What’s in a name?
Simply put, it’s who we are.
Salem
Our founders chose a good name for a church back in 1823. Why? Look no further than Holy Scripture:
And King Melchizedek of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High. Genesis 14:18
In Judah God is known, his name is great in Israel. His abode has been established in Salem, his dwelling-place in Zion. Psalm 76:1-2
Salem is a holy place where God is truly present in bread and wine—just like our Biblical namesake.
Evangelical Lutheran
Lots of churches are Evangelical. Lots of churches are Lutheran. Salem is both—what does this mean?
Evangelical comes from the Greek word εὐαγγέλιον (euangelion), which means “Good News”—the life-changing gospel of Jesus Christ. Salem clings to this name because we believe in the central Biblical message that Jesus sets us free from sin and death by His grace.
But we’re not just Evangelical, we’re Evangelical Lutheran. Martin Luther, the sixteenth-century pastor and theologian despised the name “Lutheran”, since he wanted the Church to return to Biblical Christianity, not just blindly follow his teachings. But the name stuck as a shorthand for what he spent his life fighting for—not a protest against something, but a movement for Bible-based change in the Church. Learn more about what Evangelical Lutherans believe.
We are a member of the Lower Susquehanna Synod, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Lutheran World Federation, which means we are in communion with 76 million other believers down the street, across the United States, and throughout the world.
Church
A church is much more than its building or its pastor. A church is a community of believers gathered around Jesus—present in Holy Baptism, Holy Scripture, the preached Word, Holy Communion, and the community of believers itself. At Salem, we come together because we believe that only as a group (not as individuals) we can truly experience Jesus Christ, our Lord, in His fullness.
This has been a part of Christian teaching for centuries. Martin Luther may have put it best when he said:
He or she who wants to know something concerning Christ must neither trust in themself nor build their bridge into heaven by means of their own reason, but they should go to the church; they should attend it and ask their questions there.