Who We Are
We know family is the #1 influence on faith, identity, and sense of belonging. That’s why we do church together—kids, teens, parents, grandparents, and chosen family.
Our programs, worship, and service opportunities are designed for all ages to learn, serve, and grow side by side. Here, modeling faith—imperfectly and authentically—matters more than having all the answers. Not sure what you believe? You’re not alone. We welcome your curiosity and your doubts. Here, you’ll find people who listen without judgment and a community that values honest conversation over easy answers. Bring your questions—let’s figure it out together.
We Are Reconciling In Christ
This means that, as a congregation, we have made an intentional commitment to welcome and affirm all people, including people of every sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, racial background, and socio-economic circumstance. We also seek to actively work for justice in our community and in the wider world. In 2024, our congregation voted to become a RIC worshiping community and to publicly live out this promise of welcome and inclusion.
Our Welcome
Holy Cross Lutheran Church joyfully affirms and celebrates that every person is a beloved child of God. We welcome all who are seeking God’s boundless love and sustaining grace into full community with us at Holy Cross. As disciples of Jesus Christ, we commit ourselves to breaking down barriers and systems that divide God’s children, working to be a space committed to racial equality for God’s people and to building a community where all are recognized as part of Christ’s new creation.
We welcome you, and you are safe with us...
Whatever your race, ethnicity, or heritage;
Whatever your relationship status;
We welcome you, and you are safe with us...
Whatever your sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, or gender expression;
Whatever your socio-economic status;
We welcome you, and you are safe with us...
Whatever your age and life circumstance;
Whatever your physical and mental ability.
You are a beloved child of God, you are valued,
and you are welcome here.
Our Land Acknowledgment
Holy Cross Lutheran Church gathers on the ancestral and unceded lands of the Piscataway and Manahoac peoples, who have lived in relationship with this land — its rivers, forests, and creatures — since time immemorial. We give thanks for their enduring presence, their cultures and wisdom, and their faithful care for creation.
We acknowledge with sorrow the violence, displacement, broken treaties, and erasure inflicted upon Indigenous peoples throughout this land — harms too often carried out with the blessing, participation, or silence of the church. We confess our complicity, as a congregation and as part of the church universal, in these injustices.
We recognize that the Piscataway and Manahoac peoples and other Indigenous communities live among us today, and that acknowledgment must be more than words. We commit ourselves to truth-telling about the past, to listening with humility, and to building relationships with Indigenous neighbors rooted in respect, repentance, and love.
We pray that God, who calls every people and nation, would deepen our commitment to reconciliation that embraces all people, honors every identity, and seeks justice for those too often pushed to the margins. May our life together on this land reflect the healing and hope of God's creation.
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God of every people and nation, we give thanks for the First Peoples of this land, the Piscataway and Manahoac, for their cultures, wisdom, resilience and care for creation.
We confess the violence, displacement, broken promises, and erasure inflicted upon Indigenous communities, including the harms carried out in the name of the church.
Deepen our commitment to reconciliation that embraces all people, honors every identity, and seeks justice for communities too often pushed to the margins.
Lead us to listen with humility, speak truthfully about the past, and build relationships rooted in respect, repentance, and love. Amen.
What We Believe
We believe in the Triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—mysteriously three in one, who created and loves all creation.
We confess that Jesus is Lord—the risen Christ is our one and only Lord and Savior—and that through his death on the cross and resurrection to new life, God transforms our lives and brings forgiveness, life, and salvation.
We believe that we are saved by God's grace alone, not by anything we do or could ever earn, and that we receive this grace through faith—a confident trust in God and God's promises to us in Christ.
We trust that the Holy Spirit is living and active in our lives, in the Church, and throughout the world, calling and empowering us to share God's love with others.
Because God's grace and love are freely given, everyone is welcome, and in grateful response to God's gift of salvation, we seek to live lives of faith, love, and service—loving our neighbors, caring for God's creation, and serving other in Christ's name.
What We Believe About Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ is the Word of God incarnate, through whom everything was made and through whose life, death, and resurrection God fashions a new creation. We teach that all people are sinners. A person is saved by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ. We live in the true freedom of Christian love and responsibility.
What We Believe About the Church
We were not created to live our lives alone but to form meaningful relationships in community with others. Faith doesn't happen overnight. The Holy Spirit plants and waters the seed of faith deep inside us, allowing God to build faith in us. The Church doesn't exist for its members. Instead, the Body of Christ exists to extend beyond our walls, seeking and finding individuals who are lost and in need of support, care, and nurturing as a community. At Holy Cross, we are all about bringing people together to experience Jesus Christ and his liberating message. You have a place here at Holy Cross Lutheran Church!
What We Believe About Scripture
We believe that the canonical Scriptures of the First (Old) and Second (New) Testaments are the written Word of God. Inspired by God’s Spirit speaking through their authors, they record and announce God’s revelation, centering in Jesus Christ. Through them, God’s Spirit speaks to us to create and sustain Christian faith and fellowship for service in the world. The Holy Scriptures are the inspired Word of God and the source and norm for proclamation, faith and life.
What We Believe About the Sacraments
We are nourished in our faith through the sacraments of Baptism and Communion (the Means of Grace). Jesus Christ, the living Word of God, by the power of the Spirit, comes to us through the reading of the Scriptures; the proclamation of preaching; the announcement of the forgiveness of sins; Holy Communion; and the gathered community. By the power of the Spirit active in Holy Baptism, this Word—Jesus Christ—washes people to be Christ’s own Body in the world.
Holy Baptism is the means of grace by which God names and claims us as God's very own. Through baptism, we become children of God and are given the promise of the Holy Spirit. Through water and the Word, God liberates us from sin and death by joining us to the death and resurrection of Jesus. We are born fallen creatures, in bondage to sin, yet through baptism we are reborn children of God and inheritors of eternal life.
Holy Communion is the means of grace by which God forgives, restores, welcomes, and builds community. More than merely a symbol, we believe that Christ is mysteriously present in, with, and under the bread and wine. At Holy Cross, we welcome all baptized Christians who believe that Jesus’ body is broken for you and that his blood is shed for you. Welcome to God's table!
Our Purpose
We gather in grace, live in love, and serve with purpose.
Our Vision
Holy Cross' vision is to be a growing and thriving faith community, serving as a resource for the wider community, and is a home for all.