Our Vision: “Lutherans by the Lake, Celebrating faith, Serving and inspiring people”
Worship services are the cornerstone of Lutheran Faith. They teach, strengthen and inspire us to live faithful lives through the word of God presented in the scriptures, through sermons and Holy Communion. We value traditional and contemporary music to enhance the worship experience. Our worship is inclusive to all. Generally, we celebrate Sunday services at at 11 a.m. sometimes bilingual, sometimes in German.
Liturgical Year
We follow the liturgical calendar – for the Sundays in any given year – from the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) as adapted for use in evangelical lutheran worship in North America. In each cycle of the liturgical calendar there are six seasons – each emphasizing a part of the life of Jesus. We are in “Year A” which focuses on the Gospel of Matthew: The semi-continuous Old Testament readings focus on major Genesis narratives, the covenant with Moses, and the establishment of Israel in the Promised Land. The second, New Testament, readings are from Romans, Philippians and 1 Thessalonians. Advent: Nov. 27, 2025 – Dec. 23, 2025, Christmas: Dec. 24, 2025 – Jan. 6, 2026, Time after Epiphany: Jan. 6 – Feb. 17, 2026, Lent: February 18 – Apr. 1, 2026,, The Three Days: Apr. 2 – Apr. 4, 2026, Easter: Apr. 5 – May 24, 2026, Time after Pentecost: May 25 – Nov. 25, 2026.
Hymnals
German: Evangelisches Gesangbuch: Für Gottesdienst, Gebet, Glaube, Leben
In the German Service use the Evangelical Hymnal for Wuerttemberg which gathers materials for the worship as well as essential texts of Christianity, meditative pictures, prayers and texts for everyday life. The song part contains the common songs of all Protestant churches in German-speaking countries. The songs are arranged according to the church year and church services, but are also based on basic human issues such as fear and trust, justice, dying and eternal life.
The 684 songs are online and listed in this database: https://www.liederdatenbank.de/songbook/8984
The text compiles all the basic texts, such as the Lord’s Prayer and Creed. In addition, prayers and meditative texts invite to various stages of life such as birth, marriage, illness and aging, to engage in the hymn book beyond the service and to be accompanied in everyday life.
English: Evangelical Lutheran Worship (The Red Songbook)
In the English service we use Evangelical Lutheran Worship (ELW) which gathers materials for worship as well as simple daily prayer services, all 150 Psalms, a calendar of daily readings, and Luther’s Small Catechism. The hymn book was published in 2006 as a collaborative effort between the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. There are ten liturgies, or settings, for Holy Communion which draw on the varied expressions of the Lutheran church in North America, both historical and contemporary.
Like the Evangelisches Gesangbuch, the 743 hymns in the book are arranged according to the church year and church services as well as themes of grace, faith, confession, community in Christ, and witness.
Within the liturgical section of the book are services for various stages of life such as birth, baptism, confirmation, marriage, illness and funerals.
An index of the hymns can be found at https://hymnary.org/hymnal/ELW2006.
Children in Worship
Children get the opportunity to participate in the first part of the service, during Children’s Time. Sunday School continues with a child-friendly program lead by Sunday school leaders. Mark your calendar for our annual Christmas Play! Practices usually start end of November.
Version of the Bible which is right for us, in our congregation:
English: We use The New International Version (NIV), a completely original translation of the Bible developed by more than one hundred scholars working from the best available Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. The 2011 update to the NIV is the latest.
New International Version (NIV)
German: We use the *Hoffnung für alle* translation, except for texts that are traditionally very well-known; in those cases, we usually use the Luther translation.
Luther Bibel 1545 (LUTH1545)
For example,
Psalm 23 (Ein Psalm Davids.) Der HERR ist mein Hirte; mir wird nichts mangeln.
2 Er weidet mich auf grüner Aue und führet mich zum frischen Wasser.
3 Er erquicket meine Seele; er führet mich auf rechter Straße um seines Namens willen.
4 Und ob ich schon wanderte im finstern Tal, fürchte ich kein Unglück; denn du bist bei mir, dein Stecken und dein Stab trösten mich.
5 Du bereitest vor mir einen Tisch im Angesicht meiner Feinde. Du salbest mein Haupt mit Öl und schenkest mir voll ein.
6 Gutes und Barmherzigkeit werden mir folgen mein Leben lang, und ich werde bleiben im Hause des HERRN immerdar.
Devotional Resources in Print and on the Web
These are some of the devotionals which our congregational members are reading.
Gott für uns. Our Daily Bread, Portals of Prayer
Kirchenjahr Evangelisch
( in German) Discover the church year, its high holidays, its texts and its customs.