Atonement Lutheran Church
About Us
HOME WORSHIP EDUCATION ABOUT US STAFF NEWS LINKS
What does Atonement Mean?
The atonement is a doctrine found within both Christianity and Judaism. It describes how sin can be forgiven by God. In Judaism, Atonement is said to be the process of forgiving or pardoning a transgression. This was originally accomplished through rituals performed by a High Priest on the holiest day of the Jewish year: Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement). In Christian theology the atonement refers to the forgiving or pardoning of sin through the crucifixion of Jesus Christ which made possible the reconciliation between God and creation.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
A Short History
Atonement Lutheran Church was founded in 1961 by a number of families from the areas of Azalea Park, New Azalea Park, Englewood and East Orlando Estates. Many of the original members were from these subdivisions. Some of the members came from St. Paul's Lutheran Church in downtown Orlando. They found it more and more difficult to go the miles to St. Paul's and decided to be part of this new congregation in East Orlando. The first worship was held in the homes of members and then in the American Legion Hall on Goldenrod.
The new congregation which was named ATONEMENT and purchased land on Lake Underhill. That parcel was about 20 acres. About 10 acres were given to the American Lutheran Church in payment for the 10 acres on which they were going to build. Then the East-West Toll road took the northern most 4 acres to build the 408. The congregation then had about 6.5 acres remaining on which they had built a small church building. Atonement never completed the original building plans.
The organizing pastor, The Rev Otto Schmidt, retired in 1978. The congregation had reached about 500 baptized at that time. The next pastor was the Rev. Roger Lemke. It was at that time that the congregation leveled in its growth. This was the last called pastor until the Rev. Deborah Hanson, who left unexpectedly after less than a year. Over the years, Atonement has been served by a number of interim and contracted retired pastors.
The current pastor is the Rev. Dr. Harold G. Banks, was installed on June 1st, 2004. The congregation is growing in members and programs. Pastor Banks negotiated the sale of the current property with Florida Hospital and began the process of building a new church building in Vista Lakes at 8829 Passaic Parkway in Vista Lakes. Our plan is to move into the new building in the fall of 2008.
While Atonement Church is still relatively small in numbers, about 250 baptized members. New families and individuals are visiting us and joining the congregation almost weekly. You will find this a friendly and welcoming congregation. We pride ourselves on welcoming everyone. We have members from all over the USA, Canada, Caribbean, U.S. Virgin Islands, Africa, and Central America
CONTACT INFORMATION
Address: 7525 Lake Underhill Rd
Orlando, Fl 32822
Phone: 407-277-9631
Fax: 407-277-9601
EMAIL: atonementa@bellsouth.net
pastor_banks@atonementorlando.org
.