Who are We?


  • What We Believe

    This congregation confesses faith in the Triune God who encounters them as — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior - who is Victor over sin, death, and evil, and who gives new life.  In our preaching and teaching we trust the Gospel as the power of God for the salvation of all who believe. 


    This congregation holds that the Holy Scriptures are the inspired Word of God, and the authoritative source and norm for proclamation, faith, and life.  This congregation affirms that the Apostles', Nicene, and Athanasian Creed are true declarations of faith. This congregation accepts the Unaltered Augsburg Confession as a true witness to the gospel, and other confessional writings in the Book of Concord as valid interpretations of the faith. This congregation believes that the sacraments of Holy Baptism and Holy Communion, instituted by Christ, are means of grace - means whereby Christ encounters us, means whereby Christ gives us reconciliation, forgiveness of sin, new life, joy, comfort, strength, and peace, and means whereby we are constituted as a church - as the body of Christ. 


    As a church we believe we are called and privileged to participate in God's work in the world. In this work, God calls and empowers us for mission through baptism. Sealed and empowered by the Spirit, as a community of believers justified by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8), we take up the mission of Christ in the world. We proclaim the gospel in word and deed; embody the love and compassion of Christ as we care for, pray and strive for healing for others; seek to restore God's creation, and to protect the honor and dignity of all in the  pursuit of justice and peace.  


    Grounded in God’s love and forgiveness, we are equipped to live and serve in our current context and the greater world.  As saints and sinners, by grace through faith, who are certain of God's promises, we are a people of confident hope. We live and serve with the bright horizon promised and given in Jesus Christ. We trust that the fulness of God's loving purposes will be fulfilled when our risen Lord Jesus Christ returns (1 John 3:2). As the church, we are called, gathered, enlightened, and sent to celebrate and proclaim the gospel, and to serve God and neighbor.  Freed from sin, death, and evil we are freed for new life in Christ's righteousness, freed for life in the Spirit, and freed and equipped in Christ and by the Spirit to serve God and to love our neighbor.  With our hands, we do God’s work of restoring and reconciling communities in Jesus’ name throughout the world.


    Click here to learn more on the ELCA website.


  • Martin Luther's Seal

    "The first should be a black cross in a heart, which retains its natural color, so that I myself would be reminded that faith in the Crucified saves us.

     

    Such a heart should stand in the middle of a white rose, to show that faith gives joy, comfort, and peace .


    Such a rose should stand in a sky-blue field, symbolizing that such joy in spirit and faith is a beginning of the heavenly future joy, which begins already, but is grasped in hope, not yet revealed.


    And around this field is a golden ring, symbolizing that such blessedness in Heaven lasts forever and has no end."


    Excerpted from Martin Luther's explanation on his seal.

  • who we are and god's call

    St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church is a congregation of believers called by God through the redeeming love of Jesus Christ, and empowered by the Spirit to be God's people. We are called to celebrate and to live in the gospel that has come to us, that enlivens and defines us. We are called to proclaim to our neighbor, near and far, through word and deed the gospel of Jesus Christ.  As the body of Christ, through Word and Sacrament, the Holy Spirit nurtures us in faith, commitment, and service. Our response to God's call is to:

    • Give praise and thanksgiving through regular worship
    • Strengthen our congregation as a loving forgiving and serving family
    • Increase our understanding of God's will for life and ministry through study, dialogue and prayer
    • Go forth in proclamation of God's Salvation through word and witness
    • Be God's servants and ministries to all people
    • Share willingly of our means
    • Give sacrificially of out time, talents, and treasures for the support and advancement of God's Kingdom here and for eternity