At 319 Granby Road in South Hadley, Massachusetts, a small Lutheran congregation has built a reputation for being exactly the kind of place its pastor and members describe: "radical joy in action." Our Savior's Lutheran Church, a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in the New England Synod, gathers every Sunday at 10:15 AM for a service of Word and Table that is at once rooted in ancient Christian practice and refreshingly informal. Members call themselves a "jeans church," wave palms on Palm Sunday, gather in the parking lot for the Easter Vigil, and sing Holden Evening Prayer over soup during the week. They also host a regional singalong called Pioneer Valley Beer & Hymns at a local tavern and help prepare and deliver weekend meals to homebound neighbors through a community program called Food for Friends.
Sunday Worship at the Heart of Life Together
Worship is the center of life at Our Savior's. Every Sunday at 10:15 AM the congregation gathers for a service that includes prayer, four Scripture readings, a sermon, and Holy Communion. The pattern follows the historic Christian liturgy, a structure Pastor Anna and the congregation believe makes the service "familiar to many Christians, especially those familiar with Catholic and/or mainline Protestant worship." Communion is celebrated every Sunday and sometimes on other days as well.
The musical style of the services is described as simple, accessible, and very musical, with roots in ancient Christian faith and the Lutheran tradition. Members dress casually, often in jeans, and during football season they may even show up in jerseys, including those of the New York Jets and the Buffalo Bills. After worship, everyone is invited to stay for coffee, snacks, and conversation.
Services are livestreamed every Sunday on the church's YouTube channel and Facebook page, so anyone can join in from home or check out the congregation before visiting in person. Visitors who are out of town, hesitant to step inside, or simply want to sample the service first are encouraged to watch from wherever they are.
Where Tradition Meets Inclusivity
Our Savior's describes itself as the place "where tradition and inclusivity meet." That phrase is more than a slogan; it appears in nearly every season's communication from the congregation.
The inclusivity commitment runs deep. The church's welcome statement reads: "No matter your age, race, ethnicity, ability, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, economic status, or any other label, you can find a home with us. For us, welcoming all kinds of people is no grudging compromise - it is a key part of how our faith interacts with the world." Since 2017, Our Savior's has been a Reconciling in Christ congregation, formally affirming the welcome of LGBTQ people into the full life of the church.
The tradition side of the equation shows up in the congregation's commitment to the church year. Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week, Easter, Ascension, Pentecost - each season is marked with care, with colors, with food, and with services that walk the congregation through the whole story of Jesus. Pastor Anna has written that the church tells the whole story of Jesus "through the church year with Christians around the world."
A Building Designed for Welcome
Our Savior's takes the practical side of welcome just as seriously as the theological side. The whole building is wheelchair accessible, and the restrooms are accessible, single-stall, and gender neutral. One restroom is equipped with a baby and toddler changing table. During worship, listening devices are available for anyone who has difficulty hearing.
For children, there are activity bags for use during the service, a playground, and plenty of open space out back where kids can run around safely. Pastor Anna encourages families to bring their children and even their child visitors; the congregation's services are explicitly "kid- and visitor- (and kid visitor-) friendly."
Children and Sunday School
Sunday school for children of all ages meets on the first Sunday of every month at 9 AM, September through May. The hour before worship gives children a chance to learn, sing, and snack together. At other times, especially during seasonal programming, families are always welcome in the sanctuary. The congregation has hosted intergenerational events like an Advent Wreath Making Sunday where people of all ages craft wreaths together and receive prayers to use at home throughout the season. Adults, teens, and children of all ages sit at the same tables.
Adult Education and Bible Study
Adults have their own hour of learning at 9 AM on Sundays during the program year. Recent series have walked through books of the Bible such as Genesis and the Gospel of John in informal, low-pressure sessions where no prior knowledge is required and each gathering stands on its own. Pastor Anna also leads a weekly conversation during coffee hour to discuss the upcoming Gospel lesson, an invitation to bring some coffee and an imagination.
From time to time the congregation has hosted Financial Peace University, a course on budgeting, paying off debt, saving, and giving generously, with child care and a meal provided to make attendance easier for families.
Following the Whole Church Year
Our Savior's marks every season of the Christian calendar with intention, color, and food.
Advent begins the church year with services of Word and Table on Sundays at 10:15 AM, Wednesday evening suppers with study and the Eucharist at 6:30 PM, and a Reverse Advent Calendar in which members place an item of food in a box each day and then deliver the entire collection to the Neighbors Helping Neighbors Food Pantry in South Hadley. Beer & Carols, a seasonal spin on the regular Beer & Hymns gathering, takes over Sok's Bar in December. An annual Advent Festival kicks off the season with intergenerational wreath making.
Christmas includes a Christmas Eve service of Word, Table, and Light at 5 PM (candles for adults, glow sticks for children), a Christmas Day service, and the celebration of the twelve days of Christmas that follows. On Epiphany Sunday the congregation blesses chalk so that members may mark and bless their homes for the new year.
Lent at Our Savior's is marked visually with purple paraments and a temporary ban on singing alleluias. Wednesday evening Lenten suppers bring everyone into the fellowship hall for a meal, Holden Evening Prayer, the Eucharist, and a book or series study. Recent themes have included "Finding Home," "God on the Way," and conversations around David Lose's "Making Sense of the Cross." The ashes used on Ash Wednesday are made from the previous year's Palm Sunday palms, burned each year on Transfiguration Sunday.
Holy Week and Easter are the heart of the year. Palm Sunday includes actual palms and shouted Hosannas. Maundy Thursday gathers in the fellowship hall for a full meal with communion, then moves into the sanctuary to strip the altar. Good Friday is a simple service of singing, prayer, and reading the Passion. The Easter Vigil begins in the parking lot at sunset on Holy Saturday, with members instructed to dress for the weather, and includes storytelling, communion, and bubbly. Easter Sunday itself is typically the largest service of the year, and the joy continues for fifty days until Pentecost, when the congregation wears red.
Ascension is celebrated with a hike or drive up Mount Holyoke for a brief worship service and picnic, and Epiphany is observed as a season of light that coincides with the lengthening days of the Northern Hemisphere.
Pioneer Valley Beer & Hymns
One of the most distinctive ministries of Our Savior's is Pioneer Valley Beer & Hymns, a monthly singalong hosted at Sok's Bar at 30 Bridge Street in South Hadley. The format is exactly what it sounds like: beer plus hymns plus good company. There is no sermon and no obligation to join the church; the gathering exists for the joy of singing together.
The event was started by the congregation and has since spread across the Pioneer Valley as a place where friends, neighbors, and visitors of every background can come together. Members who don't drink, who are in recovery, or who simply don't like beer are explicitly welcomed. Sok's offers a wide range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, and alcoholic drinks are reserved for those twenty-one and older. Children and teens are welcome, raising non-alcoholic beverages and joining in the singing. In December the same format becomes Beer & Carols, an early start to the Christmas spirit with carols sung around the bar.
The congregation also gathers annually for a camping weekend at Country Aire Campground in Charlemont, Massachusetts, just off the Mohawk Trail. Saturday evening includes a brief outdoor worship service with communion and a famous Lutheran potluck.
Food for Friends: Serving Weekend Meals
Food for Friends is one of the most visible expressions of Our Savior's commitment to its neighbors. The program is a coalition of volunteers from several South Hadley churches and community groups, including Our Savior's, Center Church, United Methodist Church, LifePoint Church, Morning Star Baptist Church, and the South Hadley Democratic Town Committee.
One Saturday each month, volunteers gather to prepare and deliver roughly one hundred meals to homebound elderly clients in South Hadley and Granby. The program fills a weekend gap left by the weekday Meals on Wheels service. Volunteer roles include kitchen prep, packing coordinators and assistants, driver coordinators, delivery drivers, kitchen clean-up, substitute chefs, and a program manager. Volunteers describe the work as "a feel-good job" requiring just a few hours one Saturday a month. Our Savior's has been an active supporter of the work and has received matching funds from ELCA World Hunger to help sustain it.
Refugees, Immigrants, and the Wider Church
Our Savior's has a long history of caring for refugees and immigrants. Members have both been refugees themselves and helped resettle newcomers to the United States. The congregation has hosted visits from Ascentria, a New England nonprofit that supports immigrants and refugees, and has welcomed speakers who help members learn how to accompany new arrivals in their community.
The congregation is also an active supporter of Camp Calumet, the New England Synod's summer camp in New Hampshire. Each year a team captain organizes participation in the Walk the Walk fundraiser, which sends kids to camp who otherwise could not afford it. Pastor Anna often spends a week or two during the summer working with the children at Calumet. Members describe Calumet as a beautiful environment that is "quite Lutheran," with Bible study for adults, day camp for children, and Sunday worship in addition to outdoor adventures.
Midweek Gatherings
Beyond Sunday morning and the monthly Beer & Hymns, the congregation gathers midweek in different seasons. During Lent and Advent, Wednesday evening suppers at 6:30 PM combine a shared meal, Holden Evening Prayer, the Eucharist, and conversation around a chosen book or theme. In Advent and again near the longest night of the year, the congregation joins with Trinity Episcopal Church in Chicopee for the Longest Night (or Blue Christmas) service, a quiet, prayerful gathering designed especially for those experiencing grief, illness, or hardship.
There is also a weekly prayer time on Wednesdays at 6:30 PM led by longtime member Sue Dion, where prayer requests left in a small white box at the entrance to the worship space are lifted up.
Music, Art, and the Creative Life
Music is woven through nearly every gathering at Our Savior's. The Sunday congregation is described as very musical, and the monthly Beer & Hymns events have built a real regional following, complete with a house band. Holden Evening Prayer is sung throughout Advent and Lent. Members have also shared their creative work at the church's Fine Arts Show, held on Pentecost weekend in recent years, with wine and refreshments served alongside paintings, photography, and other pieces.
Sacraments and Beliefs
Our Savior's is grounded in the Lutheran sacramental tradition. Members see baptism as the place "where God claims us as beloved and where we promise to support one another in life and faith," and communion as the meal "where we meet Christ together at the table." The Eucharist is celebrated every Sunday. The congregation defines liturgy as "the work of the people," a faith rooted in real, earthy things: water, bread, wine, words of love, and acts of service to neighbors.
The congregation also names a clear set of values: it is sacramental, inclusive, a family, generous, and joyful. "As Lutherans, we believe that you can't earn God's love, you can only live in response to it. Inspired and transformed by that love, we're motivated to serve one another and our neighbors with joy."
What to Expect When You Visit
If you are considering a visit, expect a warm, low-key, music-filled Sunday morning at 319 Granby Road. The building is wheelchair accessible, parking is available, and you will be greeted as a guest. Dress is casual. The service runs roughly an hour and includes communion; everyone is welcome at the table. Children are welcome in the service and there are activity bags, a playground, and a restroom with a changing table for the little ones.
Out of town or homebound? Services are livestreamed on the congregation's YouTube channel and Facebook page every Sunday morning, so anyone can join in from home or check out the congregation before visiting in person. The church office can be reached at 413-533-1925 or oslcsouthhadley@gmail.com; Pastor Anna can be reached at oslcpastor@comcast.net.
Leadership and Pastoral Care
Pastor Anna serves as the congregation's pastor. She preaches most Sundays, leads the Wednesday prayer time and many of the seasonal studies, and is involved in much of the community work. She works six hours a day, five days a week, from Sunday through Thursday, and is available for meetings by appointment.
The congregation's lay leadership includes the Mutual Ministry team, which serves as a link between the congregation and the pastor, helping set the annual covenant, compensation, and priorities. The team is made up of members who meet roughly four times per year. Barbara Callan-Bogia has led the Advent Reverse Advent Calendar and Financial Peace University offerings. Bishop James Hazelwood of the New England Synod visits the congregation from time to time, as do other regional leaders and guest preachers from area churches and the University of Massachusetts.
A Small Church with a Wide Welcome
Our Savior's Lutheran Church sits on Granby Road in South Hadley as a small, personality-filled congregation that takes both its ancient roots and its contemporary welcome seriously. Members describe themselves as "a little ridiculous, in the best way," committed to making church "somewhere you want to go, not somewhere you have to go." They believe that the love they have been given is meant to be lived out, shared at the table, sung at the tavern, packed into a box for a neighbor, and carried up the mountain on Ascension Day. Anyone who walks through the door is welcomed into that ongoing story.