As a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, we at First English Lutheran Church understand ourselves to be a mission outpost offering the good news of Jesus Christ -- and a word of welcome -- to all people. At the heart of the Lutheran message is the gospel of grace: "By grace you have been saved through faith; this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God." (Ephesians 2:8) We therefore live the Christian life -- and commit ourselves to bring help and hope to the world -- as a response to God's free gift of love. Seeking to live out a gospel that "comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comfortable," we are called to see Christ in the neighbor and to be Christ to the neighbor.
