About Us
Living Word is a member of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS). We are a family-friendly church serving Sonoma County. Sunday morning worship at 9am with Sunday School and Bible Study to follow. Online worship available via Zoom. Midweek Bible Study held Sept – May in member homes throughout Sonoma County. We have a thriving Community Garden with plots located behind the church that are available through Petaluma Bounty. We would love to serve you and your family!
Our Core Values
Worship
We worship The Lord, our God, in Spirit and in truth, remaining faithful to God’s Holy and inspired Word.
Nurture
We nurture our church families by providing a place to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord and His Word.
Community
We are a Christian presence in our community and share God’s truth and love.
Engage
We actively engage with and support our world missionaries as they spread the light of the gospel to all the ends of the earth.
Our Church History
Living Word Lutheran has been a part of Sonoma County since the 1970s. In 1974, a small group of members joined together to rent spaces for Sunday worship. Church membership and attendance grew over the next few years and in 1977, the current property was selected in East Petaluma to be the site of a new church home for Living Word. The property had been a former dairy and came with a house and barn in place. The barn was torn down and recycled by members and the house was turned into the parsonage.
July 12, 1981 was the date of the first service in the new chapel on Ely Blvd South, with a formal dedication service held on October 11, 1981 where over 100 people were in attendance. In the 1990’s, a new parsonage was built near the back of the property and the former parsonage torn down.
Living Word partnered with Petaluma Bounty in 2009 to create Arroyo Community Garden behind the sanctuary. The space quickly transformed into garden boxes, a small orchard of fruit trees, and a play/picnic area. It has been so fun to watch the garden boxes change with each season as produce and beautiful flowers appear.
Today, Living Word is made up of a number of families that come together for worship and fellowship. Many of these families are multi-generational and make up our childhood and adult ministries. There is something for everyone at Living Word, whether you come needing to be filled up or bring time and talents to share. Living Word is a steady fixture in the Petaluma Community and looks forward a bright future ahead.
Visitor Information
We hope this page will answer some of the questions you might have before you visit our church. This guide exists to help you, our guest, as you consider visiting our congregation.
Attire
Attire
Our members and visitors dress in a variety of ways. Some come in their favorite pair of jeans and a comfortable t-shirt. Others prefer to go “business casual” with khakis and a polo shirt. Still others enjoy wearing their “Sunday best” and pull out their dresses or suits.
Children
Children
We welcome people of all ages at our worship services. Many of our families with young children prefer to sit towards the back, so they can easily move to the narthex area if need be. We also have a kids room with some toys and books.
Worship
Worship
The worship service is printed out each week in our worship folder, which you will receive as you enter the sanctuary. All the congregation’s spoken or sung “responses” can be found in the worship folder. You’ll also find the Scripture lessons and the sermon information for the day.
Offering
Offering
Our members bring offerings to God through their church. These offerings give them the opportunity not only to show love to Christ, but also to support the work of the congregation as we bring the Good News of Christ’s love to more people. Since offerings are gifts of love for God, no one can dictate what an individual is to give.
WELS Lutherans
Living Word Evangelical Lutheran Church is a member of the national church body called the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS).
This church body got its name because it was formed in Wisconsin in the 1850’s. Our membership in this national church body unites us with Christians across our country and the world. It allows us to pool our resources for mission work, the production of Bible-based Christian literature, and the training of pastors and grade school teachers. But above all, we can be comforted by the fact that we know there are Christians throughout the world who share a common faith with us.
Our congregation and our national church body are solidly based in the Bible. We believe that Jesus is our Savior and the only way to heaven. Through faith in Jesus we are united to him and each other. The name “Lutheran” comes from the great reformer, Martin Luther. In a period of history when the Church had lost sight of its Savior and the truth of his Word, Martin Luther boldly challenged these errors and preached Jesus Christ as Savior. We are proud to remember his work in bringing the truth of God’s Word by using his name to identify ourselves.
