Our Mission Statement  
We, Gloria Dei! Lutheran Church, have been called together by GOD through the HOLY SPIRIT. We confess JESUS CHRIST as LORD. In the name of HIM who came as servant of all:
 

WE WILL faithfully gather for worship and learning to be nurtured and strengthened by WORD and SACRAMENT.

WE WILL witness to our faith and serve our community.

WE WILL participate in the mission of the CHURCH at large.

WE WILL be open to all people and will seek to involve all in HIS ministry.
FATHER, align us with Your will. Following Your Son's example, keep us humble, compassionate, loving, and forgiving, that we may become Your healing persence in the world. AMEN. It shall be so.
 
 
celtic cross Beloved
A Letter from the Congregation		 celtic cross

     Beloved let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. God's love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we love God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. (I John 4:7-11)

   Welcome to Gloria Dei! Lutheran Church, a spiritual refuge in a broken world. As Jesus cherished those he met and gave himself for us, so we as a congregation seek to help others know that they are cherished brothers and sisters of Jesus and beloved children of God the Fahter. 98Our many ministry activities focus on developing, nurturing, and encouraging others toward an intimate relationship with a loving God … the God who calls each of us by name … the God who proclaims, “You are mine and I am yours. You are my Beloved, on you my favor rests.” … the God who has knitted you together in your mother’s womb and carved you into the palms of His hands and hidden you in the shadow of His embrace.

prodigal son and father      Deep within the human heart each of us longs to be loved and accepted for who we are as individuals. Too often, at work and at home, on television and in magazines, the messages of this world make us feel unloved and unvalued. These messages often drown out God’s message for each of us … “You are my Beloved, on you rests my favor”.

The Sacred Peregrina

     Peregrina is both a Celtic word and a Spanish word meaning pilgrimage. Ancient Celtic Christians spoke of two kinds of pilgrimages. One is the interior journey where we encounter the incarnate God in the quiet of our minds and hearts. The second is an outward journey where we discover the incarnate God in the other – the Jesus who dwells in the sick and dying, in the imprisoned and exiled, in the poor and dispossessed, in the homeless and naked, and in the children of the world. It is the place we go to await the resurrection. In Spanish, peregrina implies walking with others on their journeys and sharing in the joys and sorrows of life.

     I encourage you to take both journeys. The interior journey helps us discover our belovedness as God’s children and our special calling, and gives us strength to live our belovedness in the world. The outward journey encourages others to discover their own belovedness. And, as we bring our God-given belovedness in our ministry to help others find their belovedness, we discover our own belovedness in a deeper way.

         We invite you to join us, in person on the Broadneck Peninsula in Arnold, Maryland, or online through this web site. Please peruse our Daily Devotions, which may help center you firmly in God’s embrace when those messages lead you away from your home.


                           God Go with You,
                                   The Gloria Dei! Lutheran Church Congregation