Come Worship With Us

Kids at a recent pizza party

Mission. As a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, we are called to reach out to persons with the Gospel, to nourish individual and corporate faith through word and sacrament, learning and fellowship, and to express Christ's love in meeting human need. In fulfillment of this calling we commit ourselves to action.

Word and Sacrament. First Lutheran offers a musically rich, liturgical worship experience. We celebrate Holy Communion every Sunday and on many festivals throughout the year, in accordance with the ELCA statement The Use of the Means of Grace. We are a member of the Sierra-Pacific Synod.

Sunday Worship

• 9:00 - 10:15 am Sunday school and Adult Forum
• 10:30 am Holy Eucharist
• 11:45 Coffee hour, fellowship

Summer Worship: July - August, 2008

• 8:30 am Adult Forum
• 9:30 am Holy Eucharist
• 10:45 Coffee hour, fellowship

A Reconciling-in-Christ congregation. First Lutheran Church is one of over 300 congregations in the United States that has declared that lesbian and gay people are equally welcome to join fully in the worship and life of this Christ-centered community.

	1920:	The California Conference of the Augustana Synod began mission work among the Swedish Lutherans in the Palo Alto area. Later that year, Bethlehem Evangelical Lutheran Church of Palo Alto was formed.
	1926:	The congregation changed its name to First Evangelical Lutheran Church of Palo Alto, and constructed the present sanctuary.
	1951:	Responding to post-World War II growth in the area, new offices, classrooms, library, fellowship hall and kitchen were added to the original building.
	1991:	The sanctuary was remodeled, and other improvements, including wheelchair access, were made to the rest of the building.
	2002:	The 26 rank, 1500 pipe Casavant Frères organ was installed and dedicated. We imagine it will serve well into the 22nd century.
	2004:	Reverend Sandra Dager is installed as Pastor, succeeding Pastor Kempton Segerhammar's 15 year tenure.

Now, First Lutheran is a community of about 330 baptized souls in 150 households. Average attendance at worship is 142.