Mission Statement:
We are a Christian Community who, with God's help,
commit ourselves to achieving a greater understanding
of His Word and equipping ourselves for loving
outreach, service and ministry.
Statement of Welcome
In response to the call in Romans 15:7 “welcome one
another therefore, as Christ has welcomed you for the
glory of God,” we believe that every person has worth
as an individual and every person is entitled to
dignity and respect.
We therefore publicly proclaim that:
We welcome people of any race, nationality, sexual
orientation, age and physical ability into the
membership of our church, and we encourage all people
to share their faith, gifts and talents in worship,
service, study and leadership;
We commit to remove all barriers
that exclude people from full and active participation
in our church; and
We will continually strive to eliminate prejudice from
our thoughts and actions and discourage prejudice by
others at every opportunity.
Staff
Pastor
Gordon T. Reinertsen
Organist
and Music
Director
David C. Ritter
Church
Secretary
Alice Urland
Nursery
Caregiver
Jackie Koshkin
History of St. Luke Lutheran Church
The decision
to start a mission in northwest Atlanta was made by
the Division of American Missions of the American
Lutheran Church in 1962. By 1963 they had found the
land, enlisted an architect and a contractor, bought
a parsonage, and hired a young seminary graduate -
The Rev. Jerry Straszheim. Pastor Straszheim and his
family came to Atlanta in July of 1963 and began his
work. The first meetings were held in Birney
Elementary School, which was adjacent to St. Luke's
property. The first worship service was held at
Birney Elementary School on September 8, 1963.
The
Congregation was officially established on January
18, 1964. The Chapel and Education Wing were begun
on October 28, 1963 and completed by May 31, 1964,
at which time they held their first worship service
in the new facility. The Service of Dedication and
Thanksgiving for the new facility was held on
November 15, 1964. Pastor Straszheim was the pastor
of St. Luke until November of 1971, when he took a
call to begin a church in Florida.
St. Luke's
second Pastor was The Rev. Gordon T. Reinertsen.
Pastor Reinertsen and his wife, Janet, and their
daughter, Jessica, came to Atlanta on December 20,
1972. His first worship service was on Christmas
Eve. December 24, 1972. Pastor Reinertsen is still
serving as the pastor of St. Luke.
Notable additions of
St. Luke include the addition of our Fellowship
Hall, our kitchen, rest rooms, and several
classrooms in November of 1988. March of 1998 saw
the completion of a complete remodeling of our
sanctuary, with 11 stained glass windows being
added, including the "Crucifixion Window", a large
stained glass window of the crucifixion behind the
altar. A further renovation of the rest of the
facility was completed in August of 1999.
