About us
GSELC is an inclusive community of Jesus followers located in the Muhlenberg suburb of Reading. The members of GSELC are a diverse group of Lutheran Christians who seek to build the Kingdom of God in our community. We know “Christian Speak” can be alienating and confusing. The Kingdom of God describes God’s reign and the fulfillment of God’s will for humanity here and now. It’s not a place we will go to in the future, but it’s a possibility here and now. God’s Kingdom breaks through in the kindness of God’s people, in the grace offered to another, through our worship, and fellowship.
We believe in the Triune God — Father/Mother, Son, and Holy Spirit. We proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. In our preaching and teaching, we trust the Gospel as the power of God for the salvation of all who believe. Teaching or theology prepares members to be witnesses in speech and in action of God’s rich mercy in Jesus Christ.
Scriptures, Creeds, and Confessions
Our Confession of Faith identifies the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments (commonly called the Bible); the Apostles’, Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds; and the Lutheran confessional writings in the Book of Concord as the basis for our teaching. This Confession of Faith is more than just words in an official document. Every Sunday in worship we hear God’s word from the Scriptures, pray as Jesus taught, and come to the Lord’s Table expecting to receive the mercies that the Triune God promises. Throughout the week our members continue to live by faith, serving others freely and generously in all that they do because they trust God’s promise in the Gospel. In small groups and at sick beds, in private devotions and in daily work, this faith saturates all of life.
Teaching for a life of faith
This connection to all of life is the clearest demonstration of the authority that the canonical Scriptures, the ecumenical Creeds and the Lutheran Confessions have in our community. The Holy Spirit uses these witnesses to create, strengthen and sustain faith in Jesus Christ and the life we have in him. That life-giving work continues every day, as Martin Luther explained in the Small Catechism: the Holy Spirit “calls, gathers, enlightens and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth and preserves it in union with Jesus Christ in the one true faith.”
