We heed the call
of conscience in response
to the gospel of Christ.

About Us

Emanuel is a progressive, diverse congregation in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) whose mission is to celebrate love. All ethnicities, races, identities, and orientations are welcomed. We aim to nurture faith in people of all ages through worship, education, and community.

In keeping with the spirit of Luther, Emanuel is a congregation that has heeded the call of conscience in response to the gospel of Christ. As such, Emanuel has frequently stepped forward on issues having to do with both church and society.

We promote inclusive language in worship, weekly communion for people of all ages, and, most significantly, the full inclusion of LGBTQ+ persons in the life of the church. Emanuel was the first Reconciling in Christ congregation (a church that publicly embraces the cause of inclusion) in the New Jersey Synod and was a leader in the Synod in this cause.

Location & Hours

Directions & Parking

3 Kirkpatrick St,
New Brunswick, NJ 08901

Worship:
Sundays @ 10:30am

Office Hours:
Monday through Thursday, 10:00am - 3:00pm

Emanuel Lutheran Church is located at the corner of New and Kirkpatrick Streets in downtown New Brunswick, New Jersey. We are:

  • behind the Rutgers University Civic Square building

  • around the corner from the State Theater and Crossroads Theater

  • adjacent to New Brunswick Police Headquarters

Emanuel is easily accessible via Route 18 (exit at New Street) or Livingston Avenue (turn west at New Street).

Sunday morning parking is available in the Civic Square Deck directly next to the church. Street parking is available, and meters are free on Sundays. Paid parking is also available at the New Street or Morris Parking Decks.

Weekday parking, while challenging, is not impossible. In addition to on-street metered parking, inexpensive parking is also available at the New Street or Morris Street parking decks.

Our Pastor

Rev. Scott Rush grew up in Brooklyn, NY. His family moved to Long Island while he was in high school, and his three brothers and their families still live there. He currently lives in Burlington with his husband, Michael, and their black lab, Montra.

Pastor Scott heard several calls to ministry before finally giving in to God’s call. He spent almost 30 years in industry in various positions of manufacturing and operations management. He left the “for profit” world to work for Family Promise of Burlington County, a nonprofit serving families experiencing homelessness, before entering seminary in 2020. 

Pastor Scott is extremely excited to serve at Emanuel, as it combines his love for serving a congregation with his love for serving the community at large. He sums up his theology as “God is love” and sees his role as sharing God’s love with others. It’s his belief that loving others and including them as part of the community is how we co-create God’s Kin-dom and bring about the change that is so desperately needed in the world.

Our History

Emanuel Lutheran Church was founded in 1878 by German immigrants living in New Brunswick and the surrounding area. The church building has always been on the site it presently occupies in the very center of downtown New Brunswick, where it is surrounded by Rutgers University, several theaters, civic buildings, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, and Johnson & Johnson world headquarters. In its early life, Emanuel’s members lived in New Brunswick. Today, members of Emanuel come from many different communities. They come here to be part of a progressive, urban church and to serve in the many ministries we have to respond to the needs of local community. 

Emanuel boasts that its congregants come from many racial, ethnic and faith backgrounds. At its founding, worship services were in German, reflecting the heritage of the congregation, but gradually services transitioned to English. Services today are in English, but liturgies are printed in both English and Spanish, to reflect the current demographics in New Brunswick. Once a month, there is service conducted entirely in Spanish. 

Throughout its lifetime, Emanuel has been deeply involved in serving the needs of the New Brunswick community. In the 1980’s, Emanuel was part of the original four-church soup kitchen that would eventually become Elijah’s Promise in 1989. In the 1990’s into the 2000’s, Emanuel operated an ad hoc food pantry to feed local residents who were suffering from food insecurity. In 2010, Emanuel opened a greatly expanded food pantry in its Education Building across the street. In 2016, the pantry was renamed Vanessa’s Pantry after the congregant who put her heart and soul into the church’s feeding ministry. In 2022, Vanessa’s Pantry was one of the community food pantries that were rolled into Unity Square. Emanuel was also involved in the founding of:

  • MIPH (Making It Possible to end Homelessness) – a nonprofit organization to increase local services and resources for the homeless

  • Amandla Crossing – a transitional housing program for single parent families

  • Imani Park – a transitional housing program providing housing and support services to individuals and families affected by HIV/AIDS

 Emanuel lives its core value of sharing the love that we first receive from God. It has driven the congregation to participate fully in all issues of social justice, including racial, gender, LGBTQ+, and immigration justice. We are also deeply invested in food and housing security. 

For the people of Emanuel, “ALL ARE WELCOME!” is not just a tag line. It is our way of life, following in the footsteps of Jesus.