St. John's Lutheran Church is a large Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is a mainline Protestant denomination headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA officially came into existence on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three churches. As of December 31, 2009, it had 4,543,037 baptized members, with 2,527,941 of them...

 congregation in Parkville, Maryland

Parkville, Maryland

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 31,118 people, 13,044 households, and 8,243 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 7,352.1 people per square mile . There were 13,550 housing units at an average density of 3,201.4 per square mile...

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Location

Parkville straddles the Baltimore City/Baltimore County

Baltimore County, Maryland

Baltimore County is a county located in the northern part of the US state of Maryland. In 2010, its population was 805,029. It is part of the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Towson. The name of the county was derived from the barony of the Proprietor of the Maryland...

 line. St. John's is located in central Parkville. Parkville's population grew rapidly after World War II and the opening of the Baltimore Beltway, Interstate 695

Interstate 695 (Maryland)

Interstate 695 is a -long full beltway Interstate Highway extending around Baltimore, Maryland, USA. I-695 is officially designated the McKeldin Beltway, but is colloquially referred to as either the Baltimore Beltway or 695...

, in 1962. The population of Parkville has settled at about 35,000 people.

Congregation

About 50% of the members of the congregation are over 65 years old and moved to Parkville from Baltimore City after World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. The other 50% of St. John's members have settled recently in the community.

Ministry

St. John's Lutheran Church has Bible studies, women's ministries, social and fellowship ministries for elders, a singles ministry, and young families ministry. Sunday classes are held for students in grades two through twelve. St. John's Lutheran Church supports helping and social ministries of all kinds, including support for homeless shelters, shelters for abused women with families, resettling refugee families, and relating to the Lutheran Churches in the third world.