About Us

Our Mission: We perceive Christ calling us to: Walk together in God’s love; nurturing faith, doing justice, serving all.

We are a community of people seeking to grow in our relationship to God, to others, and within our own selves. Some of us were raised Lutheran, others not. Here you will find people who have been shaped in Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Methodist, Episcopal, Quaker, and other communities of faith, as well as people who have had little or no prior church experience. We are gay and straight, older and younger, partnered and single. If you are new to Christianity, or have been away from the church for some time, or have been a regular participant in a church in another community you are welcome here.

What binds us together is the gift of God’s unconditional love and forgiveness made known in the person of Jesus Christ. We believe that again and again God comes down and welcomes us home, restores us, forgives our past, and empowers us for life now, before we do anything. There’s mystery and joy in this, a mystery and joy that we experience in our worship and communal life together. We believe it is our call to welcome and love others as Christ welcomes and loves us.

Here’s more:

We come from a variety of places; some were born in New England, many were born and raised elsewhere and relocated to the Boston area. Our active members live in over a dozen different towns and cities from Waltham to Lowell, to Hopkinton to Boston, and in between. We take into account long commutes and put a strong emphasis on our time together on Sunday mornings. We put a high value on being woven together in community.

Affiliation: First Lutheran is a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). For more about our beliefs go to http://www.elca.org

Our Pastor

Rev. Thomas Maehl has been pastor at First Lutheran since 1999, following a ten year career as a software developer. He earned his Masters of Divinity from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia.

Contact Pastor Maehl: tmaehl@rcn.com

Cynthia

Our Director of Music and Parish Secretary

Ms. Cynthia Niiler has been the Director of Music at First Lutheran since 1996 and has been the Parish Secretary since 2000. She earned her Masters of Sacred Music with a choral concentration from Luther Seminary (with St. Olaf College) in St. Paul, MN.

Contact Cynthia: firstlutheranwalthamoffice@gmail.com

Our Student Intern

Vicar Samantha DiBiaso is a graduate of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA where she studied Public Relations and Religion and Culture. Samantha is currently a Master of Divinity student at Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, OH. She is in the candidacy process for Word and Sacrament Ministry in the ELCA. Contact Vicar Samantha: sdibiaso@capital.edu