About Us

A Brief History

Holy Spirit Church’s origins go back to 1876 when its “mother church,” Trinity Lutheran, was formed in the South End of Albany NY. Its original purpose was to serve the spiritual and social needs of immigrants from western Europe who came to these shores seeking a better life—-and to help America regenerate after its own devastating Civil War.

Since then, the congregation has undergone several creative transformations: spinning off churches to address new ministry opportunities and merging congregations together when it made sense to do so. The current manifestation is “Holy Spirit Lutheran Church,” which was formed as a result of one of those mergers on Pentecost Sunday 1974. So, although Holy Spirit may seem to be relatively young (having celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2024), its roots in the South End of Albany reach back nearly 150 years.

The congregation’s expressed Purpose is: “To Guide the Community to Christ with Support and Love.” It’s fascinating that the same purpose has guided congregational life since its very beginnings, even though the nature of the “community” being served has been in constant flux. The challenge (accepted!!!) has always been to recognize those changes and creatively adapt the church’s ministries to meet them.

Who We Are

God the Father (the creator of all that is—seen and unseen),
God the Son (Jesus Christ, our teacher and savior), and
God the Holy Spirit (our namesake who guides and supports us in our daily lives)

A congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) which acknowledges that we (like all humanity) are imperfect and fallible----capable of being at the same time both saints and sinners. Despite that, we also believe that humanity has been saved from sin and death through the grace of God (an undeserved gift we cannot hope to earn through our own good works) and our faith in Jesus Christ. In response to this gift, we strive to love and serve both God and our neighbors. For more detail, please visit the ELCA’s website at ELCA Teaching.
An active congregation that encourages its members to use their own God-given gifts and interests in service to our Lord for the benefit of others
A church that seems both urban (being located within a vibrant neighborhood on the south side of the City of Albany) and suburban in nature (deriving many of its members from throughout the Capital Region due to our easy access to transportation corridors).

Church Staff

Our Pastor, the Rev. Dr. Rahel Hahn, began her call to The Lutheran Church of the Holy Spirit, Albany, on Pentecost 2020. She is an ordained Minister of Word and Sacrament of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Prior to joining our church family at Holy Spirit, Pastor Hahn served congregations in Ohio, Illinois, and in Germany. She holds a M.Div. degree from the Lutheran School of Theology, Chicago, IL (2000), a PhD (1992) and a M.A.(1989) from Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, and a B.A. from the University of Toronto, Canada. She has extensive training in Bowen Family Systems Theory and Healthy Congregation workshops. Pastor Rahel was born and raised in Germany and educated at the Evangelische Theologische Seminar Schöntal and Urach. While pursuing academic studies and working in higher education, she found herself wrestling with God’s call and eventually followed. She was ordained on July 23, 2000. As you meet Pastor Rahel, we trust you will find her to be warm, witty, interesting and informative, and most of all a very caring and knowledgeable Pastor.

Allison has been serving in this part-time position at Holy Spirit since 2023. She has a B.A. in religious studies from Barnard College (Columbia University) and a M.Div from Union Theological Seminary in New York City. Allison currently also serves on the Religious & Spiritual Life Staff at Union College (Schenectady NY) as their Protestant Chaplain. When you reach out to Holy Spirit, it’s very likely that she’ll be your first point of contact.

Jim is a life-long member of Holy Spirit and has been its Director of Music since 2008. Prior to that, he served as HS’s Supply Organist since he was a teenager, studying under the tutelage of Judson Rand, James Ackley, and Evelyn Gordon. His current responsibilities include providing musical accompaniment for Holy Spirit’s worship services using our pipe organ (originally created by the Austin Company, later upgraded by the Carlson and Zimmer Companies) as well as our Yamaha piano and keyboard. Jim also directs our Choir, is a member of the Albany chapter of the American Guild of Organists, and (in his weekday vocation) is a pharmacist.