Tucked along Jewel Lake Road in west Anchorage, Gloria Dei Lutheran Church is a neighborhood congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America where Sunday worship, weekday Bible studies, and small-circle ministry revolve around a simple rhythm. Members and visitors gather at 9:30 am each week for a service of Holy Communion, and the same people spill out into Tuesday and Thursday mornings for shared scripture reading, often over breakfast or coffee. The congregation's ministry to its own members and to its neighbors is captured in its three-word motto: Grow Spiritually, Welcome Openly, Serve Joyfully.
Sunday Worship with Holy Communion
The week's main gathering happens every Sunday at 9:30 am, when Gloria Dei assembles in its sanctuary on Jewel Lake Road for a service that includes Holy Communion. Worship is rooted in the ELCA's liturgical tradition, and the church's social channels regularly welcome friends, neighbors, and visitors to the 9:30 am hour with warm invitations like "all are welcome." Services are livestreamed on YouTube for those who cannot attend in person. Seasonal notes from the church describe a pet blessing one Sunday morning, an Easter service followed by brunch and an Easter egg hunt at 10:30 am, and a Palm Sunday gathering, all woven into the same weekly pattern.
The Men's Tuesday Breakfast Bible Study
Every Tuesday morning at 7:30 am, men of Gloria Dei gather for Bible study and breakfast. The group's description is plain: men of the congregation come together over a meal and an unhurried hour in the Word. The Tuesday morning gathering has been a long-running fixture on the congregation's calendar and is one of the most visible touchpoints for men in the church. It meets at the church at 8427 Jewel Lake Road.
The Kaladi Coffee Bible Study
Each Thursday morning at 7:30 am, a different circle of Gloria Dei members meets at the Kaladi Brothers coffee shop on Jewel Lake Road for what members simply call the Kaladi Bible Study. The group works through the quarterly devotional Christ In Our Home, and copies of the booklet are kept at the church for any participant who needs one. The Thursday morning study is intentionally conversational and is described by the church as an open invitation for study and conversation - a way to begin the day inside a familiar neighborhood spot rather than inside the building on Jewel Lake Road.
Music: Choir and the Fretters Guitar Group
Music is woven into both the Sunday hour and the surrounding week. Music Director Holly Karjala leads the congregation's choir, which rehearses on Wednesday evenings from 7:00 to 8:00 pm at Gloria Dei. A second ensemble, the Fretters Guitar Group, also meets in the sanctuary on Thursday evenings at 7:00 pm, giving guitar players a regular home for fellowship and rehearsal. Together, the two groups underwrite the music of Sunday morning and offer musicians two nights a week to play, sing, and prepare.
Faith Formation for Children and Youth
Brooklyn Sherry serves Gloria Dei in the area of Faith Formation, working with the congregation's children and young families through the year. Older students preparing for confirmation gather weekly on Sunday afternoons from 3:30 to 5:00 pm. Pastor Aaron partners with the ministry of Central Lutheran Church on Cordova Street in downtown Anchorage to hold these classes together, so confirmation students experience their instruction alongside peers from a neighboring ELCA congregation. The arrangement reflects a broader pattern at Gloria Dei: teaching and learning happen in partnership with other Anchorage Lutheran congregations rather than in isolation.
The Exodus Bible Study Series
For a recent six-week stretch, Pastor Aaron joined with Pastor Anna of Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church to lead a Wednesday-night study of the book of Exodus. Sessions ran from 6:00 to 7:30 pm at Christ Our Savior on Oceanview Drive, providing room for an in-depth walk through one of the Old Testament's central narratives. The series points to the way Gloria Dei shares teaching across congregations in Anchorage, drawing members of several Lutheran communities together around the same text. Studies like this come and go; the pattern of pastor-led teaching with a neighboring congregation has been an ongoing part of the church's reach.
Serving Joyfully: God's Work, Our Hands
Gloria Dei takes seriously the second half of its motto - serving joyfully. After worship one Sunday, the congregation gathered to assemble hygiene kits for Lutheran Social Services, using items purchased through the congregation's Loose Change offering. The event, titled God's Work, Our Hands, is part of a wider ELCA rhythm of putting faith into local service. Giving to the church is set up online through Tithe.ly, and the church describes its stewardship this way: gifts support Pastor Aaron's visits to the sick, the stranger, and the downtrodden, fund the ministries that feed the hungry and clothe the naked, and underwrite experiences of community within the church family, the Anchorage community, and the wider world.
Pastoral Leadership
Pastor Aaron Silco serves as the congregation's pastor and is regularly named in announcements, sermons, and joint studies with sister congregations. The staff team around him is intentionally lean: Holly Karjala directs music, Brooklyn Sherry oversees faith formation, and Heather Tibor serves as office manager to keep the congregation's logistics running. Pastor Aaron's preaching regularly draws on the Gospel of Luke, the Gospel of John, and Old Testament texts such as Habakkuk and Job, with sermon series often organized around a single book of the Bible.
Community Gatherings Through the Year
Worship and Bible study anchor the week, but the rhythm also includes moments of food, fellowship, and fun. Each fall the church holds its annual Oktoberfest celebration with food, games, and community; a winter retreat brings members together for planning and connection; and the calendar's smaller meetings - a winter retreat planning meeting here, a pet blessing Sunday there - keep the congregational life lively without crowding out the steady weekly pattern of worship and study.
Joining the Week at Gloria Dei
Gloria Dei sits at 8427 Jewel Lake Road in west Anchorage, with most of its ministries happening on its own grounds and a few shared with neighboring Lutheran congregations. Visitors planning a first visit can plan on a 9:30 am Sunday service that includes Holy Communion, with the option of watching online if travel is difficult. Those interested in deeper connection will find two open weekday Bible studies - one on Tuesday mornings for men and one on Thursday mornings at a nearby coffee shop - plus choir and guitar rehearsals in the evenings. Anyone with questions can reach the office at office@gdlcanc.org.
Location and Affiliation
Gloria Dei Lutheran Church is a member congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the national Lutheran body that connects the church to a wider network of congregations and ministries across the United States. Locally, the church collaborates with Central Lutheran Church on Cordova Street for confirmation instruction and with Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church on Oceanview Drive for occasional joint studies, giving Gloria Dei's members and their neighbors multiple points of contact in Anchorage's Lutheran landscape.