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. 

We believe that God loves you, and that you are a part of God's good creation. 

We believe that Jesus gives us forgiveness, wholeness, and life, and that his life, death, and resurrection show us what the Kingdom of God is like. 

We believe that we are saved by God's grace, through faith. In response to God's gift, empowered by the Holy Spirit, we live out our faith in acts of service and kindness to one another.

We believe that the Bible is the living word of God, telling the story of God's love and care for all creation through narrative, poetry, historical chronicles, letters, parables, and more.

We believe that Jesus is really present in, with, and under the bread and wine we receive in Communion. Through this sacramental meal we receive salvation, forgiveness, and new life, and are united with Christians throughout time and space.

We believe that the Church is the Body of Christ, and that together we are called, empowered, and strengthened by the Holy Spirit to serve as Jesus' hands and feet and voices in the world.

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.