Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Tupelo, Mississippi, is a member congregation of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod.  As a member of the

Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, the members of Holy Trinity "walk together" (Synod) with 6,047 congregations in the USA comprised of nearly 2 million baptized members.

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     Holy Trinity Lutheran Church traces her roots to 1956, where in February of 1956, two families (the Orville Gulseth's family and the John Mashoff's family) began to explore the possibility of organizing the first Lutheran Mission in Tupelo.  At that meeting it was decided to request the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod to supply pastoral care for the mission start in Tupelo.   In July of 1956, the Reverend F. Zucker, Circuit Counselor of the Mississippi congregations of the Southern District came to Tupelo to hold the first Lutheran service.  In September of 1958, the Reverend "J.C." Henning became the first resident pastor of the mission congregation, as he was installed (September 7, 1958) as the Missionary-at-large to Tupelo and Oxford.  In December of 1958, the name "Holy Trinity Lutheran Church" was selected to identify the new congregation.

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     Holy Trinity Lutheran Church has been faithfully served by several pastors as well as many vacancy pastors from Columbus and Starkville over the years.  Our pastors include:

       The Reverend J.C. Henning                         1958-1963

       The Reverend Morris M. Kirchoff              1964-1968

       The Reverend Thomas Benedum             1969-1976

       The Reverend Harold E. Heinlein              1978-1987

       The Reverend Richard C. Kreitenstein     1988-2010

       The Reverend David E. Mac Kain            2010-Present

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     For a summary of what Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Tupelo, and the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod believes, teaches and confesses, please view the Synod's website (lcms.org).  There you can find the following summary.

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     "With the universal Christian Church, The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod teaches and responds to the love of the Triune God:

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     the Father, creator of all that exists;

    

     Jesus Christ, the Son, who became human to suffer and die for the sins of all human beings and to rise to life again in the ultimate victory over death and Satan; and

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     the Holy Spirit, who creates faith through God's Word and Sacraments.  The three persons of the Trinity are coequal and coeternal, one God.

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Being "Lutheran"

     Our congregations accept and preach the Bible-based teachings of Martin Luther that inspired the reformation of the Christian Church in the 16th century.  The teachings of Luther and the reformers can be summarized in three phrases:  Grace alone, Faith alone, Scripture alone."

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     Further details of our confessional stance can be found in the Lutheran Confessions contained in the Book of Concord (1580); namely The Augsburg Confession (1530), The Apology of the Augsburg Confession (1531), The Smalcald Articles (1537), The Small Catechism (1529), the Large Catechism (1529), the Formula of Concord (1577); along with the three ecumenical creeds: The Apostles' Creed, The Nicene Creed, and The Athanasian Creed.  Finally, the Brief Statement of the Doctrinal Position  of the Missouri Synod (1932), which can be found on the Synod's website (lcms.org), provides a succinct summary of our overall teachings, beliefs, and confession.