About Trinity Lutheran Church

WHO WE ARE

Trinity Lutheran Church in Connellsville, Pennsylvania, is part of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). 

WHAT WE BELIEVE

The ELCA confesses the Triune God — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. In our preaching and teaching the ELCA trusts the Gospel as the power of God for the salvation of all who believe. 

ELCA teaching or theology serves the proclamation and ministry of this faith. It does not have an answer for all questions, not even all religious questions. Teaching or theology prepares members to be witnesses in speech and in action of God’s rich mercy in Jesus Christ. 

Scriptures, Creeds and Confessions 

The ELCA’s official Confession of Faith identifies the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments (commonly called the Bible); the Apostles’, Nicene and Athanasian Creeds; and the Lutheran confessional writings in the Book of Concord as the basis for our teaching. ELCA congregations make the same affirmation in their governing documents, and ELCA pastors promise to preach and teach in accordance with these teaching sources. This Confession of Faith is more than just words in an official document. Every Sunday in worship ELCA congregations hear God’s word from the Scriptures, pray as Jesus taught and come to the Lord’s Table expecting to receive the mercies that the Triune God promises. Throughout the week ELCA members continue to live by faith, serving others freely and generously in all that they do because they trust God’s promise in the Gospel. In small groups and at sick beds, in private devotions and in daily work, this faith saturates all of life. - See more at: http://www.elca.org/Faith/ELCA-Teaching#sthash.w7e3OH4k.dpuf

HISTORY

Trinity was formed as an English-speaking congregation by a group of members from German-speaking St. John's Lutheran Church in 1884. A church building was erected in a lot over on East Apple Street, which served the congregation well for a few years until the building was outgrown. The lot with the church's current location was purchased in 1908, and Trinity's new building was dedicated on September 10, 1911. 

A formal cooperative arrangement between Trinity and St. John's came into being in 1984-1986, when Pastor Bob Keplinger and Pastor Herb Dubler worked together. In the years following, Trinity and St. John's worked more closely in shared ministry as a "Common Lutheran Witness" to Connellsville. 

In 2012/2013, when the pastor accepted a different call, Trinity and St. John's decided that their differing needs would best be met if each congregation was served by a different pastor. The current pastors began in October 2014.