About Grace Lutheran
History of the Congregation
Our history at Grace Lutheran Church of LaGrange now spans three centuries. On April
14, 1887 a group of people dedicated to start a new church met at the home
of Mr. and Mrs. Gust Winkrans to organize Grace Lutheran Church of LaGrange
(though its first name was Emmaus Lutheran).
With little money they pledged
pennies and a few dollars to buy the lot at the southeast corner of Ogden
and Kensington (directly across the street from the current sanctuary). Doing
most of the work themselves, these founders built the basement church by September
1887. By October 1895 the first structure was complete and the first resident
pastor, the Rev. Alfred Ostrom, began his service in June of 1897. What
started
as a ministry with Swedish Lutherans, in forty years reached out to
embrace the whole community. Deep in its roots, however, has always been
a mission
emphasis to serve near and far. In addition to its partnership with the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Grace supports many local ecumenical
ministries
as well as supporting a missionary in Tanzania.
Ecumenical Association
Through the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America,
our fellowship officially extends to the United Methodist Church, the Presbyterian
Church USA, the United Church of Christ, and the Episcopal Church; however,
the congregation works with all faith communities in its area.
In our local ecumenical partnership the congregation supports BEDS (a homeless
shelter program), LATH (transitional housing), REBUILDING CHICAGO (a habitat
type program), COMMUNITY PARTNERS (a support ministry with the elderly),
CONSTANCE MORRIS HOUSE
(a ministry for abused mothers).
Grace has a seven year partnership with St. Francis Xavier
(its neighbor)
where the two congregations jointly continue to sponsor a monthly (second Friday of the month)
Taize prayer service, a summer Vacation Church School, and a summer drama/theater
ministry for junior and senior high school students.
The Belief
Statement from Our Constitution
Grace Lutheran’s constitution delineates our
beliefs in which we affirm the Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
We believe that Jesus is the Christ
and thus our Lord and Savior, and that the Gospel is the power of God for salvation
of all that believe. We accept the canonical Scriptures of the Old and New
Testaments as the written Word of God.
We accept the Apostles’, Nicene and Athanasian Creeds as the true declarations of our faith. In addition, we believe that the historical documents of the Reformation writers, Luther and Melanchthon, reflect the theology of the scripture and offer guidance for the practice of faith.
We believe that the Church exists where the Word of God is proclaimed and the sacraments rightfully administered, which is constituted by all baptized Christians. The Church is One, is Holy, and is Apostolic. The Church is “the body of Christ.”
