About Us
Christ the Good Shepherd's Mission is: To Worship God, to Grow in Christ, to Share the Spirit.
History
Christ the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church is the result of the 2003 merger of Christ Lutheran Church and the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd.
Christ Lutheran Church was the oldest Lutheran congregation in Salem, founded in 1894. It was a German Lutheran Church of the Ohio Synod. German services were held until 1943. The Ohio Synod merged into the American Lutheran Church (ALC) in 1960.
Christ Lutheran Church started the first Kindergarten in Salem in 1953. This ministry continued as a Kindergarten, preschool, latch key, and day care center through the end of the 1990's. Economic pressures and public school Kindergartens brought about the decline and close of the center.
Christ Lutheran Church was a mother church to Grace Lutheran Church, now part of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, and Our Savior's Lutheran Church, both of Salem.
The Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd was begun in 1950 with the help of St. Mark Lutheran Church. Pastor Homer Berner was the mission developer. The congregation was officially organized under the United Lutheran Church in America (ULCA) in 1951. The ULCA merged into the Lutheran Church of America (LCA) in 1960.
The Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd's first permanent worship home was on South Commercial. A new church site on Oakhill Ave in South Salem was dedicated in 1964. That building was uniquely beautiful, designed by a noted architect. When Christ Lutheran Church and the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd merged in 2003, the Oakhill property was sold to the Sikh community in Salem that continues to use it as a worship site.
Christ Lutheran Church and the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, each and as a combined congregation, have had six of their members enter the ordained ministry, 3 of them in the last decade (2000-2010).
What We Believe
What we believe in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
* This church confesses the Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
* This church confesses Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and the Gospel as the power of God for the salvation of all who believe
* Jesus Christ is the Word of God incarnate, through whom everything was made and through whose life, death, and resurrection God fashions a new creation.
* The proclamation of God's message to us as both Law and Gospel is the Word of God, revealing judgment and mercy through word and deed, beginning with the Word in creation, continuing in the history of Israel, and centering in all its fullness in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
* The canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the written Word of God. Inspired by God's Spirit speaking through their authors, they record and announce God's revelation centering in Jesus Christ. Through them God's Spirit speaks to us to create and sustain Christian faith and fellowship for service in the world.
* This church accepts the canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the inspired Word of God and the authoritative source and norm of its proclamation, faith, and life.
* This church accepts the Apostles', Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds as true declarations of the faith of this church.
* This church accepts the Unaltered Augsburg Confession as a true witness to the Gospel, acknowledging as one with it In faith and doctrine all churches that likewise accept the teachings of the Unaltered Augsburg Confession.
* This church accepts the other confessional writings in the Book of Concord, namely, the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, the Smalcald Articles and the Treatise, the Small Catechism, the Large Catechism, and the Formula of Concord, as further valid interpretations of the faith of the Church.
* This church confesses the Gospel, recorded in the Holy Scriptures and confessed in the ecumenical creeds and Lutheran confessional writings, as the power of God to create and sustain the Church for God's mission in the world.
Lutherans are a diverse group of people, convinced that the Holy Spirit is leading us toward unity in the household of God. Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America are connected to the faith of the church through the ages and around the world. Lutherans believe in the Triune God. We are part of God’s unfolding plan. When we gather for worship, we connect with believers everywhere and of every time. When we study the Bible and pray, we are drawn more deeply into God’s own saving story. When we serve others and address social issues that affect the common good, we live out our Christian faith. The ELCA invites you into this community of Christian faith. Welcome, and explore.
Lutherans believe in the Triune God. God created and loves all of creation -- the earth and the seas and all of the world’s inhabitants. We believe that God's Son, Jesus Christ, transforms lives through his death on the cross and his new life, and we trust that God's Spirit is active in the world. We are part of God’s unfolding plan. When we gather for worship, we connect with believers everywhere. When we study the Bible or hear God’s word in worship, we are drawn more deeply into God’s own saving story. The convictions shared by Christians from many different traditions are expressed in statements of belief called creeds. These ecumenical creeds that Lutherans affirm and use in worship confess the faith of the church through the ages and around the world. The Confession of Faith of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is part of our founding constitution. The ELCA accepts the following creeds as true declarations of the faith of this church: The Apostles' Creed, The Nicene Creed, and The Athanasian Creed.
Taken from www.elca.org