Lutheran Sacraments

“There's a hunger beyond food that's expressed in food, and that's why feeding is always a kind of miracle.”
- Sara Miles

Emmanuel honors the two traditional sacraments of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America (ELCA), which are Holy Baptism and Holy Communion
(also called The Eucharist).

Lutherans believe that sacraments, whenever they are properly administered
by the use of the physical component commanded by God, along with the
divine words of institution, God is — in a way specific to each sacrament —
present with the Word and physical component.


Sacraments can be a bit confusing ... at their core, the sacraments of
Baptism and Communion are simply ways that the infinite (God) becomes finite.
Sacraments are tangible ways that ordinary people can receive the grace and love
of an extraordinary God. The elements of water (for Baptism) and bread/wine
(for Communion) signify God's grace, imparted to all humanity. These are
elements that are essential for human life to exist, and so they beautifully
represent the way that Christ's own life gives life to all people and things.

What's important to remember is this:
What makes a sacrament holy is not our ability to faithfully receive it ...
what makes a sacrament holy is God's ability to come to us in it.

If you'd like to know more about Baptism or Communion, please feel free
to call Emmanuel's pastor at any time.


Lutherans believe that

This means that God is involved in every aspect of life ... things seen and things unseen. It means that God can be tangibly experienced in bread and wine, but also in nature, in food, in friends, even in the welcome of a stranger.