A Brief History of Lutheran Church in the Foothills
In 2023, LCIF celebrated its 75th anniversary at this place in La Cañada Flintridge. The church was founded in 1948 as part of the church-building movement following World War II, and has since been organized as a California non-profit corporation. Founding Pastor John Stump was influential in evangelizing the communities of La Crescenta, La Canada, and Sunland–Tujunga, and our current membership draws from the communities of Glendale, Pasadena, and Burbank as well.
The original sanctuary was the stone structure on the corner of Foothill Boulevard and El Camino Corto that now serves as our Fellowship Hall, and the current sanctuary, designed by mid-century modernist architect Culver Heaton was completed in 1965, together with our noteworthy Tower of Redemption (affectionately known in our community as “Touchdown Jesus”).
The congregation has been an active participant in the Foothills communities throughout its history, having partnered with the YMCA ministerial association; the local schools, including the La Canada – Flintridge Community Baccalaureate interfaith celebration, and participated in local Kiwanis and Rotary club activities, including the Days of the Verdugos annual Memorial Day parade. Our pastors and lay leaders have also been active in our Southwest California Synod activities, serving on synod council, as part of the Synod anti-racist team, White Lutherans for Racial Justice, and attending annual synod assemblies and church-wide assemblies.
Our current pastor and staff members are shown in the Staff section of this tab, About Us.