Pastor's Portal

June 2026

Rev. David Schmidt

June 1, 2026

The Birthday You Don’t Want to Forget

The month of June often feels quiet – no major holidays, just the relaxed pace of summer after school lets out. Yet there is a profoundly important historical event that took place in June, one that usually goes unnoticed. On June 25, 1530, the Lutheran Church was officially born.

Most people assume the Reformation began and ended with Martin Luther posting the 95 Theses on October 31, 1517. That bold act certainly sparked the movement. However, it took many more years for Lutheran teaching to gain formal recognition.

That recognition came at the Diet of Augsburg, when the Lutheran reformers presented a clear statement of faith to Emperor Charles V. Philip Melanchthon, a close colleague of Martin Luther, was the primary author of this document, known as the Augsburg Confession.

Presented on June 25, 1530, the Augsburg Confession became the first official confession of faith for the Lutheran Church. It is a document we still cherish and confess today.

Why do creeds and confessions like this matter? It’s not enough to say, “I just believe the Bible.” False teachers can (and do) make the same claim. Confessions help us clearly affirm what Scripture teaches as true and reject what it teaches as false. They anchor us in the pure Gospel.

This June, as we mark the birthday of our Lutheran Church, take a moment to give thanks for the faithful confession handed down to us – a confession that continues to point us to Scripture alone, Christ alone, grace alone, and faith alone. To God alone be the glory.