Luther Place Memorial Church

As members of the Lutheran Volunteer Corps, my housemates and I were assigned to a ‘host church’ in the DC area. As the Second closest Lutheran Church to our house, Luther Place Memorial Church was chosen to be that community of faith that could offer us support throughout our year as volunteers. The church, which is located near Logan Circle on Vermont Avenue, looks quite large from the outside as its red-bricked gothic presence towers over its neighboring houses. Upon stepping into the sanctuary, one feels not overwhelmed or intimidated as they might have with the basilica, but instead comforted by the smaller and pleasing space where worship takes place. The church also places a great emphasis on past theologians who greatly influenced Christianity and the role it plays in the world. While pedestrians are greeted by a large bronze statue of Luther standing on the front grounds of the church, churchgoers are joined in worship with numerous theologians from John Wesley to Martin Luther King Jr as their stained-glass images watch over the sanctuary. 

            With roughly 85 worshippers present on this particular Sunday, the congregation appeared to be a close knit community of Lutherans intent on promoting social justice through their faith. The church is actively engaged in the city through social activism as the church members play important roles in serving those less fortunate in the community. This sense of serving others is especially seen in the church service itself as Pastor Karen makes social justice a key component to her theology and her message for her congregation.  The service, which was not nearly as traditional or high-church oriented as Augustana, draws most its energy Pastor’s Karen’s passionate sermons, which are both personally insightful and globally relevant.

            With  Logan Circle being the beautiful neighborhood that it is, this unfortunately means that many of the brunch spots near the church are on the expensive side. While a spot such as Logan’s Tavern may have a 15 dollar crab cake that I’m sure is splendid, you can always walk a little further down P Street
to the whole foods and grab two salmon cakes with a side of mashed potatoes for about $6.50. While I could complain about my limited budget, a break from crab meat doesn’t sound all that painful when I’m still eating seafood from Whole Foods.