Trinity Lutheran Church is a town-gown ministry, i.e., we serve both the people in the Ithaca area and the students of Cornell University and Ithaca College.

The Lutheran Church got its start about 500 years ago.  The young Roman Catholic monk and professor, Dr. Martin Luther rediscovered the Gospel as he taught the book of Romans in the New Testament. The Gospel is simply this: God saw our spiritual need for redemption and forgiveness, and He Himself met that need in His Son Christ Jesus. We access that forgiveness through faith, which is also a gift from Him. That “Good News”  -- also known as the Gospel --  changes the way Christians orient themselves to the world, and seek to live. Trinity's task is to introduce people to that good news, and encourage people to live with the good news permeating their life and action. The more we live out that Good News in our life, the more we reflect the original Good News. We start to give our lives away in love and sacrifice, in a similar way to Jesus. It is a challenging, but extremely fulfilling lifestyle.

The five banners at the bottom of the page represent the five activities that were essential ingredients of the Early Church, as was recorded in the New Testament book of Acts chapter 2: 42 – 45. At Trinity, we call this five-fold emphasis, “The Ministry of the Hand.” The church was continually devoted to the apostles teaching, to fellowship, to sacramental ministry, prayer, and to loving service. Those banners hang prominently in the inside of Trinity's worship center, to remind everyone of our calling.

Recently, pastor Foote reviewed the ministries of Trinity Lutheran Church and concluded that annually, as a congregation, we carry out 87 different ministries. We believe that each person has individual gifts from God, and with so many ministries there is a place for everyone to serve and use their gifts in ways that feel right to the person and are a blessing to the community. Trinity is a congregation that is not afraid to take risks, so we have ventured out into a variety of ministries, which include serving the large immigrant population in Ithaca through our refugee house, located right next to the Church. Our congregation tends to be younger demographically than the majority of Lutheran churches, both because we serve campuses, and also because of our early childhood ministries. If you can't find a place that fits you and your gifts, then suggest a new ministry!  We believe that's how the church grows.