All four Chattanooga area congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and Pilgrim Congregational United Church of Christ will gather at Ascension Lutheran Church, 720 S. Germantown Road East Ridge, Tn. 37412, on Sunday, at 5 p.m., to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ proclaimed, celebrate the Holy Eucharist, and observe Reformation Day. Members of the public are invited to attend. Coffee and refreshments will be served in the fellowship hall following the service.
Observed every year on the Sunday preceding Oct. 31, Reformation Day recalls events beginning on Oct. 31, 1513.
Martin Luther, a Roman Catholic priest and professor of theology at the University of Wittenberg, Germany began to call for a public debate on issues and excesses in the Christian church of his day. Luther’s actions sparked both the largest split and reform in Christian history, known as the Protestant Reformation.
Formed by the merger of three previous denominations in 1988 and with roots going back to 1513, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is one of the largest Protestant denominations in the United States. With over four million baptized members, it is the largest Lutheran body in North America. Founded in Chattanooga in 1913, Ascension Lutheran Church is the oldest member congregation of the ELCA in the Chattanooga area.
Congregations participating are Ascension Lutheran Church in East Ridge, Trinity Lutheran Church in Hixson, Resurection Lutheran Church in Ooltewah, Christ the King Lutheran Church in Dalton, and Pilgrim Congregational United Church of Christ in Chattanooga.