Tell, Teach, and Minister the Word of Jesus.
Our Mission here at Faith Lutheran Church is simple… “Tell, Teach, and Minister the Word of Jesus.”
We are a communion of saints with varieties of gifts who gather to hear God’s Word preached and partake of the Sacrament. We dedicate ourselves to the education of every member, seeking to know God’s will for our lives, serve the community around us, and share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with all people.
We are affiliated with these Organizations…
In a Shared Ministry with…
Trinity Lutheran Church of Freeport, PA
tlcfreeport.org
A Member of…
AVAC – Allegheny Valley Association of Churches
avaoc.org
Our Synod…
Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod
swpasynod.org
A Member of…
The Lutheran Church Extension Society
swpasynod.org/grants
Our Parent Church Organization…
ELCA – Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
elca.org
Over 150 Years of History
For over 150 years, Lutherans have been active in our local area, dating back to the 1850s.
1854 – A German Lutheran Church organized in Tarentum. Their Worship Service was likely spoken in German. It was not a successful church.
1859 – A Lutheran Pastor was called to organize the scattered Lutherans in the area.
1869 – Trinity Lutheran Church of Tarentum was organized.
1872 – Saint John’s Lutheran Church of Natrona was organized.
1886 – Grace Lutheran Church and Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church were both organized in Tarentum.
1889 – Grace Lutheran Church and Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church were both dedicated.
1898 – Trinity Lutheran Church of Tarentum was dedicated.
1914 – Grace Lutheran Church constructed their own building.
1926 – Calvary Lutheran Church of Natrona Heights is organized.
1929 – Saint Peter’s Lutheran Church of Natrona and Calvary Lutheran Church of Natrona Heights merged, keeping the Calvary name.
1932 – Grace Lutheran Church and Trinity Lutheran Chruch merged to create United Lutheran Church of Tarentum.
1968 – The United Lutheran Church building was condemned due to termites.
1971 – The Church Councils of United Lutheran Church and Calvary Lutheran Church met for the first time on Tuesday, February 9th to discuss a merger.
1972 – The merger of United Lutheran Church and Calvary Lutheran Church was approved in February. The two began holding joint Worship Services in March. Over a dozen names were considered for the new name. In May, a vote was held, and the winning name was Faith Lutheran Church. The Constitution and By-Laws were approved in July. Pastor Lee Mull was called as Pastor. November 19th, 1972 is the day celebrated, when the two Churches came together.
Today – Faith Lutheran Church of Natrona Heights is a descendant of many churches before it. That has happened because of mergers and the love that people have for the Lutheran Church. For those congregations who have closed their doors or merged with another, we know the grief that comes with that closing. May we keep a Lutheran presence in this area for many years to come.
Faith Lutheran Church Online
By James Waltenbaugh
Late 2006 – I was a senior in High School, and for a computer programming class project, I needed to create a website using Macromedia Dreamweaver (Now Adobe Dreamweaver). I decided to design a website for the church and publish it to Lutherans Online, a free website host and social media site for Lutherans by Thrivent Financial.
Tuesday, December 5, 2006 – The first web page for Faith Lutheran Church is published on Lutherans Online at www.lutheransonline.com/faithlc
Summer 2007 – After Graduation, I was unable to keep the website up-to-date. The site was left as a dormant, single page for over two years.
October 2009 – Having more free time after College, I was able to bring the website back to life. While some of the graphics are still from the original Dreamweaver site I developed years ago, this time, I am using tools provided by Lutherans Online. This makes it easy for any church member to help keep the site updated. A Website Feedback survey was started to ask people how the website can be improved.
Sunday, November 22, 2009 – Faith Lutheran Church started tweeting on Twitter so users can receive updates of what’s going on.
Friday, January 1, 2010 – To start the New Year, a Facebook page was created for Faith Lutheran Church to communicate with church members who use the popular social network.
Monday, June 7, 2010 – Faith Lutheran Church Online was selected as the June 2010 Site of the Month on Lutherans Online!
Sunday, August 15, 2010 – A Shutterfly page was created so everyone in our community can upload, view, and share photos online.
Monday, March 28, 2011 – Natronafaith.org Domain Name Registered!
Thursday, December 8, 2011 – Our new Faith Lutheran Church Online Directory hosted by Lifetouch is finished and published online.
Late 2014 – We began using Churchinfo and WebCalendar, a new, more flexible member database and online calendar.
December 2015 – Lutherans Online will no longer be hosting websites as of December 31, 2015. I migrated our website to a new provider and gave it a new look using WordPress. Our domain name has not changed and neither has our social media accounts.
Thursday, January 14th, 2016 – After over 9 years of hosting our website with them, I finally deleted our church from Lutherans Online ahead of Thrivent’s shutdown of the site.
August 2018 – Members were invited to start using Churchinfo’s online directory feature in.
March 2020 – The COVID-19 Pandemic forced Churches to close their doors. Like many churches, we found creative ways to remain in contact with our members. This Website has become more important than ever to our Church. With Trinity Lutheran Church – Freeport, PA We began uploading videos on our Facebook Page, giving people the option to stay at home.
Thursday, May 7th, 2020 – Our Email Newsletter, powered by MailChimp, was launched. This was done as an alternative to increased mailing costs of our Snail-Mail Newsletter.
Looking For More History
Is there something missing? If you would like to help post the history of our church here on this page, please contact me. James Waltenbaugh.