The Bloemfontein Lutheran Community
Founded in 1875, the community was for the majority of its existence, a german-speaking one, and was an integral part of the german diaspora in Bloemfontein. A church building in the CBD of Bloemfontein was orignally used as the place of worship, but in 1967 the community moved to the current building in Dan Pienaar. Over time, the sermons gradually shifted to Afrikaans, while the rest of the liturgy remained in German. Recently, the community fully embraced Afrikaans and English, and we are now a fully multi-lingual congregation.
History of the Lutheran Church
In 1517, a young Martin Luther , who at the time was a catholic priest, nailed his 95 theses to the door of the All Saints Church in Wittenberg, Germany. Unbeknownst to him, he had just started the Reformation. Upon close review of the Bible, Luther had become disillusioned with some of the practices of the Catholic Church, chief amongst them the practice of issuing indulgences, and initially he called for the church to be realigned with biblical principles. This call for change was entirely rejected, and Luther was ultimately excommunicated and branded a heretic in 1521, and it is fair to say that Lutheranism become a distinct branch of Christinatiy at around this time. In the centuries to follow, Lutheranism gained a significant following in North and Central Europe, and ultimately globalized in the late 1800s, as german missionaries and immigrants spread to the United States, South Africa and Australia. Today there are around 80 million Lutherans worldwide.
What do we believe?
We believe in the Holy Trinity, the bodily Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Virgin Birth, and we hold that the Nicene Creed is the defining statement of believe for Christianity. As Lutherans, we further support the doctrine of Sola Fide, that we are saved by Grace alone, through Faith in Jesus Christ alone. No one can earn their way into heaven through good works, Jesus has already earned it on your behalf on the cross.