Welcome to St. Paul's!

Come worship with us every week!

Our RIC Affirmation says...we are a community of of God, called to serve. We believe when we are marked by the Cross of Christ in Baptism, we become His forever. Paul said we "welcome one another...as Christ welcomed you for the glory of God." (Rom. 15:7) So all God's children are welcome here to worship our Risen Lord, learn about His message, and join in our ministries. As a Reconciling in Christ congregation, St. Paul's welcomes all who seek God: new visitors, old friends, those who need strength or who have doubts, without regard to:

...racial background or ethnicity, income level, abilities or disabilities;
...whether you own a home, rent, or are homeless;

...your sexual orientation or gender identity: straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender;
...age or marital status: single, married, separated, divorced, remarried, widowed, or partnered.

"All this is from God who reconciled us through Jesus Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation." II Corinthians 5:18

If you are in a long-term relationship and thinking about a commitment ceremony, get to know us, our practices and beliefs.

                               Our LC/CF meetings:

St. Paul's members and Lutherans from other local congregations are part of the former Lutherans Concerned, North America advocacy organization, now known as ReconcilingWorks. All are welcome at our monthly meeting of Lutherans Concerned/Central Florida.

At most meetings we adhere to the statement of sanctuary. 

March 9, 2 pm, ReconcilingWorks Central Florida chapter mets at Trinity Lutheran, St. Petersburg. All are welcome.

 Do you receive our quarterly newsletter? You may email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to request that your name go on our email list.

If you have not signed up as a Reconciling Lutheran, please! go online to  ReconcilingWorks.org and join with the several thousand who have already done so. This is an opportunity to register as an individual who supports lgbt and other marginalized people as fully participating members of the church. It is not the same as a membership in our chapter of Lutherans Concerned, Central Florida; we would welcome you as members.

                              Our Activities:

Bishop Hansen has spoken out against anti-gay bullying. Watch his video, posted on the ELCA website, and also available at http://tinyurl.com/BpHanson-on-bullying  

Check the www.reconcilingworks.org website and look under the blog entry. Our own Paul Gibson has a 3 minute blog in which he speaks about his experiences and goals.

 We were on the scene at the Synod Assembly last May, as we have been for many years; we distributed materials and answered questions about becoming Reconciling. We were present at the Orlando Churchwide Assembly, as volunteers and assisting with the Goodsoil activities and worship. We will be present in Orlando this year as well.

June 30, we were part of PRIDE activities in St. Petersburg. St. Paul's had both float and booth. 

Several St. Paul's members, together with other members of LC/CF, made a presentation to the Synodical Women's Organization and to the Synod Council in November of 2010 and again in 2011. We are working with the Synod now on mutual concerns, and in November presented a video and interactive discussion on all sorts of bullying at the 2012 S.W.O. gathering. 

Library: St. Paul's houses a collection of novels, biographies and autobiographies, DVD's, videos and theological studies, many with LGBT themes. Check with the office to borrow any that interest you.The DVD For the Bible Tells Me So looks at families of faith with an LGBT sibling, son, daughter, or parent. Checkout a copy through the office.

LCNA's 2010 biennial assembly in Minneapolis included a Healing Service written by our seminarian, Paul Gibson. Part of the River of Reconciliation is in the photo at the left. Last summer's biennial was in Washington, D.C. (see above).

Have you been tested? Everyone should be! AIDS Partnership, Inc. is housed at St. Paul's. The Partnership offers HIV/AIDS testing (free, non-invasive) by appoitment; call 446-7718, ex 242 and leave your phone number.