Leadership Rev. Chris Spelbring Architectural type Church | Phone +1 310-821-2740 | |
Location Venice, Los Angeles, California Affiliation Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod Address 815 Venice Blvd, Venice, CA 90291, USA District Pacific Southwest District Architectural style Mission Revival architecture Similar Beyond Baroque Literary A, LA Louver, Venice United Methodist, Venice Canal Historic D, Binoculars Building Profiles | ||
First Lutheran Church of Venice is a congregation in the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS), located on the westside of Los Angeles. It serves the communities of Venice, Mar Vista and Marina del Rey, and is in the Pacific Southwest District of the LCMS. The church offers both traditional and contemporary services and runs First Lutheran School of Venice. The church was founded in 1944.
With 331 members as of 2006, it is the third largest LCMS congregation in Los Angeles and the largest in its circuit, which includes churches in Beverly Hills, Inglewood and Santa Monica.
Venice is home to a thriving artistic community, and church programs and activities draw on that resource. Since 2001, the church has hosted a Masters in the Chapel music series which has featured performances by artists from the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Los Angeles Baroque Orchestra and Los Angeles Master Chorale. The series was begun in the wake of the church's restoration, following a 1998 electrical fire which gutted the sanctuary. The church's pipe organ, which was designed in 2004 by the builder of those at Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, is also featured in the events.
The church also features an external mural, Jesus Roller Skating with Friends in Venice Beach [1], created in 1997 by Father Maur Van Doorslaer [2], a Benedictine monk. The work has been described as being second in local popularity only to Venice's "Ballerina Clown" sculpture.