The Reverend Owen Griffiths, Pastor
Faith Lutheran Church
Heading 1
4150 Woodhaven Road
Philadelphia, PA 19154
(215)-637-4210
flcphiladelphia@verizon.net
Welcome
Thank you for visiting Faith Lutheran Church online!
We are a small, family-friendly church in NE Philadelphia.
Whoever you are and wherever you are on life's journey--married or single, old or young, black or white, native-born or immigrant, gay or straight, bisexual or transgender, parent or childless, rich or poor--you are always welcome here at Faith Lutheran.
​
Help us out: If you missed your weekly offering, or if you just want to support the ministry of Faith or the ELCA, you can make an online donation by clicking the "GIVE!" button on the menu bar.
Our Mission
Our mission is to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all people through worship, education, service to our community and world, fellowship, caring, and prayer.
We would love to have you join us!
Baptisms & Weddings
Call the Pastor at (215)-637-4210
for information on how to schedule baptisms and weddings; he will be glad to work with you.
SUNDAY WORSHIP
You can enjoy VIRTUAL worship on Facebook Live every Sunday.
Go to Faith Luther on Facebook!
Just click the underlined link!
Worship Schedule
Sunday Worship
10 AM
Children's Time
during worship
every Sunday
News ​
​​Why Do We Worship the Way We Do?
Have you ever wondered why our worship service has the shape it has? What do those carvings on the altar mean? What’s up with the candle next to the baptismal font? Pastor Owen will explain it all to you in a “Mass of Explanation” on Sunday, July 13th. If you weren’t raised Lutheran, or even if you were but this was never explained to you, Pastor will enlighten you about the traditions and meaning behind what we do every Sunday morning.
​
Something New!
Faith is offering a new Wednesday night Bible study/worship experience. Michaela Ross will be leading a group which, we hope, will be for people who love God but don’t necessarily love the institutional church. Our first Wednesday is July 2nd at 7:00 PM at church. Tonight’s theme will be America’s founding and God-given liberty. The service is very informal and will last only 45 minutes. Future topics will include Broken People, Creation, Patience and Waiting, God is Where We Find Him, and many others. The gathering is geared for seekers, but Faith members are more than welcome to participate. We hope this will be a comfortable and less threatening way to introduce people to the Bible and the Christian faith.
​
Camp Firelight is Coming!
Faith’s VBS this year will be a summer camp adventure with God. Kids ages 3 -12 are invited to enjoy three days of fun, crafts, games, singing, Bible stories, and refreshments based on God’s promise from Psalm 56:3, “When I’m afraid, I put my trust in you.” Camp will be July 22, 23, and 24 from 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM. Camp is FREE and kids are encouraged to bring their friends.
​
Last Sunday of the Month Offering
Faith’s Last Sunday of the Month Offering for July will be to Heifer Project International. Heifer International supports smallholder farmers to sustainably address hunger and poverty in their communities while caring for the Earth. We apply a food systems approach to helping farmers earn more income and to generate economic opportunity for rural women, youth and Indigenous populations. Please be generous in your gifts on July 27th.
​
​Faith’s Veggie Garden
Faith’s veggie garden is now up and running. Thanks to Mark and Jen Sykes for planting cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers. This produce will go to feed the nearly 3,000 families registered for food assistance at Feast of Justice. We can always use volunteers to help harvest and water. If you live near church—or if you’re just into gardening—please volunteer. Talk to Mark, Wayne, or Pastor.
​
Never Surrender Hope Returns
The Never Surrender Hope support group will meet again at Faith on the second Tuesday of every month at 7 PM in the Fellowship Room (outside Pastor’s office). NSH is a support group for people who have family members addicted to drugs or alcohol or any destructive behavior. The group also does occasional service projects, often in support of grandparents who are raising grandchildren. They do fundraisers for school supplies and uniforms and other expenses. The group stopped meeting because of COVID, but has now regrouped.
​​​
Kids' Time
Just a reminder Faith has a Kids' Time every Sunday during the 10 o'clock worship. Miss Grace and Miss Emma tell stories to the tiny tots who may not be able to sit comfortably through our liturgy. The kids also do crafts and get a special message from Pastor. If you have a little one, please know
​​
​
WELCOME! VIRTUAL WORSHIP NEWS:
If you can't make it to church on Sunday morning, we're bringing church to you. We are livestreaming Sunday morning worship at 10 AM on the Faith Luther Facebook page. You can also read the texts of Pastor's sermons by clicking on the "Pastor's Blog" tab on the toolbar. Please remember, too that you can make online donations by clicking on the "GIVE!" button above.
​
You can also check out videos from our national church body, the ELCA, our Synod, or our congregation below. We usually start our livestream about 10 minutes BEFORE the worship begins, so you can fast forward through the video to hear this week's announcements and experience the previous Sunday's service.
Sunday, July 6, 2025
Pentecost 4​
​
​Gospel: Luke 10:1-11, 16-20
10 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two[a] others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. 2 He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. 3 Go on your way; I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. 4 Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. 5 Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house!’ 6 And if a person of peace is there, your peace will rest on that person, but if not, it will return to you. 7 Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. 8 Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; 9 cure the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’[b] 10 But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.’[c]
16 “Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”
17 The seventy-two[a] returned with joy, saying, “Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!” 18 He said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. 19 Indeed, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
​
First Lesson: Isaiah 66:10-14
Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her,
all you who love her;
rejoice with her in joy,
all you who mourn over her—
11 that you may nurse and be satisfied
from her consoling breast,
that you may drink deeply with delight
from her glorious bosom.
12 For thus says the Lord:
I will extend prosperity to her like a river
and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing stream,
and you shall nurse and be carried on her arm
and bounced on her knees.
13 As a mother comforts her child,
so I will comfort you;
you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.
14 You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice;
your bodies[a] shall flourish like the grass,
and it shall be known that the power of the Lord is with his servants,
and his indignation is against his enemies.
​
Epistle Lesson: Galatians 6:1-16
6 My brothers and sisters, if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Take care that you yourselves are not tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill[a] the law of Christ. 3 For if those who are nothing think they are something, they deceive themselves. 4 All must test their own work; then that work, rather than their neighbor’s work, will become a cause for pride. 5 For all must carry their own loads.
6 Those who are taught the word must share in all good things with their teacher.
7 Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. 8 If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh, but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. 9 So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up. 10 So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all and especially for those of the family of faith.
11 See what large letters I make when I am writing in my own hand! 12 It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh who try to compel you to be circumcised—only that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 Even the circumcised do not themselves obey the law, but they want you to be circumcised so that they may boast about your flesh. 14 May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which[b] the world has been crucified to me and I to the world. 15 For[c] neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything, but a new creation is everything! 16 As for those who will follow this rule—peace be upon them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.