Welcome to River of Grace

Visiting a new church can be intimidating; especially when you don't know what to expect.

At River of Grace, you will receive a warm welcome and a relevant worship experience.



Hear God's Word through Bible readings, sermon, and song.

Share in Communion, for we believe that all are welcome at the table.

Sing with the River Rising Band as they fill the sanctuary with sounds of praise.

Pass the Peace with a congregation that is so glad you came for worship.



Dress in whatever you are most comfortable wearing.

Suits and dresses, jeans and t-shirts: there is no dress code to pray here.

We've even been known to worship in our pajamas on occasion!


Welcome Pastor Martin & Shelley!

Blessings everyone! River of Grace is absolutely delighted to introduce you to our new Interim Pastor, Pr. Martin Eldred, and his wife Shelly! Welcome to the RoG family!

Pastor Martin was born and raised in the Seattle-Tacoma area of Washington State. He and Shelly met while attending Pacific Lutheran University in Parkland, WA where he majored in Religion and Shelly in Education. They married on August 6, 1983. Exactly one year later, they began a new adventure driving a loaded U-Haul truck to Dubuque, Iowa and Wartburg Theological Seminary. Shelly worked in the President’s office while Martin was a student. After two years, they traveled to Brookings, South Dakota for Martin’s Internship year, then back to Dubuque for the final year. This time, however, there were three: their son, Paul, was born that summer. After graduating in 1988, Martin’s first call was at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran in Stevenson, WA, a small community in the timber country of Skamania County. Their daughter, Katrina, was born in 1990 during their time there. After six years in Stevenson and four at Hope Lutheran in Enumclaw, WA, they moved to Shelly’s home state of Alaska in 1998, where Martin served as pastor at Joy Lutheran in Eagle River until 2019. Shelly worked in the Anchorage School District, both as a classroom teacher and as a Professional Learning Specialist. After four and a half years at Holy Cross in Herndon, Virginia, the Eldreds are happy and excited to be part of the worshipping community at River of Grace! Paul is a pastor at Central Lutheran in Seattle where he lives with his husband, Ryan. Their daughter and granddaughter live in Anchorage, where Katrina works for the State of Alaska and Naomi attends middle school.


To begin with, Pastor Martin is planning to be in the church office on Monday afternoons, and is very open to other times to meet with folks. You can also reach him by email at: bygracewithjoy@gmail.com

And, remember to c’mon by on Sundays at 10:30 to hear Pr. Martin leading us in worship! It’s inspirational, it’s inviting, and it’s food for our souls - you will be most welcome!  

Love God + Love Others

Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

-Matthew 22:37-40-


At River of Grace, we attempt to live out Jesus' commandment. Through worship, prayer, and education; we strive to love God with our whole hearts, minds, and souls. Through relationships and service to others, we seek to love our neighbors as ourselves.


Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

We are a part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), which has congregations and missionaries all over the world. The ELCA supports camps, colleges, seminaries, community ministries, and responds well to disasters, both nationally and abroad. 


We are also a part of the Church Universal – the community of believers throughout the world who preach, teach, and live in and by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We acknowledge and respect the different ways that other communities interpret and live out the Gospel even as we are forever striving to become one with them all in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 12:3-8, Ephesians 4:11-16)

What do we believe?

We believe we are called to share grace with all creation in a way that inspires passionate discipleship and transforms lives for good. We share this grace in the name of Jesus Christ. We are Partners in a shared mission who actively encourage others to experience the joy of Jesus Christ in daily life. Each of us strives to more deeply experience our “Marks of Discipleship" in our daily lives as we:

  • WORSHIP weekly;
  • PRAY daily;
  • READ THE BIBLE to grow in understanding of God’s Word and will for our lives;
  • SERVE others for the good of the world;
  • Be in SPIRITUAL FRIENDSHIPS so that we can help encourage one another in our walk of faith; 
  • and GIVE our financial resources in gratitude for all that God has first given to us.


Some of What We Believe About...

God: We believe in one God who is made known to us in three ways - as the Father, as the Son and as the Holy Spirit. Because of this, we understand and identify God as being a Holy Trinity, or three in one. (Mark 1:9-11)


God, the Father: We believe that God the Father has always been and will always be. God the Father created and creates everything out of nothing. In love, God sustains creation and desires an intimate relationship with all people. We call this part of God, "the Father" because that’s how Jesus addressed the One who sent him. (Genesis 1:1-3, Mark 14:35-36, Matthew 6:9-15)


God, the Son: We believe that God became known to humanity in the person of Jesus. Jesus Christ, being completely human and completely divine, lived life as a servant and teacher. Jesus, given to us by God, was crucified and died on a cross - a punishment we deserve for our sins - in order to show the power of Sin and the depth of God’s love for all creation. Jesus was raised from death in order to show us the even greater power that God has over the sin and death that threaten to consume creation. (John 3:16, 1 Peter 2:24)


God, the Holy Spirit: We believe that God has given the Holy Spirit to us and that the Holy Spirit works in and through all that God creates. The Holy Spirit is an active power that works outside, above, in and through the lives of people so that God is made known to us and so that we can have faith. (John 14:15-31, Galatians 5:22-23)


The Bible: The Bible is the inspired Word of God. Through the books of the Bible we come to know the nature and character of God. The Bible tells the story of God’s relationship with creation throughout history. As God’s Word, the Bible transcends time and cultural contexts, forever making itself applicable and relevant to our lives in the world. (2 Timothy 3:16-17, 1 Peter 1:20-21)


Sin: Sin comes all too easily for us, and it separates us from God. Sin is our rebellion against God’s will and shows itself through broken relationships with God, with others, and with ourselves. Our very nature leads us to sin by what we think, say, and do. God’s desire for us is that we turn from sin and toward a relationship with God, and God is always willing and ready to forgive our sin. (Isaiah 59:1-2, Romans 5:12-14, Romans 6:23)


Grace: The grace of God is the means by which we are forgiven and drawn into relationship with the God we worship. God’s grace is something so good and so powerful that we cannot possibly earn it – nor is there anything we can do to un-earn it, either! Because of our sinful nature, we trust completely in this grace to bring us into present and eternal relationship and communion with God. We strive to make all that we do a grateful response to the undeserved gift of God’s grace to us. (Ephesians 2:4-10)


Faith: Faith is also given to us by God. Faith is our ability to believe and to trust in God as one who forgives sins and offers eternal life. Faithful lives are those that strive to do works of love, mercy and justice out of gratitude and as examples of God’s love for us. We respond to God’s Word and live lives of faith in order to demonstrate God’s love to the world, not to earn it for ourselves. (Romans 4:13, Galatians 2:16, Ephesians 2:4-10)


Baptism: We believe God has commanded us, through Jesus, to baptize others in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Baptism is a sacrament whereby water and the Word come together as a sign that God adopts us as children and involves us in a community of faith, hope, and love. Because God, not humanity, acts through baptism we believe that baptism can happen for both infants and adults. (Matthew 3:13-17, Matthew 28:16-20)


Holy Communion: We believe God has commanded us, through Jesus, to share the sacrament of Holy Communion with one another. The bread and wine of communion represent the body and blood of Jesus. We remember Jesus every time we share the Lord’s Supper and we believe that he is truly present with us in the bread and wine. Through the sharing of communion we are reminded of Jesus’ love and sacrifice for us and ask for God’s continued forgiveness of all our sins. We invite everyone to share this meal – whether they feel ‘worthy’ or not -- because we know that God’s love and grace are gifts for all to receive. God is the host. We rejoice to be the servants of the meal. (Matthew 26:26-28, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26)



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