About Us

In the summer of 1947, the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of California requested the Board of American Missions of the United Lutheran Church in America to send a Pastor-Developer into the La Cañada, La Crescenta and Montrose area.

These communities are situated in the foothills of the western end of the San Gabriel Mountains, near NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Pasadena’s Rose Bowl, and about 10 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles.

Organizing
The Reverend John P. Stump was called from New York City, and on September 28, 1947, the first worship service was held in the American Legion Hall in Verdugo City, west of the church’s present location. Lutheran Church in the Foothills was formally organized on February 19, 1948.

Building
As membership increased, property was bought and a church erected. Two and one-half acres of land on Foothill Boulevard were purchased in 1949. The church was dedicated on September 17, 1950; this building now serves as our Fellowship Hall. By 1952, the congregation was able to add Sunday School classrooms, offices and a patio, with much of the work done by members themselves.

Expanding

The 1950s-era buildings served the congregation well until the mid-1960s.  Growth of the congregation made an expansion necessary.  During the tenure of Pastor Vernon Frazier (1963-1970), plans were made to build a large new sanctuary to the east of the exisiting structures.  The upper floor would feature a classic “inverted boat” design, with massive wood “rib” beams, a high A-frame roofline, sacristy, choir loft and foyer.  A lower floor would include several new classrooms. The new sanctuary and tower was dedicated on December 19, 1965.

As befits the church name, the new narthex opens to the foothills to the north, with the Tower Statue of Redemption centered before it.

The former chapel would become the Fellowship Hall with a small kitchen. Around the patio and the “Fountain of Youth,” the former classrooms are used for a meeting room, youth room, the CYFM Minister’s office, library, and the Pastor’s office and conference area.

 

Our Denominational Affiliation

Lutheran Church in the Foothills is a member congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The ELCA was formed in 1988 when three Lutheran denominations merged, uniting most Danish, Norwegian and Swedish and some German Lutheran immigrant traditions. Just under five million people in over 10,000 congregations belong to the ELCA, the largest Lutheran Christian denomination in North America, headquartered in Chicago, IL.  The ELCA is a member of the Lutheran World Federation, the largest Protestant Christian body in the world, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.

Regionally, we are a congregation of the ELCA’s Southwest California Synod.  Our synod is comprised of about 150 congregations in Kern, Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo and Ventura Counties, worshipping in several different languages, and spanning diverse cultures, classes, and locales.  The Synod offices are located at First Lutheran Church in near-by Glendale, CA.