On a leafy block of Prospect Avenue in Park Slope, Brooklyn, a Lutheran congregation gathers each Sunday under a name that already tells its story. St. John-St. Matthew-Emanuel Lutheran Church, known to neighbors as St. JME, is the 1974 union of three Brooklyn Lutheran congregations whose roots run back to the years before the Civil War. The church is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, part of the Metropolitan New York Synod, and was one of the first Lutheran congregations in New York City to declare itself a Reconciling in Christ congregation, affirming lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex people and their allies in the full life of the church. Inside the red-brick building on Prospect Avenue, the welcome is wide, the liturgy is Lutheran, and the calendar is unusually full.
A House of Three Names
The present congregation is the third generation of a longer story. St. Matthew Evangelical English Lutheran Church was established in 1859 and was the first English-speaking Lutheran church in Brooklyn. After years of leasing space from other congregations, St. Matthew purchased a lot at the corner of 6th Avenue and 2nd Street and built its own sanctuary in 1895. The German Evangelical Emanuel Lutheran Church was formed in 1884 by families who left St. John's Lutheran after that congregation moved from a strictly German-speaking ministry to a bilingual one. In 1903 the Emanuel society purchased a church building on 7th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues, where it flourished until it merged with St. Matthew in 1948 to become St. Matthew-Emanuel Lutheran Church.
The third partner, St. John's, joined in 1974, and the three-parish merger produced the present name: St. John-St. Matthew-Emanuel Lutheran Church. A 1906 Hook and Hastings organ from Boston, originally built with tubular-pneumatic action and later electrified by the James H. Rae Company of Brooklyn, still anchors the worship space and is played today by organist and choir director Mary Fasano. The interior of the sanctuary, with that organ, was photographed for the Brooklyn Public Library's archival collection around 1929 and is recorded by the New York City Chapter of the American Guild of Organists.
Worship on Sunday Mornings
Sunday worship at St. JME is at 11:00 a.m. Each service follows the Lutheran liturgical tradition, with Word and Sacrament at the center of the congregation's life. Children are always welcome to remain in the sanctuary for the entire service. For parents who prefer, nursery care is available during worship. The congregation livestreams its services on Facebook, and recordings of past services are kept on the church's YouTube channel so that members who are traveling, sick or otherwise away can still follow along.
Before worship, the church building hums with formation. From September through June, Sunday School meets at 10:00 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall for children of all ages. The program is overseen by Sunday School Superintendents Heather Berry and Anna Jasch. On weeks when Sunday School is not in session, that same 10:00 a.m. hour becomes Coffee, Coloring, and Conversation, an informal intergenerational time led by Pastor Courtney for talking about faith and daily life. Coffee, tea and coloring supplies are provided.
The building fills again in the late afternoon. Sunday Solution AA meets in the Social Hall at 5:00 p.m., and Prospect Group AA follows at 7:30 p.m., both weekly. Together they make the church a quiet, reliable presence on the block seven days a week.
All Means All
In 1994 the congregation voted to become a Reconciling in Christ congregation, the first designation of its kind in the ELCA's network of affirming Lutheran communities. The church affirms lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, asexual and queer persons, and their allies, welcoming all to full participation in the life of the congregation. The welcome extends to anyone, however they name their faith tradition, however they identify racially, ethnically or culturally, and whatever their financial, physical, mental health, relationship or immigration status. The words on the Sunday bulletin are plain: All are joyfully welcome. All means ALL.
Each time the congregation gathers, it acknowledges that the church building stands on traditional and unceded land cared for by the Lenape people, and prays for a world of justice, reconciliation and peace. Members are encouraged to bring whatever they bring to worship, and the language of welcome is the first thing a visitor reads on the way in.
Prospect Hill Senior Services Center
Across the courtyard and around the corner at the same 283 Prospect Avenue address, Prospect Hill Senior Services Center (PHSSC) has been a ministry of St. JME since 1974. Funded by the New York City Department for the Aging and sponsored by the church, the senior center has served older adults in Park Slope and South Slope for more than four decades. It is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Members of the center, who range in age from people in their sixties to those in their mid-nineties and beyond, share a freshly prepared breakfast and lunch each day, made on site by the center's chefs. Activities include chair yoga, cardio, tai chi, dancing, quilting, chorus, crafts, health education and field trips. The director, Marc Youngblood, and his staff describe the center as a home away from home, with comfort and safety as priorities. Visitors are welcome to stop in or call (718) 499-9574 to schedule a tour. The church considers PHSSC one of its core ministries and asks members to keep the center in their prayers.
Growing in Faith: Wednesday Bible Study and Sunday Conversation
Adult formation at St. JME takes two complementary shapes. Wednesday Night Bible Study meets on Zoom at 7:30 p.m. each week. The format is conversational: an hour of reading and talking about the Bible from the comfort of home, open to newcomers and longtime members alike.
On Sunday mornings during the weeks when Sunday School is on break, the 10:00 a.m. hour becomes Coffee, Coloring, and Conversation. Led by Pastor Courtney Smith Westerlund, the time is explicitly intergenerational, inviting children, parents, grandparents and anyone in between to talk about how faith meets daily life. The setting is deliberately low-key: coffee, tea and coloring supplies are laid out, and conversation drifts where the group takes it. Together the two programs give the congregation a rhythm of weekly formation across the year.
Twelve-Step Recovery at St. JME
Few neighborhood churches in New York can match the breadth of recovery meetings that St. JME hosts in its Social Hall each week. The building has become a quiet gathering place for people in twelve-step programs, with four regular meetings on the calendar.
Sunday Solution AA meets at 5:00 p.m. on Sundays. Prospect Group AA meets at 7:30 p.m. on both Sundays and Thursdays. On Mondays at 7:00 p.m., the church hosts Happy Joyous and Free Al-Anon, with the concurrent Hope in the Slope Alateen meeting for teenagers affected by a family member's drinking. The Al-Anon and Alateen meetings are offered in person and online. All of the meetings are open, and all are welcome.
Public Witness: The Vigils at the Metropolitan Detention Center
St. JME's ministry extends beyond its own walls into the wider city. Members participate in a monthly group trip to the Interfaith Vigil for Victims of ICE at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center. The vigil itself runs every Tuesday from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. at 29th Street and 3rd Avenue, hosted by Indivisible Brooklyn and Good Shepherd Lutheran Church of Bay Ridge. It includes singing, reflections on current events, and prayer for those detained. Members of St. JME go as a group on the third Tuesday of each month; Kristin Mensing coordinates that participation. The church has also promoted related public gatherings, such as the Town Hall on the Conditions at MDC Brooklyn hosted by the Remedy Project and Good Shepherd Lutheran Church.
Closer to home, the church observes a land acknowledgment at every service, recognizing the Lenape people as the original caretakers of the land on which the building stands.
Music, the Courtyard and the Building
Music has been part of St. JME since long before the three congregations came together. The Hook and Hastings organ installed in 1906 is the centerpiece of the sanctuary, still played each Sunday by organist and choir director Mary Fasano. Photographs of the organ and the 1929 church interior are kept in the archives of the New York City Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, a reminder that the building has been a working musical instrument for more than a century.
The same building also has a courtyard that opens up for the annual Blessing of the Animals each fall around the Feast of St. Francis. Pet owners bring their animals to the courtyard for a blessing before church, and anyone who cannot bring a live animal is invited to bring a photo or a stuffed representation to the 11:00 a.m. service.
Leadership and Governance
The congregation is served by a small, identified staff and a working Church Council. The Rev. Courtney Smith Westerlund is the pastor; she is described with the pronouns she and her. Deacon Nadine Cordes continues to serve the congregation as Deacon Emeritus. Mary Fasano is the organist and choir director. Heather Berry and Anna Jasch share the role of Sunday School Superintendent. Zarina Salt-Sanjana is the Parish Office Administrator. Farah Franqui serves as sexton. Marc Youngblood directs Prospect Hill Senior Services Center.
The Church Council is led by President Katherine Anderson, with Vice President Jennifer Herbert, Secretary Geoffrey Thomas and Treasurer Joanna Laine. Council members include Heather Berry, Nadine Cordes, Tom DiChristopher, Brit Geiger, Laura Gruenburg, Marie Towle and Daniel Vizzini. The congregation's life together is shaped by a Constitution and Bylaws, last updated in March 2026, and by the Lutheran Confessions to which the congregation looks in all that it does.
Beliefs and Mission
The congregation's own statement of purpose, adopted in 1989 and still in use, names the central commitments of St. JME. The church is a community of baptized people that finds joyful unity in the grace of God the Father, the love of Jesus Christ, and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Through Word and Sacrament, members are empowered to share the Gospel, to love one another, and to serve God, the congregation and the wider community with their diverse talents and resources. The congregation is guided by the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions, committed to Christian education, and committed to welcoming all into its midst, just as Christ has welcomed its members.
Joining the Life of St. JME
Visitors are welcome at any of the regular offerings of the church: Sunday worship at 11:00 a.m., Sunday School at 10:00 a.m. in the school year, the Wednesday Zoom Bible Study, Coffee Coloring and Conversation, and the many twelve-step recovery meetings held in the Social Hall throughout the week. Giving is supported online through Faithstreet, and recordings of past services are kept on the church's YouTube channel. Those interested in getting involved can reach the parish office at stjmeoffice@gmail.com or (718) 768-0528. For those who want to learn more, the church's full calendar and weekly bulletin are posted at stjme.org.