OUR BELIEFS AND VALUES

Welcome to Trinity Lutheran Church of Manhattan Beach. The Lutheran church as a movement within the broader Western Catholic tradition is rooted in the 16^th century when Martin Luther, Augustinian priest, scholar and reformer challenged certain practices of the time which led to a time known in history as “the Reformation.”  The Reformation affirmed theological teachings about God’s love and redemption—love for all, inclusion, and forgiveness not earned or bought, but offered as a free gift of God’s grace. There are more than 150 church bodies within the Lutheran Communion in 99 countries around the world—many part of the Lutheran World Federation https://www.lutheranworld.org/ Trinity Lutheran Church is a congregation of the Southwest California Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and unites with over 77 million Christians of Lutheran identity.

We affirm welcome to all and embrace the rich diversity of God’s creation.  We are committed to the full inclusion of people of diverse gender identities and expressions, sexual orientations, races, ages, abilities, and other marks of God’s diverse beauty.  People of all ages are welcome to participate in the church’s educational, sacramental, and liturgical expressions. We believe that each and every person is created in God’s image, is gifted with talents and capacities, and has dignity. We believe that God calls us to a new and more abundant life. Our commitment to human rights and justice means that we work on the underlying causes of poverty and exclusion and for a more equitable distribution of power, resources, and opportunities. We seek to be an anti-racist community that stands up against the insidious power of white supremacy and Christian Nationalism.

We proclaim the “good news” of the Gospel—that Jesus Christ lived, died, and rose again to reunite us with God’s plan for abundant life now, here in time, and for eternity.  Despite our own sin and failure we are loved, forgiven, redeemed and called to be reflections of God’s love in the world. The free gift of God’s love drives us into care for those most in need and who often subsist at the margins of our society. We work intentionally against racism, homophobia, transphobia, misogyny, sexism, antisemitism, and other attitudes or actions of hate. These behaviors and deep seated realities are sinful, corrosive and counter to the teachings of Jesus as witnessed in sacred scripture.

As a congregation we are liturgical and sacramental, that is, we follow rites and rituals for worship that connect us with those who have gone before, and those who will come long after our time on earth is past.  Our liturgy is a “to do” list for “the work of the people” in worship—confession, absolution (assurance of forgiveness), prayers, proclamation of the Gospel, and lessons and learning through scripture and preaching, and celebrating the sacraments – Baptism and the Lord’s Supper– acts of redemption instituted by Christ himself. Worship prepares us for our service to others in lives of gratitude for what God has done for us—for encountering Christ in the needs of others, and for loving our neighbors as ourselves.  We rely on the Scriptures—both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible as the source and guide of our teachings, knowing that the Holy Spirit can lead to new understandings and applications of God’s word in our lives. We follow the Ecumenical Creeds and the Lutheran Confessions as faithful expositions of the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church.

We are an ecumenical church that works for unity among Christians.  The ELCA is in full communion with The Episcopal Church, The Presbyterian Church(USA), The Reformed Church in America, The United Church of Christ, The Moravian Church, and The United Methodist Church. We are engaged in active dialogue and cooperation with many other churches, including the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches and seek the unity of all.  We are also committed to inter-faith work with those of many faiths, philosophies, and religious traditions, including our Jewish and Muslim siblings.

If you would like to learn more about Trinity Lutheran Church, would like to inquire about baptism or marriage, or would simply like to talk, please be in touch!