At 4401 Black Horse Pike in Turnersville, Apostles Lutheran Church is an Evangelical Lutheran Church in America congregation known for Sunday worship and Communion. Its life of service carries into the community through a food pantry, grief support, mission meals and recovery meetings. The church combines a clearly Lutheran identity with a multicultural welcome, inviting people to share God's unconditional love and take part in service to local and global communities.
Sunday Worship and Communion at 10:00 A.M.
The church's central gathering takes place indoors each Sunday at 10:00 a.m. The service is identified as worship and Communion, and the congregation extends a direct welcome: all are welcome, with a place at God's table for everyone. That welcome includes people who are confident in their faith and those who are questioning it. Music is part of the service, with a Music Director and church musician serving the congregation.
- When: Sundays at 10:00 a.m.
- Where: 4401 Black Horse Pike, also identified as Route 42, in Turnersville.
- What to expect: Indoor worship and Holy Communion.
A Multicultural and Open Welcome
Apostles is a multicultural church family that welcomes people across a wide range of personal and social circumstances. People are invited regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, marital status, social or economic state, or physical or mental challenge. The same welcome extends to people who are confident in their faith and those who are questioning it.
That openness is joined by opportunities through the week for worship, study, service and fellowship. Pastor Peter C. Edwardsen leads the congregation. The church frames its Lutheran identity around God's unconditional grace through Jesus Christ, and its mission is to share that love and tell the story of Jesus to all. Participation is not confined to one activity: Sunday worship, groups, food distribution, music, meals and mission work all form part of the life of the congregation.
Food Distribution Twice a Month
The food pantry is a regular expression of the congregation's service to its local community. Food distribution runs from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month at the church. The recurring schedule makes the pantry a regular fixture of the congregation's outreach rather than a single event.
- Schedule: Second and fourth Thursdays, 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.
- Location: Apostles Lutheran Church in Turnersville.
- Support: Donations can be designated specifically for the food pantry through online giving, as well as for the church's wider ministry.
Church gifts can be made by mail or in person, while online giving distinguishes the pantry from the church's wider ministry. The church treats generosity as part of its life of service, placing food distribution alongside worship and community care.
GriefShare and Weekly Recovery Meetings
Bereavement support has a regular place in the congregation's weekly rhythm through its GriefShare group. The group meets at 10:30 a.m. on the first Thursday of every month. Recovery meetings add regular points of contact during the week, with an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. and Narcotics Anonymous meetings Thursday at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday at 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. These meetings are part of Apostles' rhythm of worship, study, service and fellowship.
- GriefShare: First Thursday, 10:30 a.m.
- Alcoholics Anonymous: Tuesday, 7:00 p.m.
- Narcotics Anonymous: Thursday at 7:00 p.m.; Saturday at 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.
The named groups create regular settings for people to bring grief and the needs connected with recovery into the life of the church. The congregation's purpose includes serving and caring for local communities, and these meetings are a direct expression of that care.
Monthly Mission Work and Shared Tables
On the first Wednesday of each month at 9:00 a.m., people gather to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for Cathedral Kitchen. This recurring mission effort connects the church's interest in service with a practical response to hunger and puts the congregation around a table together each month.
Shared tables also shape the church's social life. A fellowship luncheon follows worship on the third Sunday of each month, while Sunday coffee fellowship offers another gathering time around the service. These meals create room for fellowship after worship and make hospitality a visible part of the congregation's routine.
- First Wednesday: 9:00 a.m. sandwich preparation for Cathedral Kitchen.
- Third Sunday: Fellowship luncheon after the 10:00 a.m. service.
- Sunday coffee fellowship: A gathering around the service.
Music, Remembrance and Shared Spaces
Music has a named leadership role at Apostles, where Phyllis Griffiths serves as Music Director. A church musician with many years of experience playing at parishes across New Jersey also serves the congregation.
Around the worship space, signs of shared memory and celebration are visible. The Memorial Wall in the narthex holds crosses placed in honor of loved ones who have died or to commemorate an event. Altar flowers can be designated for a loved one or special occasion. Together, these customs place remembrance and care within the ordinary movement of church life.
Grace, Renewal and a Mission of Love
The church centers its life not in judgment but in God's unconditional grace through Jesus Christ. It describes its tradition as one of ongoing renewal and reform in the church through the power of the Holy Spirit. Its mission is to share God's unconditional love and tell the story of Jesus to all.
The church also names grace, forgiveness, compassion and justice as the marks of God's purpose. It fulfills that promise by serving and caring for local and global communities. This language is reflected in the practical rhythms at the heart of Turnersville: Holy Communion on Sunday, grief support and recovery meetings through the week, a twice-monthly food pantry, monthly sandwiches for Cathedral Kitchen, and tables shared after worship.
Generosity is another part of that purpose. II Corinthians 9:8: "For God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance," with the church's message moving from having enough to sharing abundantly in every good work.
Giving for Ministry and the Food Pantry
Donations support both church ministry and the food pantry. The church accepts gifts by mail, in person with envelopes or cash, and through SK Payment Services online giving. Any amount can be given, and separate online options direct gifts toward either the church or food pantry.
- By mail: Apostles Lutheran Church, 4401 Black Horse Pike, Turnersville, NJ 08012.
- In person: Envelopes or cash.
- Online: Separate church and food pantry giving through SK Payment Services.
Support takes many forms: a donation, sandwiches for Cathedral Kitchen, music in worship or a place at the table. Together these forms of participation shape Apostles Lutheran Church in Turnersville, an ELCA congregation that carries its stated mission into worship, shared tables, practical care and service.