Peace Church is a member congregation of the Upstate New York Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has its roots in the Reformation of the 16th century, when a Roman Catholic monk named Martin Luther attempted to reform church practices he found contrary to scripture. Much to his consternation, his attempts resulted in a schism that grew, and unfortunately remains to this day.
While we still have a long way to go before we can all worship as "one holy Christian and apostolic church," the ecumenical movement of the late 20th century raises hopes for the day when all Christians can share the eucharist as one body. The ELCA entered into full communion with Reformed churches, including the Presbyterian Church USA, the American Reformed Church and the United Church of Christ in 1998. In 1999 full communion was approved by the ELCA and the Protestant Episcopal Church USA. Lutherans and Roman Catholics have also entered a new era, with the signing in 2000 of a document of agreement on the doctrine of justification by faith.
In a nutshell, Martin Luther's credo was sola gratia, sola fide. That is to say that humanity is totally dependent on the grace of God--a free gift--for salvation, and cannot achieve it by merit. That is not to say that good works are meaningless. Good works flow from a right relationship with God, and are signal of those who by baptism claim a common heritage as the people of God.