get to know us
“Keep alert, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.”
1 Corinthians 16:13-14
Since 1888, Emmanuel Lutheran Church has made a home at the corner of West Walnut & Pine Streets in the city of Lancaster. We are located close to Franklin & Marshall College, the North Museum of Science and Buchanan Park. Our church community seeks opportunities to meet the needs and challenges facing our neighborhood and how we can help others see and know Christ's presence in their lives.
Our pastor
Meet Pastor Timothy W. Sadler
The Rev. Timothy W. Sadler, MDiv., RBCC comes to us as a second career pastor with twenty-two years as an ordained pastor and twenty-three years in the retail/wholesale music business.
Pastor Tim has served in the Lower and Upper Susquehanna Synods. He served as Dean of the Gettysburg Conference, a member of Synod Council, and is a Board-Certified Chaplain. He served as pastor at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in York Springs, PA and as senior pastor at St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church in Carlisle, PA. As Chaplain, he worked for Reading Hospital, Heartland Hospice, and Hospice & Community Care of Lancaster. He recently retired as manager of Spiritual Care at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, PA. While chaplain, Pastor Tim served as an interim pastor in the Lower and Upper Susquehanna Synods.
Pastor Tim grew up in Gettysburg, PA and attended seminary in his hometown. He is married to the Rev. Dr. Karen Minnich-Sadler who is also an ordained ELCA pastor. Pastor Karen is retired. She is a prolific writer of sacred devotional material. Together they raised 8 children, 6 were adopted, 2 have died and currently they have 6 grandchildren.
Pastor Tim has been called in a partnership of ministry with Emmanuel Church. He is passionate about Evangelism, Outreach, and the need for relevancy in our ministry together. He enjoys nature, target shooting, reading, and riding his bicycle.
belief
Lutherans believe in the Triune God.
God created and loves all of creation — the earth and the seas and all the world’s inhabitants. We believe that God’s Son, Jesus Christ, transforms lives through his death on the cross and his new life, and we trust that God’s Spirit is active in the world.
We are part of God’s unfolding plan. When we gather for worship, we connect with believers everywhere. When we study the Bible or hear God’s word in worship, we are drawn more deeply into God’s own saving story.
The convictions shared by Christians from many different traditions are expressed in statements of belief called creeds. These ecumenical creeds that Lutherans affirm and use in worship confess the faith of the church through the ages and around the world.
The Confession of Faith of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is part of our founding constitution. The ELCA accepts the following creeds as true declarations of the faith of this church:
affiliations
We are a congregation of the Lower Susquehanna Synod of the Evangelical Church of America and a companion congregation with Mbalizi Lutheran Church in Mbeya, Tanzania, a congregation of the Konde Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania. We strive to make a positive difference in the lives and futures of all through our ministry outreach in our community and the world.