Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran Church is in Gramercy Park near East 22nd Street and Third Avenue in New York City. Founded by Swedish immigrants in 1865, the congregation is known for liturgical worship, congregational singing, open communion and a broad welcome rooted in its Scandinavian Lutheran heritage.
A Swedish Lutheran Home Near 22nd Street
GA was first organized to serve Swedish immigrants arriving in Manhattan and soon became a haven for Scandinavian Lutherans. After World War I, additional services were held in English. The congregation worships in English while ministering to people from many faith backgrounds and journeys.
Its identity combines a proud Swedish Lutheran history with a commitment to spread the message of God’s grace. For more than 150 years, GA has sought to provide spiritual and community strength in Gramercy Park, developing the faith of its members, strengthening their connections and serving as a religious resource in its urban neighborhood.
Sunday Worship at 2:30 PM
Sunday worship begins at 2:30 PM at 155 East 22nd Street and is also available through Facebook Live. Greeters welcome people at the entrance and provide a worship bulletin with the order of worship and information for first-time worshippers and returners.
GA follows the ancient liturgy of the church in a modern context. The congregation uses Evangelical Lutheran Worship, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s liturgical and worship guidebook and hymnal, with an emphasis on congregational singing.
- Communion is offered at an Open Table. Everyone without exception is invited to receive the bread and wine. Anyone may remain at a seat or ask to receive a blessing instead.
- During the service, worshippers exchange “The Peace,” greeting one another and shaking hands. A peace sign is an equally welcome alternative for anyone uncomfortable with a handshake.
- Coffee hour follows the service.
An Open Table and a Welcome for All
Before each service, GA welcomes all who seek God’s love and grace because God welcomes all. The welcome includes all races or cultures, sexual orientations, gender identities, gender expressions and relationship status, without regard to addictions, physical or mental health, imprisonment or socio-economic circumstances. Its unifying principle is unity in Christ.
GA is also a welcoming and affirming congregation. It understands LGBTQ+ identities as gifts of God’s diverse creation, seeks to celebrate and affirm LGBTQ+ people and their relationships, and supports same-sex marriage.
The congregation takes its anti-racism commitments beyond statements and prayer. It confesses racism, condemns white supremacy and seeks racial justice and peace, including action in response to injustice.
Grace, Sinner and Saint, and Law and Gospel
Although GA includes people of different faith backgrounds and journeys, it is rooted in its Lutheran identity. Its understanding centers on the Christian message that God’s love and grace are freely given to all people through Jesus Christ. GA understands Lutheran identity as ecumenical, committed to the oneness to which God calls the world in the saving gift of Jesus Christ while recognizing the church’s brokenness in history and the call to heal disunity.
GA is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, which is in full communion with the Episcopal Church, the United Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the United Church of Christ, the Moravian Church and the Reformed Church in America.
Grace is a free gift given to someone who did nothing to earn it. GA understands that the relationship with God is shaped not by striving upward, but by what God has done in Jesus Christ. At the same time, everyone remains both fully sinner and fully saint: chosen and redeemed by God, yet still broken in a broken world and continually dependent on grace.
Lutheran theology distinguishes Law and Gospel. The Law reveals people’s need for divine grace, while the Gospel gives the grace they need. This distinction continually returns to the community’s identity as both sinners and saints, always reliant on God’s grace.
Rev. Chris Chantelau and the Ministry Team
Rev. Chris Chantelau serves as consulting pastor. He holds a B.A. in Music from Gettysburg College, a master’s in Divinity from Gettysburg Lutheran Seminary and completed two years at Fordham University School of Law. His pastoral service has included four other Lutheran congregations in Pennsylvania, New York and Maryland.
Stephen Bennett and John Ogren serve as synodical deacons, and Dwight Weaver serves as the congregation’s musician.
Bible Study and Sunday Choir Rehearsal
GA’s online Bible study meets on Tuesdays at 11:00 AM, 3:30 PM and 7:00 PM. Choir rehearsal is held at 1:30 PM on Sundays, before the 2:30 PM service. These rhythms support the church’s threefold aim: growing the personal faith of members, strengthening support and connection among them, and becoming a resource for the surrounding urban neighborhood.
Baptisms, Weddings and Funerals
For Lutherans, baptism is not a one-time event but a constant reality, a daily dying and rising that confesses and hears again God’s words of forgiveness and grace. GA understands marriage as a gift of God and a human estate whose vows are publicly witnessed. Church worship surrounds those promises with the gathering of God’s people, the witness of the word of God and prayers of blessing and intercession.
At a funeral, GA shares the grief of those who mourn, gives voice to sorrow, thanks God for the loved one and entrusts that life companion into God’s hands. GA makes space for baptism, weddings and funerals as part of life in the church.
Rooms for Worship and Community
At 155 East 22nd Street, several spaces support worship, music, gatherings and events. The sanctuary seats approximately 220 and includes a stair-lift chair for accessibility, pipe organ, grand piano and sound system. The chapel seats about 10, has air conditioning and a piano, and suits music classes or small worship groups.
The 1,148-square-foot multi-purpose room seats approximately 110 without tables and has air conditioning, chairs, tables and use of a warming kitchen. A small meeting room is also available. GA regularly provides space for religious organizations, performing arts, community groups and film crews.
At 155 East 22nd Street, Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran Church brings together a Swedish Lutheran heritage, liturgical worship, open communion and a wide welcome rooted in grace.