After 155 years of ministry in the Rockville and Ellington areas of Connecticut, First Lutheran Church has made the difficult decision to end its ministry as an individual congregation of the New England Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and to merge with Trinity Lutheran Church in Vernon, Connecticut for many more years of strengthened ministry. Please join us at Trinity Lutheran on Sunday mornings for worship at 20 Meadowlark Rd., Vernon CT 06066. Visit the Trinity Lutheran Webpage for more information: TLCVERNON.ORG.
If you have any questions about the merger, or if you need information about transferring your membership, please contact Leslie Carson, First Lutheran Church President at ljc606@mail.harvard.edu.
FIRST LUTHERAN CHURCH
OUR PASTOR
Hi,
I’m Jeff Stalley, pastor of First Lutheran. Thank you for finding this website, I hope you find it helpful. This site is fairly static. So please look for our Facebook page and Twitter feed as well. Pictures can speak louder than words and I think you'll learn more about who we are and what we're about by following us on those sites as well.
Currently, I’m in my twentieth year as pastor here. You might be thinking “Twenty years?”. It has gone by in a flash. Two of my kids grew up here and the third is growing up here. I’ve had the opportunity to baptize, confirm, and send off to college several people from this congregation.
I love it here. We laugh together, cry together, eat together, listen to one another, greet each other in peace, and try our best to welcome others into this community.
What I like most about people of this faith community is their willingness to always listen to what God is calling us to do. Trying to find a balance between tradition that holds meaning and new ways to hear about and share God’s love.
We’re not a perfect place, but we work on forgiveness and reconciliation.
I invite you, again, to look for us on Facebook. I invite you to ask questions of us. I invite you to come worship with us. You are invited to any and all of the events we are hosting. We hope to see you soon.
Peace,
Pastor Jeff Stalley
OUR CHURCH
"Loved by God, Seeking to Grow, Caring for Others"…….is First Lutheran’s purpose statement, our motto, our theme song. Everything we do, we use that statement as our guide and our goal.
First Lutheran has been a congregation since 1866. We’ve been in Ellington since 1969. It may be our geographical location, however, our members live in a variety of surrounding towns..
The ministry we coordinate and take part in isn't only at 154 Orchard Street. We belong to the New England Synod of the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America). People of all ages attend programs at Camp Calumet in West Ossipee NH. Our very own youth group looks forward to the Youth Gathering at Hammonasset in Madison, CT every year.
Here are some of the ministries that happen at First Lutheran and beyond:
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Educational Opportunities
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Choir
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Chimes Choir
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Worship Band
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Food Drives for local Food Banks
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Collecting Coats for those who are without
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Providing Sunday lunch for a shelter
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Providing Christmas presents for a family in need
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Making Christmas Decorations for a nursing home
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Sending cards to service people
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Making Birthday cakes boxes for a food bank
This page is less about the history of First Lutheran as it is about the future. To find out what else is happening now, please look for our Facebook page and contact our office to get on the mailing list.
Please feel welcome to be part of anything that is happening at and through First Lutheran.