The Lutheran Church began as a confessional movement, within the Western Catholic tradition of Christianity, whose ministry is centered on God's Word and Sacraments. We are called and sent to bear witness to God's creative and redeeming activity in the world and in our local communities.

The Lutheran heritage goes back 500 years to the reform efforts of Catholic monk, priest, and theologian Dr. Martin Luther. His earliest "Evangelical Catholic" followers established congregations throughout Germany, Scandinavia, and Eastern Europe, and immigrants from there subsequently brought "Lutheranism" across the Atlantic. Hartwick Seminary (forerunner to Hartwick College) was the first Lutheran institution of higher learning in America.

Today Lutherans number 65-70 million worldwide. In North America its 9 million members are increasingly multi-ethnic in character. It is also one of the fastest growing churches in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and South America.

When not the subject of Garrison Keillor's delightfully humorous "Lake Wobegon" tales, Lutherans are especially well-known for their music and immigration and refugee placement services and for internationally acclaimed disaster relief work. 

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