WHO WE ARE?
About us
We are a very diverse church, worshipping in a variety of languages including English, Polish, Nordic, Mandarin and Cantonese. We are Christians from all parts of the world, drawn together by our shared faith and common Lutheran heritage. We welcome in our midst all those who want to explore their faith and find a worshipping community. As Lutherans we believe that we are saved by the grace of God and invited to gather around the Word of God and the Sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion.
Lutheran identity
Our identity as Lutherans is rooted in the Bible and our history. We proclaim the “good news” of Christ’s life, his death on the cross, and his resurrection. Together we witness that, despite our sins, we are accepted unconditionally: forgiven, saved and justified by God’s grace for Christ’s sake through faith alone. We center our worship of the Triune God in the proclamation of the Word of God, both law and gospel, and in the sacraments. We are freed by Christ in faith to love and serve our neighbor.
Our Lutheran heritage in practice looks that we share much of our liturgy, we sing many of the same hymns in many different languages because music is important to many Lutheran traditions. Preaching is a vital part of our services, as we believe the Word of God comes to us through sermons. Holy Communion is also highly valued, as Lutherans believe that Christ is really present in bread and wine.
Photo: LWF
World communion
Our Church is a member of the Porvoo Communion, which is a fellowship of Anglican and Lutheran Churches in Great Britain and Ireland, the Nordic region, Iberia and the Baltic countries. This agreement has established altar and pulpit fellowship between the signatory Churches, making members of each of the Churches in all but formal terms members of each other’s Churches.
We are a member of the Lutheran World Federation – a global communion of 148 churches in the Lutheran tradition, representing over 75.5 million Christians in 99 countries, sharing the vision „Liberated by God’s grace, a communion in Christ living and working together for a just, peaceful, and reconciled world“. We are also part of the Lutheran Council of Great Britain, which provides facilities, financial and administrative support and advice for pastors and congregation members.
Photo: LWF/C. Kästner
History
The LCiGB was founded in April 1961 as the United Lutheran Synod, bringing together four congregations. St John’s in London (now St Anne’s) was a daughter congregation of St Marienkirche, one of the German Lutheran congregations in London. Augsburg (High Wycombe) and St Paul’s (Corby) were congregations of mostly European refugees and their families. Holy Trinity (Hothorpe Hall and surrounding area) served the Lutheran conference centre. Very shortly afterwards, another English-speaking congregation, the International Lutheran Congregation in Leicester, joined the newly formed Synod. In the mid-1960s monthly services in English were started by the German-speaking congregation in Nottingham. We became a Church for the old and new migrants to the UK and to local people.
The LCiGB joined the Lutheran World Federation in 1988. On 3 October 2010 our Church was formally accepted as an observer in the Porvoo Communion of Churches and became full member in 2014.
The Association of Polish Lutheran Congregations (APLC), formed in 1997, is the successor to Polish Lutheran Church Abroad formed in 1948. It was abolished, as a separate Church from the Church in Poland, after democracy came to Poland in 1990. However Polish congregations continued to exist, hence the APLC, and most of them belong to LCiGB.
What's in a name?
When we joined the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in 1988, our Church had only recently changed its name to Lutheran Church in Great Britain. We wanted an acronym, and it seemed obvious that it should be LCGB. However, this also sounded like the Lutheran Council of Great Britain. It would be confusing to say that the LCGB is a member of the LCGB! Hence we added the first letter of “in”, to form our acronym. Hence we are the LCiGB.
Photo: LWF/A. Danielsson
GET IN TOUCH
Contact Us
The Lutheran Church in Great Britain
Don’t hesitate to reach out — we’re here for you!
_edited.png)