Dear Friend,

 Welcome to St. Philip’s Lutheran Church. 

 More than a decade ago our congregation was like many churches in the world today . . . listless, and trying to figure out why we   even exist anymore in a world that is just too busy for one more commitment.  What grew out of that time was a very intentional and prayerful time of discernment yielding a mission statement we are very proud of: “As an inclusive and caring congregation our mission is to make disciples, praise God, and serve the community.”   I know, I know, mission statements are just words: boring and often ignored.  I totally agree!!  EXCEPT . . . The intent of this new mission statement was to refocus the work and ministry of our congregation to help each one of us understand what a Christian Community should be.  

 Oh, we could have argued over traditional versus contemporary music and things like that, but in the end of the day, none of that really matters.  Instead we became insistent that St. Philip’s should be a place where EVERYONE is welcome and no one feels judged.  It should be a place where we are there for a reason . . . to learn, to serve, to worship, to genuinely support one another through hard times in our lives and have people here to pray with us and for us.  It should be a place where the Word of God is not just heard, but rather, is something that we can take into our hearts and then live out in our lives in ways that change us to be: less anxious, less  worried, more at peace, more grace-filled, and more confident that whatever may come in our lives that “nothing separates us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord.”  

 Let me personally welcome you to visit us at any time, but particularly on Sunday mornings. After all, Sunday mornings demonstrate what we do best: learn,   worship, pray, and serve.

 Finally, my prayer is that this website will be a good introduction to our ministries and who we are as a congregation, but also that it would be interactive for you and   for our members so that we might better communicate with one another and share the joy that is our faith in Jesus Christ.

 I look forward to seeing you this week.

 God’s Peace,
 Rev. Patrick V. Downes
 Senior Pastor