St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church

This Sunday (May 29th), I visited St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church at 455 McNear Ave. They currently have an average attendance of about 35. They are currently undergoing a pastor transition, and thus have a transition pastor, Ted C. Mueller. (Their last pastor, Richard M. Gaub, is seeking a new calling.) St. John's last year celebrated 100 years in the Petaluma community.

Sometimes I am asked why there are more than one Lutheran church in town. (If you might remember, I wrote about Elim Lutheran Church in this blog.) The reason is they belong to different denominations. St. John's is associated with the The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, while Elim Lutheran Church is associated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. To an outsider, this may not make much of a difference, but for a Lutheran, it can make a great deal of difference.

The Missouri Synod, the second largest Lutheran denomination in America, is generally considered more conservative than the ELCA. More importantly, they are part of the tradition of confessional Lutherans, who adhere to the creeds and other documents contained in the Book of Concord. However, other than that, when you attend a service at either Lutheran church, you would probably not notice any difference, since the services are very similar. In fact, I have many Catholic friends who find the liturgy at a Lutheran service to be very similar to the liturgy at a Catholic mass. Anyway, I enjoyed the service.

I am sure St. John's would appreciate your prayers as they will very soon begin their search for a new pastor to continue their ministry to the Petaluma community, and for Pastor Gaub as he seeks a new calling.