Our Mission
Knowing Christ,
Empowering His Followers,
Making Him Known to Others
Empowering His Followers,
Making Him Known to Others
Christ Lutheran Church is a congregation located on the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska. We believe in the lived and embodied Word of God not only through scripture--the stories of our faith ancestors--but through the expression of the Divine in our lives today. We gather in worship to hear these stories, pray for and with each other, and partake in the sacraments of baptism and the Eucharist (communion).
We believe in quiet service in our community, not to brag or win any awards, but to serve. Our building is often busier throughout the week than on Sundays, because we share our space with lots of different community partners--Cub Scouts, Taking Off Pounds Sensibly (TOPS), the Kenai Performing Arts Society, various recitals, interfaith partners like the Quaker Meeting group and the Buddhist meditation group, and hosting local sports teams to save their money for the youth rather than housing.
We believe that all are welcome and we're learning more about how to embrace the "all". We vary in age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, race, socioeconomic status, political affiliation, mental health status, history in Alaska, history in Christianity, and more. Pastor Meredith often says, "If there are 100 of us gathered, we'll have 102 opinions on what the 'right' answer is." This means that we can sometimes bump heads, but we'd rather learn from one another than pretend the other doesn't exist. We try to live as an authentic community where we name the truths of our lives--addiction, depression, trauma, broken relationships, heartache, grief, loss, doubt, and anger. When we say "all are welcome", we mean all are welcome.
We are a part of the Alaska Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The key tenant in Lutheranism is that we are "justified by grace through faith apart from works of law," which was said by the early reformer, Martin Luther. More simply, God loves you, no matter what. There is nothing you can do to EARN or lose God's love. There is no perfect prayer or perfect deed that will somehow make God love you more than God already does. That's grace! It's freely given without shame or blame. The love of God expressed in Jesus Christ, God Immanuel, is the grace that we are born into.
We believe in quiet service in our community, not to brag or win any awards, but to serve. Our building is often busier throughout the week than on Sundays, because we share our space with lots of different community partners--Cub Scouts, Taking Off Pounds Sensibly (TOPS), the Kenai Performing Arts Society, various recitals, interfaith partners like the Quaker Meeting group and the Buddhist meditation group, and hosting local sports teams to save their money for the youth rather than housing.
We believe that all are welcome and we're learning more about how to embrace the "all". We vary in age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, race, socioeconomic status, political affiliation, mental health status, history in Alaska, history in Christianity, and more. Pastor Meredith often says, "If there are 100 of us gathered, we'll have 102 opinions on what the 'right' answer is." This means that we can sometimes bump heads, but we'd rather learn from one another than pretend the other doesn't exist. We try to live as an authentic community where we name the truths of our lives--addiction, depression, trauma, broken relationships, heartache, grief, loss, doubt, and anger. When we say "all are welcome", we mean all are welcome.
We are a part of the Alaska Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The key tenant in Lutheranism is that we are "justified by grace through faith apart from works of law," which was said by the early reformer, Martin Luther. More simply, God loves you, no matter what. There is nothing you can do to EARN or lose God's love. There is no perfect prayer or perfect deed that will somehow make God love you more than God already does. That's grace! It's freely given without shame or blame. The love of God expressed in Jesus Christ, God Immanuel, is the grace that we are born into.
