have a number of people who serve on boards and committees in Kamloops, in the British Columbia Synod and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada.

In everything we do, as individuals and as a congregation, we seek to be hands and feet of Christ in the world, guided by the words of Saint Paul to the church at Rome:

“Let us then pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.”
Romans 14:19