Zion

What it Means to be Lutheran

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As Lutherans we believe we are saved by grace through our faith in Jesus Christ. This means there is nothing we can do, nothing at all to earn God’s love or to destroy it. And this is the true meaning of unconditional love! 

As Lutherans we believe that God is relationship. God is in relationship to us individually and communally and God is in relationship to God-self in the Trinity: the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We hold the words of the Apostles, Nicene and Athanasian creeds to be true and we lift up the confessions of our early church mothers and fathers and the work of the reformers in the Augsburg confession to be faithful witnesses to our understanding of God. 

As Lutherans we believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God. The scriptures narrate our lives and relationship with God over time and continuously challenge us and point us to a life in communion with God, a world of peace and justice and a future of hope. We study scripture continuously in worship and in small groups to give ancient, yet new understanding to our lives here and now. 

We are a congregation that is a part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, a Christian denomination of more than 10,000 congregations in the USA. 

As a part of the ELCA we are members of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod, which is a gathering of 150 congregations in the Pittsburgh and surrounding areas.