167 Years at the Corner of Erie and Adams
St. Paul's Lutheran Church has held its corner of downtown Toledo for 167 years. The Gothic-style building at 428 N. Erie Street, across from the Lucas County Courthouse, still holds the German Reuters pipe organ installed in the early twentieth century, stained glass lining each side of the nave, and seating for 350 in the sanctuary. When much of Toledo's residential population moved to the suburbs after 1967, the congregation voted again and again to stay. That decision has shaped everything since.
The church calls itself "the church with a heart in the heart of downtown Toledo." It is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and one of 213 congregations in the Northwest Ohio Synod, led by Bishop Daniel Beaudoin. St. Paul's blends a traditional Lutheran identity with a striking level of public ministry: a free community kitchen three mornings a week, a working arts gallery, a maker space, Bible study and adult learning programs, a signature Nativity Festival, and a sanctuary that is rented out for weddings and major events. Its mission is short and direct: through the power of the Holy Spirit, St. Paul's gathers, grows, and serves.
Sunday Worship at 10:15
Worship is held every Sunday at 10:15 AM in the sanctuary. Congregants begin gathering at 9:45 AM for conversation and refreshments, and the service itself runs about an hour. Music is a deliberate blend of traditional organ, gospel piano, and global songs. Holy Communion is celebrated each Sunday, and preaching follows the seasons of the traditional Lutheran church year.
Pastor Rebecca West-Estell and Pastor Tim Philabaum lead worship as the congregation's interim pastoral team. Both were already familiar faces at St. Paul's before stepping into the role. Pastor Tim, a retired parish pastor with prior service at Trinity Lutheran in Richmond, Michigan and Zoar Lutheran in Perrysburg, also serves part-time as interim at Bethlehem Lutheran in Pemberville. Pastor Rebecca and her husband Rodney, who had returned to worship at St. Paul's, round out the pastoral leadership during this time of transition.
Families are welcome: a kids' activity table sits in the sanctuary, and youth participate in the service as musicians, acolytes, and camera assistants. Visitors are encouraged to wear what they feel comfortable in. Each Sunday at 10:15 AM the service is also livestreamed on the church's Facebook page, with previous services archived for later viewing.
Community Heart Café: Free Brunch Three Mornings a Week
The Community Heart Café is the church's signature outreach. Three mornings a week, the Social Room in the basement opens its doors to anyone who wants a hot meal, a seat, and conversation. Free brunch is served on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 10:00 to 11:00 AM. When the weather permits, additional seating is set up outside. ADA accessibility is available from the parking lot entrance.
The café grew out of bagged lunches handed out the church door during the COVID pandemic and has grown into a serious local program. Café Director Tommy Lytten, a lifelong East Toledo resident who also coaches youth athletics through the East Toledo Junior Football League, runs the kitchen with the help of cook Dottie Banks. The pastor prays over each meal and stays available for pastoral care. In the first three months of 2026 alone, the café served more than 2,400 individuals.
Donations are welcome: home-baked goods, men's clothing, personal hygiene items (especially deodorant), and paperback books. A drop-off table operates at the parking lot door between 10 and 11 AM on café mornings. Volunteers help with setup, serving, and creating a space where everyone feels valued and respected. Community Heart of Toledo, the nonprofit that operates the café and the gallery, is housed inside the St. Paul's building and shares staff, supplies, and space with the congregation.
HeART Gallery and MakerSpace
The HeART Gallery is St. Paul's first-floor public arts space. It opened in 2017 and reaches roughly 420 community members a month through exhibits, classes, and special events. Its mission is to engage neighbors in conversation and reflection through art, music, food, and special events, in collaboration with downtown agencies, businesses, nonprofits, and local arts groups. Past events have included monthly Lunch & Learn gatherings, watercolor and craft workshops, and a weeks-long Nativity Festival each December.
The MakerSpace, added in 2023, gives the gallery a hands-on wing for woodworking and craft projects, connecting generations and engaging neighbors who live downtown. It also opens as a Saturday craft-and-tea venue. Both programs are directed by Kate Philabaum, who also serves as the congregation's interim music coordinator, pianist, and organist. She is a frequent public speaker on arts and hospitality and a regular contributor on 13abc's The Nine.
Learning Together: Bible Conversations, Lunch & Learn, Creativi-Tea
St. Paul's takes adult learning seriously, with a layered program of Bible study, lectures, and creative workshops.
After worship on the first, third, and fifth Sundays of each month, the congregation hosts Bible Conversations at 11:30 AM in a casual lunch-and-conversation format led by Pastor Rebecca or Pastor Tim. Recent studies have worked through the life and writings of St. Peter over several weeks. Lunch is included, the program is free, and visitors are welcome to stay after worship, eat, and join the conversation.
On the third Thursday of each month, Lunch & Learn gathers at noon in the HeART Gallery for a speaker, an art exhibit, and a themed lunch. Recent topics have ranged from recognizing scam calls and emails aimed at older adults to historical figures like "Stagecoach" Mary Fields; reservations are appreciated, and donations help offset the cost of the meal.
Creativi-Tea events turn the MakerSpace into a Saturday gathering for crafts, tea, scones, and salad. Past sessions have included a fall watercolor class led by artist Molly Miller; future gatherings have included a holiday cookies and painted macarons workshop. Materials are provided; reservations are required and spaces are sometimes capped at 18 to 24 participants. Riverside Writers, a separate legacy writing group, also meets monthly at the church at 1:00 PM to share stories and laughter, with new voices always welcome.
Faith and Welcome in Downtown Toledo
St. Paul's vision is to be the Christ-centered hub of abundant life in downtown Toledo. Its commitment is to provide weekly worship and learning opportunities for all in a family that cares for one another, to learn together what it means to live the Christian life, and to provide life-transforming services and opportunities to all people in the heart of Toledo and beyond.
The church believes in God the creator, in Jesus his son, and in the Holy Spirit. It holds that God loves unconditionally, that through Jesus believers are encouraged to love each other and the world, and that the Bible is central to faith, telling stories of faithful people and God's word. Faith motivates acts of love and service with and for all of God's people and creation. Worship, outreach, and service all happen, in the congregation's words, "over food, music and art which binds us together expressing the love of Christ."
St. Paul's is also explicit about who is welcome. The congregation welcomes Lutherans, Christians from every tradition, and people new to faith. It welcomes those with no church home, those who want to follow Christ, those who have doubts, and those who do not believe. "St. Paul's is a place where you are welcome to celebrate and sorrow, rejoice and recover. St. Paul's is a place where lives are made new."
The Pastoral Team and Staff
The interim pastoral team is made up of Pastor Rebecca West-Estell and Pastor Tim Philabaum. Pastor Tim grew up in Saginaw and Boardman, Ohio, was graduated from Capital University in 1976, received his Master of Divinity from Trinity Lutheran Seminary in 1980, and later earned a Doctorate in Ministry from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He has served at Trinity Lutheran in Richmond, Michigan and Zoar Lutheran in Perrysburg, and is also serving as interim at Bethlehem Lutheran in Pemberville. He sings in the Toledo Chorale Society, weaves on a loom in his spare time, and serves as Pastor in the Name of Jesus.
Meg Senecal serves as the Director of Community Engagement for Community Heart of Toledo. A graduate of Tiffin University and the University of Toledo, she holds a master's degree and a doctorate. Her career has focused on aging and serving older adults, including roles as Intake Manager with the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program, adjunct instructor at UT and IU, and memory care leadership at Charter Senior Living.
Kate Philabaum directs the HeART Gallery and MakerSpace and serves as interim music coordinator, pianist, and organist. She taught vocal music and drama in Perrysburg Schools for twenty-four years.
Michael Grupp-Verbon directs media production, livestream coordination, and digital communications. A U.S. Army veteran and co-owner of Viewpoint Productions, LLC, he brings decades of experience in event production, photography, videography, graphic and web design, and marketing. He and his wife Denise perform together as the harp and guitar duo Tapestry in churches and community settings around the region.
Tommy Lytten directs the Community Heart Café. He lives in Toledo's South End with his wife Dawn, is the father of six sons, a grandfather of nineteen, and a great-grandfather of two, and cheers on the Cleveland Browns, Ohio State football, and the Cleveland Guardians.
Youth Service-Learning and Community Projects
St. Paul's is active with both youth and adults. During the summer, youth groups from Ohio and surrounding states come to the HeART Gallery for service-learning camps, hosted in partnership with the Northwest Ohio Synod and the National Evangelical Lutheran Church. Mornings are spent on art and scripture activities; afternoons find the youth cleaning community gardens, reading at Head Start programs, restocking food pantries, and completing painting projects for seniors.
Year-round one-day mission projects give members and neighbors a way to engage with specific needs. Build-A-Bed brings volunteers together to assemble beds for children who don't have one, complete with food, live music, and a community atmosphere; XL twin bed sheets, comforters, and pillows are also collected to outfit the new beds. Other projects include children's hospital Christmas gifts, with more than $1,000 in gift cards raised annually for ProMedica Toledo Russell J. Ebeid Children's Hospital, and Plenty4All support for an international agripreneurship program in Kenya. During December, dozens of volunteers help decorate the sanctuary's 40+ Christmas trees and 300+ nativities for the annual Nativity Festival.
Hosting Events in a Gothic Sanctuary
The historic building houses several distinct event spaces, each available for outside rental. The Sanctuary seats 300 and is used for weddings, christenings, lectures, and concerts. A wedding package starts at $1,250 and includes use of the Sanctuary, Parlor, and Library for six hours, the concierge staff, a pastor to officiate, a soundboard operator or organist, cleanup, and the 75-space parking lot. The Sanctuary is fully air-conditioned and heated, with elevator, ramp, and stair access.
The HeART Gallery (capacity 110) and the upstairs Parlor (capacity 28 seated) host receptions, bridal showers, rehearsal dinners, holiday parties, and corporate gatherings. The Parlor features a wood beam cathedral ceiling, intricately carved windows, and a massive fireplace that draws many bridal parties for photographs. The basement Social Room (capacity 120) accommodates wedding receptions, reunions, birthday parties, family functions, and corporate events with air conditioning, heating, two TVs, and sound equipment. The MakerSpace is available for young adults and singles who want a relaxed setting for crafting and making. All rentals require a non-refundable $200 booking fee, a signed contract, and proof of insurance with $1,000,000 in coverage naming St. Paul's as additional insured. The adjacent Parish Hall, dedicated in September 1924, has hosted everything from city-league dart ball and school classrooms to holiday events and gallery programs.
Getting There
St. Paul's sits at 428 N. Erie St. in Toledo, OH 43604, directly across from the Lucas County Courthouse and Government Building. Free parking is available on Sundays in the KWIK lot adjacent to the church. Visitors during the week are encouraged to call the church office for parking assistance. The main office can be reached at (419) 243-4214 or office@stpaulstoledo.org. The office is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Donations are accepted online through PayPal or by check mailed to the church office at P.O. Box 43604, Toledo, OH 43604.