First Lutheran Church of Galveston stands at 2415 Winnie Street in Galveston, Texas, beside the historic Lyceum that has anchored this corner since the congregation began in 1850. The church is known for its 10:00 a.m. Sunday worship shaped by the classic Lutheran liturgy, for a sanctuary of massive stone walls, jeweled windows, Gothic woodwork and a 41-rank pipe organ, and for Island Oktoberfest, the German-themed street festival it hosts on its own downtown grounds. A congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, First Lutheran describes its work in three lines: following Jesus, loving all, and feeding mind, body and spirit.
Ten O'Clock on Winnie Street
Sunday worship begins at 10:00 a.m. every week through the year, both in person and livestreamed on YouTube, and it usually runs about an hour. Holy Communion is celebrated at every service unless otherwise stated, so the pastor leads the congregation through the entire liturgical order each Sunday and visitors do not need to know any of it beforehand.
First Lutheran worships with a printed worship booklet that carries hymn numbers from Evangelical Lutheran Worship, the red hymn book, and a large-print version is available from an usher. Other worshipers are glad to help newcomers follow along. After the service, people often assemble in the Parish Hall for coffee, light treats and fellowship led by congregation volunteers.
Beyond the weekly service, the church holds special services through the church year: midweek suppers during Lent in the Parish Hall, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter services in the Sanctuary, a candlelit Christmas Eve gathering with beloved traditional hymns, Christmas Day worship, and the lively Polka service that follows Island Oktoberfest. Attendance is not the only measure of belonging. The church says plainly that all are welcome, and that people with questions and doubts are expected and valued.
What a Sunday service includes
- A musical prelude, then either a communal confession of sin and the hearing of God's word of forgiveness, or thanksgiving for God's mercy in the gift of baptism.
- A gathering hymn of praise, the ancient Greek Kyrie eleison, sometimes the hymn This is the feast, sometimes the Gloria in excelsis, and the Prayer of the Day.
- Scripture readings from the Old Testament and, when there is a second reading, a New Testament letter, with a psalm sung, chanted or read between them.
- A sermon that starts and returns to God's word of law and gospel in Scripture, holding up the promise of Christ Jesus.
- The hymn of the day, a confession of faith, prayers of intercession for the church, creation, peace, the poor and those in need, and the passing of the peace.
- Offerings of bread, wine, praise and thanksgiving gathered with a choir anthem; the Great Thanksgiving with the Sanctus; the Lord's Prayer; and Holy Communion with bread and wine.
- Announcements and the pastor's blessing, sending the congregation out to proclaim the good news, love and serve others, and care for all in need.
Gathering, Word, Meal, Sending
The congregation calls its worship the "worship of the people," the liturgy, and divides it into four movements that repeat each Sunday. The Gathering opens with praise and thanksgiving, prayer, and the reminder that everyone present, pastor and congregation alike, depends on God's mercy through Christ. First Lutheran calls all of them "holy priests," the assembled priesthood of all believers, with the pastor called from among them to exercise the office of Word and sacrament and to preserve good order in the church.
The Word follows the outline of the ancient synagogue: readings and psalm, a sung response before the Gospel, the sermon, the hymn of the day and a confession of faith. The Apostles' Creed summarizes the faith by which the early church baptized, and the Nicene Creed explores the mystery of the incarnation and the Trinity; together they unite worshipers with Christians across the world and across the centuries. The prayers of intercession then petition God for the church, for the well-being of creation, for peace among nations, for the poor and all in need, for local needs and special concerns, and for health, healing and comfort for those in distress near and far. The passing of the peace follows, greeting one another in the peace of the risen Christ.
The Meal is where the word of promise becomes visible. Offerings of bread and wine are brought forward with a choir anthem and the congregation's own songs of praise. The pastor leads the Great Thanksgiving for the gifts of creation and redemption, the congregation sings the Sanctus, and the prayer of consecration asks for the Holy Spirit to be present. At Communion, each communicant receives both the spoken promise and the visible sign of Christ's promise and presence in the bread and wine, and the congregation sings the Agnus Dei as the bread is broken. The Sending closes the service with announcements and a blessing, leaving worshipers gathered, instructed, nourished and commissioned to live as Christ's body in the world.
Finding the Door and a Place to Park
Visitors enter through the double doors off the sanctuary on Winnie Street or through the accessible south entrance. A parking lot on the south side of the building, open on Sundays, includes a wheelchair accessible entrance. Free street parking is available on the north, east and west sides of the building, and 30-minute paid parking is available at the business to the east of the Lyceum. Because the island has limited parking, the church offers these options so first-time guests know where to go before they arrive.
First Lutheran is a historic building with stairs in many areas, but an elevator and accessible ramps run throughout. The main office sits in the old Parish House, entered during business hours, Monday through Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., through the black gate off Winnie Street. On Sunday, families connected to Fanfare! Lutheran Music Academy may use the entrance by the gazebo. The church office answers at (409) 762-8477 and flcg@firstlutherangalveston.com.
Faith Formation, From Spark Boxes to Confirmation
Children are fully welcome in worship. A brief message from the pastor gathers the children before the scripture readings and sermon to prepare them for what is to come. Faith Formation then takes about 30 minutes, with students going upstairs in two groups. Grades K-2 use the SPARK Story curriculum, aligned with the church lectionary, with age-appropriate activities that build writing, reading and creative skills. Grades 3-5 work through Godly Play lessons that encourage deeper exploration of faith. Students in grades 6-8 remain in the sanctuary for worship so they can make connections with their confirmation curriculum; confirmation meets once a month with Pastor Rhoades and takes three academic years to complete.
First Lutheran Youth, or FLY, encompasses all K-12 students, and each month the youth have dedicated events planned for fellowship, from bowling days to movie nights. A Frolic Bible class for infants, toddlers and their grown-ups pairs a story with an activity and music.
A staffed nursery for younger worshippers sits in the hallway across from the restrooms by the Parish Hall. In the back of the sanctuary, a Children's Worship Area offers activities and items meant to inspire a child's relationship with God and the church, and a parent must stay with the child there so adults remain fully included in the service. Spark Boxes sit in the narthex and can be carried into worship to keep small hands busy and hearts open.
The Lyceum and the Gothic Sanctuary
The Lyceum sits on the church grounds at the corner of Winnie and Bath Avenue, now 25th Street. The earliest Galveston congregation worshiped in Lyceum Hall, and its cornerstone still reads "Knowledge is Power," a reminder of the scriptural truth that the truth shall make you free. The building, dating from around 1860, has survived numerous hurricanes, including the Great 1900 Storm, and has served as a church, a public school and a social meeting place for more than a century and a half. Today the Lyceum is a popular Galveston wedding chapel and event venue, with a main hall and a smaller space called the Lyceta, and its interior fills with arts and crafts vendors during Island Oktoberfest.
The 1915 structure that followed the original building still stands as a reminder of the earliest years of the congregation. From that building came the sanctuary in use today: groundbreaking ceremonies were held on June 23, 1957, and the newly completed church was dedicated on February 1, 1959. The structure features massive stone walls, jeweled windows and a rich wooden interior of Gothic design, with a sacristy and a 41-rank Freiburger tracker-action pipe organ added since. In 1984, First Lutheran was entered into the National Register of Historical Places as the oldest Lutheran parish of German origin in Texas with a continuous ministry.
From a Letter to Basel to the 1900 Storm
In the mid 1800s many of the early colonists who came to Texas were Lutheran. One of them wrote to the seminary of Saint Christchona near Basel, Switzerland, complaining about the lack of spiritual leadership on the island, and the seminary sent two Lutheran pastors to Texas. Those pastors organized Galveston families into what became, in the fall of 1850, the First German Evangelical Church.
The fiftieth anniversary celebration planned for 1900 was never held, because in September Galveston suffered the great 1900 storm. The editor of the Tribune described the German Lutheran church afterward, reporting damage to the interior furnishings but the old Lyceum in perfect order and serving as a shelter for the homeless and desolate. First Lutheran played its part in serving the needs of the city then, as it does now.
The congregation also carried its work around the island and beyond. The Bethany mission was founded in 1916, a west end mission became St. Paul's in 1929, and pastors from First Lutheran founded St. John's in Santa Fe, Texas. In 1949, for the first time, all services were held in English. That November, the church vestry voted to build a fitting and worthy project commemorating the 100th anniversary of the congregation's contribution to the building of God's kingdom in the city, a decision that led to the 1959 sanctuary. Records of the church dating to 1850 have been preserved in microfiche and converted to a modern digital format through the Portal to Texas History, where the congregation's original records are accessible to the public through the First Lutheran Galveston History Center.
Feed Galveston: Nourishing Bodies at the Table
One of the clearest ways First Lutheran puts following Jesus and loving all into practice is Feed Galveston, a two-pronged response to food insecurity on Galveston Island and in Galveston County. Twice a year the congregation hosts food packing events that produce 100,000 nutritious nonperishable meals for the Galveston County Food Bank, and in partnership with Galveston's Own Farmer's Market, volunteers cook two monthly meals at Gulf Breeze Apartments and Access Care of Coastal Texas, Inc. (ACCT). Packing 100,000 meals and cooking the monthly meals costs more than $44,000.
The church supports a number of other local needs as well. The Bake and Bible group meets on a Tuesday or Wednesday to bake desserts for the community lunches at ACCT and Gulf Breeze Apartments, and those treats go out to those communities twice a month. The Mission Team pools change at monthly Noisy Can offerings for organizations such as the Galveston Diaper Bank, and runs monthly drives for cleaning supplies for the Resource and Crisis Center and board games for the VA of Houston. Volunteers also help children at Austin Elementary who need uniforms and school supplies, and the church has provided socks to people experiencing housing insecurity. A June toy drive collects crayons, coloring books and sensory-friendly toys for patients at UTMB Children's Hospital, with donation boxes in the Parish Hall.
Beyond Galveston, First Lutheran sponsors the NOPADEO organization in Tanzania, a nonprofit working with nomadic pastoralists in the southern zone of the country. The partnership helps students at Nanyaki Secondary School with tuition costs, and $675 covers an entire year of tuition for one student. NOPADEO also works to raise awareness about pastoralist communities facing eviction as national park boundaries expand, and about the loss of schools, water and other services that follows.
Island Oktoberfest and the Polka Sunday
Island Oktoberfest is First Lutheran's annual fundraiser, hosted for more than forty years in historic downtown Galveston on the church grounds and the streets adjacent to it. Admission is free, and the weekend brings live entertainment on two stages, German food and libations, children's rides, arts and crafts in the Lyceum, contests, games and family activities. Smoked sausage, bratwurst and a Wurstabendessen sausage dinner with traditional German side dishes are served Friday evening and Saturday, and homemade Helmut's strudel is baked fresh on site alongside desserts made by congregation members from recipes handed down through generations. German costumes are encouraged, and the festival is co-sponsored by Del Papa Distributing Company. Proceeds benefit First Lutheran and its after-school music program, Fanfare! Lutheran Music Academy.
The Sunday after the festival, the church holds its distinctive Oktoberfest Polka Service, alive with tubas and hymns sung to lively polka tunes, with an invitation to wear a Dirndl or Lederhosen. Special musical guests have included the New Braunfels Gemischter Chor Harmonie and the Tubameisters. Fanfare Sunday arrives once a year, when students from Fanfare! Lutheran Music Academy showcase their talents through music and dance during the service.
Fanfare! Lutheran Music Academy
Founded in 2007 as a ministry of First Lutheran Church, Fanfare! Lutheran Music Academy offers affordable, age-appropriate classes in music, art, dance and theatre for children and teens. The academy is intentionally faith-rooted, and scholarships are available on a limited, need-based basis so that cost does not keep children out. Donations support scholarships, instrument maintenance and program growth. Annie Blancken serves as executive director, bringing degrees in music education and choral conducting to a role focused on making the arts accessible and transformative for children.
Weddings, Funerals and Faith Milestones
First Lutheran hosts weddings and funerals and walks families through the milestones of faith. Weddings are treated as celebrations rooted in God's love, and the church affirms the guidelines of the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod for the celebration of marriage. The ceremony itself is a time of worship that proclaims God's presence and blessing and the joy of the reign of God. Couples work from a wedding planning guide and a request form, and many hold their reception in the Lyceum, the historic chapel on the church grounds at 24th and Winnie. For funerals, the church provides planning forms and a straightforward starting point for a difficult time.
Faith milestones include baptism, first communion, confirmation and marriage, and the church offers guidance and education for each. Membership begins by worshiping with the congregation, speaking with the pastor, and taking part in new member classes. Those who are new to the Christian faith, or who have been away for some time, are invited into a longer process of preparation. Membership itself is a commitment to the Christian faith and to the community, including a willingness to worship, give and serve as one is able.
What First Lutheran Believes
First Lutheran holds to the Triune God, relating with God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and describes the Father as Creator, Jesus Christ as Savior and the Holy Spirit as Sanctifier. The canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the written Word of God, inspired by God's Spirit speaking through their authors and announcing God's revelation centered in Jesus Christ. The church accepts the Apostles', Nicene and Athanasian creeds, accepts the Augsburg Confession as a true witness to the Gospel, and accepts the creeds and the Lutheran confessions.
Two sacraments stand at the center. Holy Communion, the Eucharist, is the chief form of worship and is celebrated every Sunday morning, and baptism is the foundational sacrament that brings a person into the church, joined to the death and resurrection of Christ and made a child of God. The church holds that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law. The teaching and worship material was created and compiled by Mark U. Edwards Jr.
Groups, Giving and Ways to Serve
First Lutheran organizes much of its life into small groups. The Men's Club is called the heart and hands of the congregation, gathering men for fellowship and action projects such as cooking for community meals, helping around the church and assisting other community groups. Craft with Christ meets monthly for practical art, and no experience is required. Membership in the congregation is understood as commitment, and volunteering takes many forms: hosting coffee hour, serving at a community meal, serving during Sunday worship, sponsoring the altar flowers, and joining the Mission Team.
Giving is offered in several forms, including online giving, giving by mail to 2415 Winnie Street in Galveston, and giving through the GivePlus Mobile app. The church holds an endowment fund, a general fund for current ministry needs, and a Restoring Our Future fund for repairing hurricane and storm damage to the sanctuary, where each dollar raised is matched up to $100,000. Gifts can also be directed to altar flowers, the Maasai girls in Tanzania, youth ministry and other special appeals, and the congregation is supported by the Lutheran Foundation of the Southwest. Shoppers can also direct their Kroger Community Rewards to the church or use Thrivent Action Team cards, which provide up to $250 for church and community projects. Past sermons are available in a YouTube sermon playlist, and Island Oktoberfest remains the largest annual fundraiser, with proceeds supporting both the church and Fanfare!.
Five commitments shape the life of the congregation: reverent worship, spiritual growth for all ages and abilities, community through fellowship and service, radical hospitality that breaks down hurdles to belonging, and celebration of the gifts and milestones of life. Mind, body and spirit are fed in each: through joyful worship, adult Bible studies and faith formation, community meals and food packing, and caring for one another as Christ cares for us.