Who are we?
We are two rural Lutheran churches in the Evangelical Church of America.
Who are we?
Our denomination, helps us articulate our theology. We believe that God created all that exists and there is nothing that exists without God's hand. God is one in three persons, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These three persons are of one essence, present in and through and of all things. We believe that God made himself small and entered creation as an infant child. He grew and lived among God’s people. We believe that Jesus Christ was truly man and truly God at the same time. We believe that Jesus had much to teach us and we can learn about this by reading and studying the scriptures. We believe that Jesus Christ took on our sins and died at the hands of humanity for the sake of our salvation. We believe that Christ rose after three days from death and was resurrected by the power of the Holy Spirit to join the Father, leaving the Holy Spirit to lead and guide and move our conscious. We believe that on our own actions and behavior we can not earn salvation or even behave as Jesus taught, but by the gift of faith we are empowered to live in community with one another, love as we have been loved, and care for all of creation.
What we do?
We praise and give thanks to Christ. We gather weekly for a service of liturgy, in which we sing and worship God. We read from the scriptures and discuss what these words mean in this time and place. We pray for healing and wholeness and we expect to encounter the Holy Spirit. We eat the body and blood of Jesus Christ who is our Savior and Lord and we are forgiven and healed by his love and sacrifice. Then we go into the world and try to follow Jesus example. We fail. We ask forgiveness. We encourage one another to keep at it, knowing that it is not what we do that saves us, but what has been done for us. We love because we are loved by God.
Where do we hang out?
We worship at Grace Lutheran Church and Trinity Lutheran Church in Westbrook, MN. These congregations were started by our ancestors who believed essentially the same things we do. We worship together because we need one another's love and support and comradery. We rotate back and forth between our individual buildings to foster relationships within our members while allowing for our own identities to be displayed. We live and work in the community of Westbrook and the surrounding region. We support our youth by offering a weekly worship opportunity at Grace Lutheran geared especially for young Christians learning about God.
When do we gather?
We gather on Sundays at 10am. We alternate our physical location of worship between Grace and Trinity. Please see the calendar to be sure to know where we will be on any given Sunday. We gather with the youth of our community on Wednesdays for a meal at 5:30pm and then we teach and worship with them from 6pm to 7pm at Grace Lutheran. We have women's groups that gather monthly for sewing, quilting, and fellowship. We also gather to celebrate liturgical events in the church calendar such as the forty days of Lent, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday. We marry and bury our loved ones with the promises that Christ has made to all of us. That being, we are one with Christ and it is in Him that we live and die and have our being.
Why do we worship and pray and serve?
We have been given a gift. This gift is life and the ability to live it abundantly. We pray and give thanks and ask forgiveness, serving the Lord because there is no other force more powerful in the universe and there is no grace and mercy more committed to our lives. We give thanks for all that we have and all that we are and we give from these gifts to those in need because Jesus instructed us. And by serving one another we are serving God.
