"All Are Welcome" on Sandy Plains Road
Tucked into east Cobb County at 2922 Sandy Plains Road in Marietta, Georgia, Holy Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church is an ELCA congregation that has served its neighbors since 1952. The phrase that defines the campus is painted across the top of every bulletin: "All Are Welcome." The congregation's mission - "Loving, Living, Serving, Giving, All In God's Name" - shapes everything from the two very different weekly worship services to the dozens of small groups that meet in its classrooms and fellowship hall.
First-time visitors arriving on a Saturday evening will find a contemporary praise team, dimmer lights, and a casual atmosphere. Those who return Sunday morning will step into a sanctuary shaped by Lutheran liturgy, a pipe organ, and choirs of every age. Both services last about an hour, both celebrate Holy Communion, and both are broadcast online so members who are traveling or homebound can take part. Coffee fellowship in the Fellowship Hall follows every service, and newcomers are especially encouraged to drop in.
Two Services, Two Traditions
Holy Trinity holds two weekly services during the school year. Saturday at 5:30 pm is the Modern Contemporary Worship, led by the HT Praise Band on keyboard, guitars, and drums, with songs drawn from contemporary Christian radio. The Saturday service is intentionally outreach- and event-driven, with a come-as-you-are feel and a simple, dynamic sermon. Communion is celebrated at every service.
Sunday at 10:00 am is the Traditional Liturgical Worship. A pipe organ and grand piano anchor the music, joined by the chancel choir, handbells, and other instruments across the program year. The order of service follows the historic Lutheran pattern, mixing classic hymns, spirituals, seasonal songs, and liturgical readings, but the congregation describes it as "structured but not stuffy." Youth serve as prayer readers, acolytes, crucifers, and communion assistants; adults usher, read, run the audio-visual booth, serve communion, and bake the bread.
At every service, anyone who wishes to receive Holy Communion is welcome, regardless of age or background. Those who prefer a blessing instead are invited forward with arms crossed, and a pastor or communion assistant will pray over them.
A Story That Began in 1952
Holy Trinity was organized in 1952, with its first home on Roswell Road in Marietta, in the shadow of what locals call the "Big Chicken." Early services were held in a cottage on that property until a chapel was built and a parsonage purchased for the first pastor and his family. In 1953, the first Christian kindergarten in Marietta began operating in the cottage next to the chapel and continued there for more than two decades.
Over five years, the Roswell Road property was sold and a new site was acquired on Sandy Plains Road. The congregation worshipped in the new sanctuary for the first time on Reformation Sunday in 1980, with the official dedication in February 1981. During the construction years, services were held at Kincaid Elementary School. An educational wing was added in 1982, and in 1990 an all-purpose building opened to house classrooms, choir space, offices, and storage. In 2022, Holy Trinity marked 70 years of ministry and outreach in the community.
The Holtkamp/Parkey Pipe Organ
Dominating the front of the sanctuary is the Holtkamp/Parkey pipe organ, an instrument with a history nearly as long as the Reformation it celebrates. The organ's core was originally built in 1892 by the Ferrand & Votey Organ Company for First Presbyterian Church of Springfield, Missouri. New pipework was added by Votteler-Holtkamp in 1929, and in 1955 the Kilgen Organ Company installed a new pneumatic console and several ranks.
Three members of Holy Trinity purchased the organ from First & Calvary Presbyterian Church in 1978 for $2,500. It was dedicated on Reformation Sunday in 1980 and first sounded on Christmas Eve that same year. After a multi-phase renewal project launched in 1995 and funded in 1999, the instrument grew to 41 ranks and 49 stops. Its moveable console offers tracker-touch keyboards, MIDI record and playback, and digital orchestral voices. Described as American Classic in design with nods to romantic and English tones, the organ is balanced tonally across the sanctuary and supports both liturgical worship and concert use.
The Suspended Cross of the McCoys
A second sanctuary landmark is the Suspended Cross, donated by Gerda and George McCoy and dedicated on Reformation Sunday, 1993. Built in red oak and black walnut, the cross measures 17 feet high and 7 feet wide and weighs roughly 425 pounds. George McCoy, then a council member and Property Committee participant, sketched the design after learning that commercially quoted crosses would cost $8,000 to $10,000. He drew the plans, laminated the boards, and finished the wood in his home shop, putting aside a kitchen remodel for his wife so the cross could be completed. The Property Committee, with help from John Lundborg and other volunteers, hauled the finished piece to the church and hoisted it into place with pulleys, ropes, and what the records describe as "brute strength." It remains a central symbol of worship at Holy Trinity, suspended above the chancel as a marker of the empty cross - the Lutheran emphasis on the risen Christ.
Kidz Connection and the Children's Wing
Children's ministry at Holy Trinity centers on Kidz Connection, a Pre-K through 5th-grade Sunday school program that runs from 9:45 to 10:45 am in the Children's Wing of Education Building B (downstairs). The morning is structured with check-in outside the Kidz Connection doors, a Bible-based lesson with craft or game in age-bracketed classes, a closing large-group gathering, and check-out. Curriculum is Bible-centered and age-appropriate, using a large-group/small-group format in the elementary years to teach the Bible as life application.
A professionally staffed nursery in Room 3 of the Education Building serves infants through age 3 during worship and Sunday school. Director Sal Espino leads a rotating volunteer team that includes Val Couch, Ruth Trembley, Meredith Kiefer, Tami Cook, and Steven Reece. A love for children is the only prerequisite, and training and curriculum are provided. A toddler ministry during the 11:00 am service offers a Bible story and music for the youngest members of the church on most Sundays during the school year.
Youth: Refuel and Rooted in Love
Middle and high school students meet for Sunday school each week from 9:30 to 10:00 am, gathering before worship for discipleship and a look at how Scripture applies to daily life. Wednesday nights belong to Refuel, a 6:00 to 7:30 pm program for students in grades 6 through 12 that opens with food and games, moves into a Bible study, and ends with intentional fellowship.
The student ministry also runs day trips, service projects, lock-ins, weekend retreats, and summer camps. The leadership team, led by Caleb Givens, describes the ministry's heartbeat with Ephesians 3:17-19 - "rooted and grounded in love" - and aims to help students develop life-giving relationships while bringing the hope of Jesus to their schools, families, and the wider world. Mission trips in recent years have included service in Hawaii.
A Multi-Generational Music Program
Music is one of the most visible ministries at Holy Trinity. The Saturday Praise Team, led by worship minister Chas Childers, anchors the 5:30 pm contemporary service with keyboard, guitars, drums, and singers playing songs from Christian radio alongside a few older favorites.
On Sundays, Minister of Music and Organist Thomas Eisnor directs a multi-generational program that includes:
- The Chancel Choir (high school and older), rehearsing Thursday evenings at 7:15 pm and singing most weeks plus special services.
- The King's Ringers handbell choir (high school and older), rehearsing Monday evenings at 7:15 pm and serving in worship about once a month.
- The Children's Choir (kindergarten through 5th grade), meeting during Sunday school and singing occasionally in worship.
- The Jubilate Ringers, an intergenerational beginner handbell ensemble open to anyone with curiosity and a sense of adventure.
- The Holy Trinity Orchestra, an intergenerational ensemble for instrumentalists of every kind.
The music ministry also points to Psalm 150:6 - "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord" - as the program verse.
Sunday Mornings for Adults: Wired Word and Bible Principles
Adult Sunday school runs from 9:45 to 10:45 am between services, August through May. Two long-standing classes anchor the hour:
- The Wired Word, held in Room 7/8 of the Education Building, is a discussion-based class that examines current news topics in light of biblical teaching. Childcare is provided.
- Bible Principles, led in the Music Room by the Minister of Music, is a Bible-based study focused on Jesus-centered living.
Beyond Sunday mornings, the men's ministry runs Bible on Tap, a fellowship and service group that meets monthly on the second Saturday at noon and the fourth Tuesday at 6:00 pm. The women's ministry hosts Women - Wine - Word, a once-a-month informal small group for devotions, fellowship, and conversation, and Monday School, a ladies' Bible study that gathers Monday mornings from 9:30 to 11:30 am in the Upper Room throughout the school year.
Quilts, Shawls, and the Women of the ELCA
Holy Trinity's W-ELCA (Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) organizes prayer, study, and ministry circles that combine fellowship with hands-on outreach.
- Rainbow Quilters meet on the second Tuesday of each month at 9:00 am in Room 7/8 of the Education Building. Each year the completed quilts are shipped to Lutheran World Relief for distribution around the globe.
- Prayer Shawl Ministry gathers knitters and crocheters on the second Tuesday at 1:00 pm in Room 7/8 to create shawls, hats, scarves, and washcloths for those in need of encouragement. Newcomers are welcome and given direction; the finished shawls are prayed over and distributed through Stephen Ministers and pastors.
- Three prayer circles - Circle of Peace (second Monday at 12:30 pm in the Library), Tender Loving Care (third Tuesday at 10:00 am in the Fellowship Hall), and God's Grace (third Wednesday at 11:00 am in Room 7/8) - meet monthly to pray, study Scripture, and support one another.
Outreach in Marietta and Beyond
The Social Outreach Committee describes its purpose as helping, uplifting, and supporting people and programs in the community who are in need. Active ministries include:
- MUST Ministry - a volunteer organization that supports homeless and struggling individuals and families with food, clothing, housing, and employment. Holy Trinity contributes financially, through food and goods collections, and by serving in person at shelters, the Laundry Group, Loaves & Fishes, the Summer Lunch Program, and the Redeemer Soup Kitchen.
- Blessings in a Backpack - packing food on Thursdays at 9:30 am in the Fellowship Hall and distributing it Fridays to more than 250 children at local Marietta schools so they have meals over weekends and school breaks. The same volunteers support the MUST Summer Lunch Program during summer.
- Hunger Walk - an annual 5K through downtown Atlanta benefitting the Atlanta Community Food Bank. Holy Trinity is consistently one of the top five fundraising Lutheran congregations, with a percentage of proceeds returned to its Blessings in a Backpack work.
- Habitat for Humanity / Lutheran Coalition for Habitat - coordinating with 12 area Lutheran congregations on home builds. Holy Trinity completed its 32nd build in 2022.
- Angel Tree for Cobb County - a Christmas program providing gifts for foster children, with wish lists hung on the Angel Tree in the Fellowship Hall each Advent.
- Dig Deep Clean Water Project - a Lenten campaign that has funded clean water work in Appalachia (2023), the Navajo Nation (2022), and Uganda (2021).
- God's Work. Our Hands. - the ELCA-wide day of service each fall, observed locally with projects such as assembling homeless care bags, stocking food pantries, and delivering baskets to the police and fire stations.
Care for One Another: Stephen Ministry and Meal Train
Holy Trinity's Care Group Ministry provides confidential, one-to-one Christian care through Stephen Ministry, in which trained lay people walk alongside members of the congregation and community through crisis or difficulty. The Meal Train coordinates church members to provide meals for those who are sick or going through a hard season. Anyone with a need, or anyone willing to serve as a Stephen Minister or Meal Train volunteer, is encouraged to contact the church office.
Staff and Leadership
Senior Pastor Lucas Ladnier leads the congregation, working alongside Minister of Music and Organist Thomas Eisnor, Children and Youth Minister Caleb Givens, Saturday Modern Worship Minister Chas Childers, Children's Ministry Director Sal Espino, Administrative Director Debbie Chavez, Executive Assistant Kathy Vail, and Accounting Manager Amy Gunn. A Church Council governs the congregation, with committees covering Youth and Family, Evangelism, Hospitality, Financial Management, Property Management, Saturday Modern Worship, Social Outreach, Stewardship, and Sunday Worship.
Plan a Visit
Visitor parking is reserved at the front entrance of Building A, with additional parking throughout the lot and behind Education Building B. Designated accessible spaces and step-free access make the entire campus wheelchair accessible. Worship services are Saturday at 5:30 pm and Sunday at 10:00 am, with services livestreamed on the church's YouTube channel and Facebook page for those who cannot attend in person. Bulletins, past sermons, and service recordings are posted online. The church office is open Monday through Thursday from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm at 770-971-4600, and the office email is churchoffice@holytrinitymarietta.org. Giving is accepted online through Vanco or by mail, and an annual pledge card invites members to support the mission and ministries that define the year ahead.