what we believe
evangelical lutheran
church in america
Emmanuel is a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The ELCA confesses the Triune God — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. In our preaching and teaching the ELCA trusts the Gospel as the power of God for the salvation of all who believe.
ELCA teaching or theology serves the proclamation and ministry of this faith. It does not have an answer for all questions, not even all religious questions. Teaching or theology prepares members to be witnesses in speech and in action of God’s rich mercy in Jesus Christ.
The ELCA’s official Confession of Faith identifies the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments (commonly called the Bible); the Apostles’, Nicene and Athanasian Creeds; and the Lutheran confessional writings in the Book of Concord as the basis for our teaching. ELCA congregations make the same affirmation in their governing documents, and ELCA pastors promise to preach and teach in accordance with these teaching sources.
This Confession of Faith is more than just words in an official document. Every Sunday in worship ELCA congregations hear God’s word from the Scriptures, pray as Jesus taught and come to the Lord’s Table expecting to receive the mercies that the Triune God promises. Throughout the week ELCA members continue to live by faith, serving others freely and generously in all that they do because they trust God’s promise in the Gospel. In small groups and at sick beds, in private devotions and in daily work, this faith saturates all of life.
“Faith is a living, daring confidence in God’s grace, so sure and certain that a [person] could stake their life on it a thousand times.”
faith and society
Because our faith calls us to witness in the public sphere, the ELCA develops social statements on issues like racism, ecology, and criminal justice to help its members live out their vocations in the world. You can read them here.
The ELCA also develops social messages to call attention to pressing topics of public interest such as immigration, human rights, and gender-based violence. You can read them here.
ecumenical partnerships
The ELCA is committed to fostering unity among the children of God for the sake of the world. We are in full communion with the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Reformed Church in America, the United Church of Christ, the Episcopal Church, the Moravian Church, and the United Methodist Church. We cooperate with the Lutheran World Federation and the World Council of Churches.