Trinity Lutheran Church of Pleasant Valley
A congregation of the ELCA
Who We Are
Trinity has been a church in Pleasant Valley and Springfield Township since 1751. Historically we were known as Springfield Lutheran.
We are one of nearly 10,000 congregations in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the largest Lutheran body in the United States. A Lutheran is simply someone who keeps the Good News of Jesus Christ at the center of their faith. We often sum up that Good News by saying: We are saved by grace through faith and not by works (based on Ephesians 2:8-9).
What this means is that we know we are loved by God simply because that’s what God’s promised us. We’ve been trying to fix ourselves and save the world for so long that it’s become clear we can’t do it, and God has graciously done for us what we can’t do ourselves. We remind each other every week of this Good News because the world keeps trying to make us believe we’re all going to hell in a hand basket. God's love is bigger than any problem in this world and will never abandon us.
This also means that rather than giving up on the world or doing nothing until God completes what he began in Christ, we’re been so completely changed by the hope God's given us that we’re actively joining God here and now to share the blesses of the Kingdom of Heaven. That’s why Lutherans are known for starting hospitals, schools, and nursing homes. That’s why Lutherans are one of the biggest social service organizations in the world. That’s why we here at Trinity actively seek to serve our community wherever there is a need that hasn’t been met, wherever there is a problem that needs addressing, wherever there is a person who doesn’t know or needs to experience God’s love.
We've been saved by God, and we believe that God is working through the Church to save the whole world.