Come Meet Us

Our congregation has been "In the City for Good" for over 130 years. We are one of the 11,000 churches of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the largest Lutheran Church body in the United States. Lutherans emphasize God's deep love at the heart of all things, a love for all people and a longing for reciprocal love. In Jesus' life we see this love embodied, encouraging us to value, not the prizes of this world, but rather the opportunity to live in relationship with God and with others. Our life together is centered on grace, God's healiing and reconciliation for all creation.

Our community is open to all people; we seek to reflect the rich diversity of our city. Regardless of what you look like, how much money you make, how educated you are, whom you love, or what kind of past you have lived, you are welcome here. We gather in all our strengths and weaknesses, our successes and failures, knowing that through God's nurturing love, all can find acceptance, growth, and transformation. Having experienced God's forgiveness, healing, and reconciliation, we seek to become agents for the transformation and healing of the world.

Holy Communion Lutheran Church is a Reconciled in Christ congregation, which means that gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people are welcome and encouraged to participate fully in the life of the congregation. GLBT people are active in a variety of ways in our congregation and on our staff.

Learn more about Our History. Learn about our Pastors, Staff, and Ministry Chair People. You can learn more about Lutheran Christianity at the ELCA website or at the website of the ELCA's magazine, The Lutheran .

Worship With Us

Our worship is centered around Jesus Christ, the Word of God, whom we encounter in the words of scripture, baptism, and holy communion. We treasure a tradition of excellent music and spiritually uplifting preaching. We have two worship services each Sunday: our 9AM service in our chapel (which is entered at 2111 Sansom Street) is an intimate, less formal liturgy; our 11AM service in the main sanctuary (which is entered at 2110 Chestnut Street) is a full choral service, reflecting a variety of cultural traditions, yet patterned on the ancient liturgies of the church.

Check our calendar for a list of current events including Sunday Services, Mid-Week Worship and Communion, and Jazz Vespers.

Learn, Grow, and Serve With Us

At the Lutheran Church of the Holy Communion, you will have many opportunities to live out your faith. In addition to supporting community service programs such as the Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger, the Bethesda Project, and Philabundance, volunteers from our outreach ministry maintain a food pantry that distributes groceries to over 200 people a month. Through our small groups ministry, you can interact with others who welcome the exchange of thought, insight, care and concern on many topics. Our evangelism ministry seeks to make the good news of Jesus Christ available to all people.

Take advantage of the many opportunities for learning through our Bible studies, discussion groups, and Sunday classes for children and adults. Recent topics have included: An Introduction to the New Testament; What the Lutheran Church Has to Say About End of Life Issues; and The Gospel According to the Lord of the Rings. You can see a full list of our ministries, small groups, and classes here .