My Christian Faith

I personally find values in all of the world’s religions and denominations. Our Christian call to love one another leads to coexistence, mutual respect, recognition of shared moral codes (e.g., the “Golden Rule“), and the opportunity to work together for advocacy, service, charity, and pursuit of peace in the world.    

I belong to a church that is part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) organization. The ELCA is is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with nearly 2.7 million members in more than 8,400 worshiping communities. The term “evangelical” is often associated with fundamentalism, but in the ELCA it simply means following the “good news” (Gospel) of salvation through Jesus Christ. 

Lutherans believe that God’s ultimate promise was fulfilled in Jesus through his atoning sacrifice for our sins, giving us salvation by God’s grace through faith in the Gospel, together with the gift of the Holy Spirit in our hearts that leads us to love God and love one another. This is a relationship where God’s promise of steadfast love and mercy in Jesus opens us to a life of bold trust in God and joyful, generous service.

Martin Luther was a foundational figure for the Lutheran Church. He founded the Protestant Reformation Movement in the 16th century, challenging the Catholic Church’s perceived role as negotiator between people and God. He asserted that we have direct access to God through Christ alone, and we are saved by grace through faith, not by works. 

ELCA is widely recognized for progressive social stances consistent with our beliefs including:

• Commitment to radical inclusion, fully welcoming all people into our church, especially those who have been historically marginalized.
• Ordination of women as pastors and bishops.
• Ordination of openly LGBTQ+ individuals (including partnered gay and transgender clergy).
• Commitment to combating antisemitism, including the repudiation of Martin Luther’s later anti-Judaic writings (which were examples of the influence of archaic antisemitic societal norms which, in the 16th century, had persisted for over 1500 years).
  
  

For ELCA Lutherans, worship stands at the center of our life of faith. Unlike some other denominations, we don’t pray to holy saints to intercede for us. We worship only the triune God, including Christ as our mediator. “For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household” (Ephesians 2:18-19). This represents the “communion of saints”—the spiritual union of all faithful people, including ourselves and the faithful departed. Through God’s word, water, bread, and prayer we are nurtured in faith and sent out into the world. Central to our worship life is the presence of God through word and sacrament. The word proclaimed (through preaching, scripture, song, and prayer) and the sacraments—both Holy Baptism and Holy Communion—are called the means of grace, affirming forgiveness, strengthening faith, and building up our personal connection with Jesus Christ. We believe that Jesus is present in these means through the power of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes we describe worship as a “gathering around the means of grace.”[1]

Many ELCA congregational worship services address Bible teachings following the “Revised Common Lectionary” which is a schedule of scriptural texts to be used in worship for each week. This Lectionary is produced by a group of liturgical scholars representing a variety of North American Christian Churches. The goal is to unite global Christians in worship, ensure congregations hear a balanced breadth of Scripture, and align weekly readings with the seasonal church calendar. The Lectionary includes scripture from the Old Testament and the New Testament. We read these scriptural texts during worship, and our Pastor addresses one of these texts in his weekly sermon. Following the Lectionary doesn’t allow for the “cherry picking” of only feel-good texts. Sometimes scripture for a given week may seem challenging or troubling, but the Pastor’s sermons help us understand the cultural and historical contexts, as well as proper translations, that ultimately reinforce the “good news” of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Faith leads to understanding, and understanding further strengthens our faith. Recent Lectionaries also delve deeper to reexamine scripture that has historically been misused to justify discrimination of any kind or to condemn others based on ancient societal norms, and this helps churches to continually move forward with more inclusive stances on social issues. 

ELCA churches faithfully strive to participate in God’s reconciling work, which prioritizes disenfranchised, vulnerable and displaced people in our communities and the world. We discover and explore our vocations in relation to God through education and moral deliberation. We bear witness to the love of God in Jesus Christ through dialogue and collaboration with ecumenical partners and with other faiths. In all these ministries, God’s generosity flows through us into the life of the world.[2]