Welcome
STATEMENT OF BELIEFS
As a member congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, we proclaim God’s grace and forgiveness through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We cannot make ourselves right with God by anything we do or how we live but by faith in Christ we are given eternal life as a gift from God.
Central to expressing that grace is word and sacrament ministry. The Bible is a living and creative word for us that is the basis for teaching and preaching. Additionally God’s grace comes to us through two sacraments – Holy Baptism, where we initially receive forgiveness and are claimed by God as God’s child and Holy Communion, where we are nourished in our faith and continue to receive God’s assurance of grace.
As Lutherans, we are “catholic.” This means that we are part of God’s universal church on earth. We use a liturgy in worship that follows the apostolic tradition and we confess faith using the traditional Christian creeds of the Church.
We are also “evangelical.” Central to our faith is the good news of Jesus Christ but that also means that we are all called as a “priesthood of believers” to share that good news of God’s grace and forgiveness with others.
Finally we are “reforming.” We recognized that as sinful human beings we easily stray from God’s good intentions. We seek to live in and struggle with the questions of life rather than offer definitive answers. We try to remain open to the surprising ways that God is working in the world.
Established by Norwegian immigrants, Elim now is a diverse congregation, especially among our young adults and children. Having a strong historical tradition, we strive to be contemporary in our approach and to use technology as another tool of proclaiming faith in Jesus Christ.