About — Good Shepherd Lutheran Church

Our Story

We started out as a Christian congregation in the Lutheran tradition which is grounded in worship. Organized in 1983 by faithful Lutherans who desired a Lutheran church in the Lakes Region, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church was built on rocky New England soil in Laconia, NH.

In 2013 St. James Episcopal Church, in need of a new home, was invited to share Good Shepherd’s church. Now, the two have become one congregation blessed with Episcopals, Lutherans, and all wishing to celebrate and share God’s love through fellowship and worship.

Good Shepherd is part of a larger church body which is the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Historically, the Lutheran church is a reforming movement. You may remember Martin Luther from history class. Luther was a German monk in the 16th century, and he had questions about some of the practices of the church in his day. He called for an open conversation by nailing his famous Ninety-five Theses (or statements) to the castle door which served as a community bulletin board in Wittenburg, Germany. Luther was simply calling for public conversation and reform, but he ended up as the instigator of the Protestant Reformation. In short, Lutherans are known for questions and reforms.

Our Beliefs

We believe we are saved by grace alone and not by anything we do. We strive for peace and justice in the world as a response to the amazing gifts God has given us. Through baptism we are born again, not by any conscious decision of our own or by any experience, but by God's reaching out and claiming us in baptism. We read scripture through the lens of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Lutherans read the Bible not as a rule book but as a source of wisdom and inspiration. We seek what God is telling us today through these ancient texts and stories. One of Martin Luther's contributions was to put scripture into the language of the people. He believed that the revealed Word of God was accessible to all people, not just the learned class.

Our Leadership

Fr. John Bethell was born and raised in New York City and grew up spending his summers in New Hampshire. He went to seminary at the General Theological Seminary in NYC. After years of chaplaincy (Navy, fire departments, colleges, and federal prisons), he was finally able to choose for himself where he wanted to live, so he chose to return to the Granite State. He has been serving as our interim since February of 2026. Given the opportunity, he will talk about liturgy or Fenway.