An ELCA Congregation on Heatherdowns Boulevard
All Saints Lutheran Church sits on Heatherdowns Boulevard in Toledo, Ohio, a brick-and-clapboard house of worship that has long made a virtue of its size. The church's motto - Building Bridges to God Through the Cross of Christ and bridges between people in our city and neighborhood - sets the tone for a congregation that prizes both intimacy and reach. As members put it, they love and embrace their identity as a small church, but through their relationship with the West Toledo Parish they are able to offer the benefits of a larger one.
All Saints is a member congregation of the Northwestern Ohio Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Visitors are invited every Sunday at 10:30 AM, either in person at 5445 Heatherdowns Boulevard or online via a YouTube livestream that is also available for viewing afterward.
The West Toledo Parish
The partnership that defines much of All Saints' life today began in 2019, when the congregation found itself looking for a pastor in the midst of a regional clergy shortage. All Saints Lutheran Church and Epiphany Lutheran Church entered into an agreement to share resources and ministries in a way that could enhance both. The arrangement became known as the West Toledo Parish, and it allows each church to remain independent while gaining what neither could easily provide alone.
Within the parish, the lead pastor is primarily responsible for vision, mission, and organization while the vicar focuses on youth and family ministry, with preaching shared equally between them. Youth ministry is intentionally pooled so that confirmation classes and youth activities have the critical mass to be both lively and personal. The same pool of volunteers supports the Feed Your Neighbor food pantry, joint Bible studies, the Alpha course, the Drive Through Nativity, and more.
Sunday Mornings at 10:30
Worship at All Saints is easy-going and casual. Dress is whatever someone would wear on any other Sunday morning, and a bulletin of announcements and event information is handed out by greeters at the door. The music draws on familiar favorites enjoyed by young and old, the Biblically-based message is intended to be relevant to everyday life, and the atmosphere is friendly enough that newcomers are recognized rather than lost in the crowd.
Communion is open to any baptized member of a Christian faith tradition who has been baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Those who have not yet received communion instruction are invited to come forward for a blessing. Young worshipers have their own corner of the sanctuary: a Pray-Ground at the front of the room holds children's Bibles, books, coloring and drawing materials, soft toys, Play-Doh, pipe cleaners, and themed manipulables such as smooth stones, feathers, and shells that connect to the day's scripture.
Sermons and Podcasts
Sunday services are recorded and published through the parish. Epiphany Lutheran Church, All Saints' partner in the West Toledo Parish, releases two podcasts a week: one of Sunday's sermon and another, more conversational show called Faith Talk featuring Lead Pastor David Frye and Vicar Michelle Detmer. Back episodes are available online and through podcast directories.
Teaching for Every Stage of Faith
Sunday mornings begin with Adult Sunday School at 9:30, where the Chosen series is being led by Music Director Sandra Kellogg. On Mondays at 9:30, Pastor Dave hosts a book study on the All Saints campus and online via Zoom. Parents of children attending the on-site preschool are welcome to join; the current text is The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis.
For adults looking to deepen their faith beyond the weekly rhythm, the parish offers two established programs. Via de Cristo is a three-day weekend retreat that gathers men and women on separate weekends each spring, with daily prayer, worship, communion, and singing, all aimed at cultivating a deep, permanent, living awareness of one's faith. Stephen Ministry equips lay caregivers through fifty hours of preparatory training followed by ongoing supervision and continuing education, enabling them to provide confidential, Christ-centered care to people who are hurting.
Children, Youth, and Theater
Children and youth programming is shared across the West Toledo Parish and may meet at either the All Saints or the Epiphany campus. Confirmation instruction begins in sixth grade and continues for three years, culminating in the Affirmation of Baptism on Pentecost. Catechism classes meet during the school year on Wednesdays from 7:30 to 8:30 PM.
The youth group, open to students in grades six through twelve, plans mission trips, service projects, and social activities under the guidance of a youth board. Each summer, Camp Create fills a week with classes in theater, art, music, dance, and athletics taught by professional instructors, alongside Bible stories, games, and crafts for preschool through eighth graders and a parallel adult Bible study.
Theater has become one of the most distinctive ministries of the parish. The Epiphany Players stage large-scale adult productions and an annual fall show with casts of children and youth aged about eight to eighteen. Auditions are open to the wider community, not just West Toledo Parish members, and stage crews, set designers, and artists are as welcome as actors, singers, and dancers. The Players describe their work as a way to build bridges between different groups of people and share the many gifts God has given.
Adult Fellowship and Gathering
Beyond classes and study, the church hosts an active adult fellowship life. The Sassy Saints, the women's group, meets for lunch at 11:30 AM on the third Wednesday of each month at the Sunrise Skillet on Reynolds Road. The Events Committee, led by Council President Sue Merkel, plans additional opportunities for fellowship throughout the year, and the Nurture Committee, led by Judy Reber and Carol Hancock, hosts a monthly Coffee Hour after worship as well as other seasonal celebrations.
Feeding the Neighborhood
The Feed Your Neighbor food pantry, housed at Epiphany Lutheran Church, serves hundreds of needy families in the Toledo area each month. All Saints collects nonperishable food items for the pantry; a collection tub sits in the narthex, and members regularly deliver donations across the parish. The pantry has expanded to offer free books, community resources, and devotionals alongside groceries, and the West Toledo Parish is one of its chief volunteer pools.
Seasonal Touches
Each December, the parish stages a Drive Through Living Nativity. Volunteers wrap tree trunks with net lights and hang string lights to transform the grounds; knitters and crocheters create adult-size hats and mittens that are handed out on the two nights of the event. The Drive Through Nativity is one of the parish's most visible community offerings each Advent season.
Sharing the Campus
All Saints shares its Heatherdowns Boulevard campus with two other organizations. Taylor Learning Center, LLC is a preschool for three- and four-year-olds whose curriculum meets each student at their level in a safe, nurturing environment. Parents whose children attend Taylor Learning Center are also invited to take part in Pastor Dave's Monday morning book study on site. Musica Antigua de Toledo uses the campus for rehearsals and performances, recreating the styles and sounds of early European music with period instruments and voices. Together the three organizations give the All Saints campus a reach well beyond Sunday morning.
What All Saints Believes
The congregation traces its beliefs to the Reformation that Martin Luther sparked in the sixteenth century. Luther summed up the faith in St. Paul's words from Ephesians: We are saved by God's grace through our faith in Jesus Christ. In Luther's own words, Faith is God's work in us. It changes us and makes us to be born anew of God. All Saints also holds to the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers, in which each Christian is called to minister to all people and all of God's creation.
The church describes itself as an equipping congregation where people learn to recognize the gifts God has given them, develop those gifts, and use them in their families, in the community of faith, and in the wider world. As an ELCA congregation, All Saints embraces a culture that values and encourages diverse voices and lively dialogue in faith and life.
Leadership and Governance
The West Toledo Parish has two worship leaders. Lead Pastor David Frye accepted the call as Associate Pastor to the parish in May 2022 after graduating from Wartburg Theological Seminary with a Master of Divinity focused on Word and Sacrament. He previously served as a Synodically Authorized Minister for the parish while still in seminary. Vicar Michelle Detmer began serving as a Synod Authorized Minister in fall 2024 on a temporary basis; her call to ordained ministry continued to deepen, and in fall 2025 she began remote studies at Wartburg Theological Seminary through its Collaborative Learning program. Music Director Sandra Kellogg, a retired music teacher and the mother of Pastor Dave, leads the parish's music. Church Secretary Carole Johnson has been the office administrator and hub for all communication at All Saints for the past twenty years.
The congregation is governed by a Church Council whose members serve three-year terms, with officers elected annually. The council is supported by standing Finance and Property Committees, an Events Committee that organizes fellowship opportunities, and a Nurture Committee that oversees the monthly Coffee Hour and other celebrations.
Giving and Getting Involved
All Saints supports its ministry through several giving channels. Members can contribute cash or checks by placing them on the offering plate at the baptismal font as they enter, set up recurring gifts through bank bill pay or electronic funds transfer via Edward Jones, give online through a credit-card giving page, or direct qualified charitable distributions from a traditional IRA. The congregation also participates in the Kroger Community Rewards program, and some members mark their birthdays with a dollar for each year of their age.
Volunteers serve as greeters, readers, communion assistants, camera operators, and electronics runners during worship, sit on the church's committees, help with events, and knit hats and mittens for the Drive Through Nativity. Nonperishable food for the Feed Your Neighbor pantry is collected in the narthex every Sunday.