Laestadian Lutheran Church
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Laestadian Lutheran Church was organized on June 9, 1973 under the name Association of American Laestadian Congregations (AALC). The association changed its name in 1994 in order to better convey its spiritual heritage. Today the Laestadian Lutheran Church has twenty-nine member congregations in the United States and Canada. The highest concentrations of members are in Minnesota, Washington, Arizona, Michigan, and Saskatchewan. The congregations are served by sixty-eight ministers, nearly all of them lay preachers. Its brother organization in Finland is Conservative Laestadians Suomen rauhanyhdistysten keskusyhdistys, in Sweden Sveriges Fridsföreningarnas Centralorganisation and in Estonia Eesti Luterlik Rahuühendus.
The teachings of Laestadianism are based on the Bible and the Lutheran Confessions. The main teaching among them is of Jesus' suffering, death, and resurrection. The work of Jesus Christ continues in this world as the work of the Holy Spirit. The Laestadian Lutheran Church teaches of God's kingdom and need for repentance and the forgiveness of sins. The church holds, in accord with the Lutheran Confessions, that the Bible is the highest guide and authority for Christian faith, doctrine, and life.
The Laestadian Lutheran Church takes its name from Martin Luther and Lars Levi Laestadius. Lars Levi Laestadius was a Lutheran pastor who served in northern Sweden from 1825 to 1861. The movement reached North America with Finnish immigrants in the 1860s. Congregations were first formally organized in Cokato, Minnesota in 1872 and Calumet, Michigan in 1873. The Laestadian movement in North America has suffered a number of schisms since 1890. The subjects of disagreement have mainly been: the understanding of justification, God's congregation, and the sacraments. The last division occurred in 1973, and resulted in the establishment of the Laestadian Lutheran Church.
