Our Saviour's Lutheran Church
Our Saviour's Lutheran Church is a Christ-centered community serving Tucson through worship, faith formation, music, service, and engagement with its neighbors. Located in the heart of Tucson, the congregation describes its mission as being a community of faith and action.
About Our Saviour's Lutheran Church
Our Saviour's Lutheran Church is a Christ-centered community serving Tucson through worship, faith formation, music, service, and engagement with its neighbors. Located in the heart of Tucson, the congregation describes its mission as being a community of faith and action. Its values include an expansive welcome, care for one another, stewardship of creation, generosity, service, learning, advocacy, and openness to the world. The church is LGBTQ+ affirming and identifies community, faith, and action as central parts of its life.
Weekly worship takes place in the sanctuary on Sunday mornings at 9:00. The service lasts about an hour, includes communion, follows a Lutheran liturgy, and brings together a blend of music styles. Children are welcome, with a play area at the front and another off to the side of the sanctuary. The congregation welcomes all to join in communion. The service is also livestreamed and recorded, with previous services available through the church's YouTube channel. After worship, the congregation gathers for coffee and conversation, then makes sandwiches for the welcome center at Grace St. Paul, described by the church as a neighboring organization.
The church's beliefs are rooted in Lutheran teachings about Christ, grace, Scripture, baptism, and communion. Our Saviour's teaches that God's grace is received through faith and that the sacraments transform lives toward love and service of God, neighbors, and all creation. The congregation's stated areas of focus include expansive welcome, housing, music and the arts, the neighborhood, and capacity. Its faith life also includes study and contemplation, vibrant Lutheran worship, and an embrace of the arts. The church publishes "Hidden Gems," a series of reflections available through its website, and shares weekly information through a Monday morning e-newsletter. Music, events, the church council, governing documents, and other congregational resources are also part of its public-facing work.
Our Saviour's was founded in 1945 and identifies itself as the oldest Evangelical Lutheran church in Tucson. Its first worship service was held at the YWCA on May 13, 1945, after Rev. Albert Alsop gathered 13 people and eight children during an initial effort to establish a Lutheran congregation. The congregation later met at the Roskruge Junior High auditorium before breaking ground at Campbell and Helen streets in 1947. A chapel was built there in 1948, followed by the main sanctuary in 1956 and the Activity Building in 1965. Over the decades, the congregation expanded its educational, music, outreach, and worship ministries. Its history includes a Sunday school arrangement with the Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind, adult Bible studies, small group ministry, evangelism conferences, a center for people experiencing homelessness on campus, and partnerships with University of Arizona students.
Today, the congregation continues its Tucson mission through worship, community life, service, and opportunities for participation. Lutheran campus ministry connected with the University of Arizona shares the Our Saviour's campus, extending the church's relationship with students. People interested in learning more can begin by attending the Sunday service in person or online, exploring recorded worship and the church's published reflections, or checking its calendar and events information. Visitors can expect a Lutheran service with communion, music, a welcoming environment for children, and a chance to remain afterward for coffee, conversation, and a neighborhood-oriented service activity.