ABOUT
WHAT KIND OF CHURCH IS THIS?
Salem is a Lutheran church and a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, our national church body. However, our congregation is comprised of many folks who did not grow up Lutheran, so do not feel like you have to be in order to fit in! You can learn more about the ELCA by following this link. Salem is also a congregation of the Delaware-Maryland Synod, learn more about our local church community here.
OUR MISSION
Salem’s mission is to “share faith, hope, and God’s love with everyone.” We define this as follows: with Faith in Christ (Hebrews 11:1), joy in worship (Psalms 100:2), and a commitment to service (Luke 17:21), we are called to share faith, hope, and love (1 Corinthians 13:13) with our neighbors (Matthew 22:39). Salem does this in our worship, social activities, fundraising, and in our daily life as disciples of Jesus. Sharing faith, hope, and God’s love is not just a slogan to us; it is how we feel God is calling our congregation to serve our neighborhood, our community, and our city.
WHAT WE BELIEVE
Salem believes in Grace. Grace is the promise of eternal life and the forgiveness of our sins FREELY given by God through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. We are made new creatures in this holy promise. At Salem, we joyfully celebrate the gifts that God has given us, we share in each others' sorrows as broken human beings, and we give thanks to God for this community that allows us to be ourselves and love one another, the world, and God.
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Lutheran Christians believe that the story of God's steadfast love and mercy in Jesus is the heart and center of what the Scriptures have to say. We believe in a living God, who we name Holy Spirit, who calls us to live in love, seek kindness, and stand in solidarity with those on the margins of society.
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IS SALEM LGBTQIA+ FRIENDLY?
In general Salem considers ourself very friendly and welcoming. In light of that, before the pandemic, we had started an intentional LGBTQIA+ welcoming process of becoming a Reconciling in Christ congregation.
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​ When the pandemic began, we put that on hold with the intention to return to it later. At this point we have decided not to continue with that process.
TEAM
Pastor Corey Bergman
Pastor
​Pastor Corey joined Salem in August of 2024. In 2020 Pastor Corey and wife Rev. Madeline Tallman, who currently serves a church in Glen Burnie, moved to South Baltimore from Chicago where they had recently received Masters of Divinity from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. Pastor Corey has previously served churches in both Linthicum and Canton. When not working at church or bartending at a local brewery Corey enjoys walking Peggy a 5 year old beagle around Riverside Park, playing boardgames, and watching the O’s, Minnesota Wild, and Arsenal games.
Jack Ratzsch
Church and Riverside Third Space Administrator.
Jack and his wife Cheryll have been members at Salem since 2015, they currently live in Baltimore County but lived in the Riverside neighborhood for many years. Jack plays guitar with the Salem Singers at our Sunday service. Jack is mostly retired having worked for various radio stations, newspapers and ad agencies in New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania.
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You can reach Jack at admin@salemsouthbaltimore.com or if you would like to schedule an event in our Riverside Third Space event space you can contact him at riversidethirdspace@gmail.com.
Marie Macklin Lacy
Music Director
Marie earned her BA in Voice and Piano at the Peabody Institute of John Hopkins University.
Keith Ryer
Custodian
Building Caretaker