Draft Sexuality Statement

The ELCA has released the draft of a new statement on sexuality (it can be downloaded here). From what I understand, no decisions are made in this statement about the ordaination of openly gay and lesbian persons in committed relationships - rather the document tries to establish a firm foundation of common ground in our language about sexuality and love. (you can also always check and see what the secular press is saying online about the ELCA)

But that's all I know about it. I haven't read it yet. I've downloaded it, so I have it for when I am ready to read it. But right now, I have the much more important work of Holy Week to attend to. Once I am through Easter, I will give a once over - until then, I am just too focused on other things; like the death and resurrection of our Lord.

Easter Message

The following is the Easter Message from the ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson. (You can read all of the Bishop's messages here).

"For you have died, your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory." (Colossians 3:3-4)

"You have died." The words resonate because this world's violence and suffering--so pervasive, so needless, so relentless--haunt every human community and life. Where death rules, hope lies entombed in endless grief.

Another death--the crucifixion of Jesus--changed everything. God is not hidden, but present through suffering, sorrow, and death. Jesus is God's resounding "yes!" to the steadfastness of God's forgiving love, embodied on a cross.

The death of Jesus shows no partiality. It was for all nations and all people--for them, for you, for me. Your life is now with Christ. In baptism you have died. Hidden with Christ, no longer entombed in grief, your life carries the promise of glory.

From that first day of resurrection onward, God has been raising up messengers of salvation, heralds of peace, and testifiers of the promised glory. You are a witness of the hope to come. Quite simply, Christ is your life, my life, our life. You have no other than this One who lives resurrected in you.

Christ is risen! Alleluia!

The Rev. Mark S. Hanson
Presiding Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

First Calls: Preparation

I often get questions, as often from Lutherans as from non-Lutherans, about how our first call process works. Are we assigned to a location? Do congregations chose their pastors? Etc, Etc. It is somewhat of a confusing process, and most questions can be answered with a "Yes, but ..." or "Sort of, but not really ...". So, I thought, why not post about the details of the process?

Towards a call
The process begins long before the first call, with the decision to enter seminary. That begins two processes of preparation for a first call: (1) seminary education, and (2) synodical candidacy. These two processes have a great deal of overlap, but are in reality two seperate processes. The synod candidacy process consists of three steps: (a) entrance, (b)endorsement, and (c) approval.

Entrance is step one in the synodical process. Once you have informed the synod office of your desire to enter into the ministry, your name is forwarded to the Synod's Candidacy Committee. These group guides the process, and holds the power to make the big decisions in your life for the next four years. After submitting to fairly extensive psychological testing, writing an essay, and being interviewed, the committee either approves you for Entrance or doesn't. If you approved for entrance, you then head off for seminary and begin the process of seminary education.

Seminary consists of four years, called Junior, Middler, Internship, and Senior. There are throughout academic as well as practical expectations.

Seminary education is usually disrupted at some point in the Middler year by Endorsement. Once again, there is a lengthy self-examination in an essay, followed by an interview with members of your Candidacy Committee and members of the Seminary faculty. The entire Candidacy committee then reviews those materials and decides whether to endorse you. If endorsed, you go off on your twelve-month intership.

It is on return from Internship - during the Senior year - that things get really stressful for seminarians. There is, in the fall, a high stress Approval essay, submitted to your faculty and your candidacy committee. You then meet with a couple members of the faculty, and the seminary faculty decide whether to recommend you for ordination or not. Once that is completed, you return to your home Synod for a (long) interview, after which the Candidacy Committee decides whether or not to Approve you for ordination.

It is only after all of this preparation that the First Call process is really ready to begin; and it pretty much all takes place in the whirlwind of the last semester in Seminary.

Up next: lotteries, assignments, bishops, and call committees.

A Mandate?

Much ink is being used in the press to cover the discussions about at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Churchwide Assembly. The fact is sex sells papers (or brings in links, if dealing with online news) - even more so if combined with religion. However, for me the sexuality discussions were not at all the most interesting aspect of this Churchwide Assembly, held at Navy Pier in Chicago. The fact is, very few decisions were made in our sexuality discussions, and the current policies were left unchanged.

No, far more interesting for me were the two high-profile elections: the election of the presiding bishop of the ELCA and the election of the secretary of the ELCA. Both stories could very easily fly under the radar, and we would be remiss if we miss their significance.

If you have ever taken part in the election of a synodical bishop, you are aware of the method used for major elections in the ELCA, known as the ecclesiastical ballot. There are no candidates or nominees for these elections. Rather, everyone who can vote is given a blank sheet of paper, on which they can write the name of the person they feel is most qualified for the office. On that first ballot, it requires 75% of he votes cast to be elected; if there is no elected, the names from that first ballot serve as the slate of nominees for the succeeding ballots. As you can imagine, with over 1,000 voting members, that first ballot can have a large number of names.

Bishop Hanson was very nearly elected on the first ballot - the ecclesiastical ballot. He came within two votes of receiving 75% of the votes cast. On the second ballot, Bishop Hanson was re-elected with 80% of the votes cast. In a church that at times seems to have very deep divides, it speaks to me that Bishop Hanson received such sweeping support. I have a hard time seeing this as much less than a mandate, from the Church, for Bishop Hanson to continue his current path of leadership. Opinions differ about what aspect of his first six years as Presiding Bishop led to this afirmation of Hanson, but I believe that it is Bishop Hanson's consistent emphasis on the unity of the church - and his continued hard work to maintain that unity.

The election of the ELCA's Secretary was not as quick. The Rev. Lowell Almen has served as the Secretary of the ELCA for the last twenty years, and prior to that he served as Secretary of the Lutheran Church in America (a predecessor to the ELCA). It was unclear who would follow Secretary Almen in the position that has largely been defined by one man. There were many well-qualified candidates nominated in the ecclesiastical ballot. In the end, David Swartling seperated himself from the field and was elected. he interesting fact here is that Swartling is not ordained, and is not on the rosters of the ELCA's professional leaders. Swartling is a trial lawyer who has served as the parlimentarian of the last two churchwide assemblies. Again, the meaning of this is debated, but I have a hard time not understanding this as a mandate for a renewed commitment to the priesthood of all believers, and renewed serious consideration of how to effectively live out that priesthood of the baptized in our congregational ministeries.

What will the next 2-6 years hold for the ELCA? I can't be entirely sure. But I think that this assembly has called has to take seriously the unity of the church and the ministry of the laity - and I think it is safe to expect that we will see our church being shaped by these two principles in the years ahead.

From the Road

Greetings to all from the Churchwide Assembly of the ELCA in Chicago. It is an exciting time here at Navy Pier, and there will be much to share when I return.

Yesterday was the congregational baby shower for our soon-to-arrive daughter. I don't have the time to say much, but let me briefly say that Julia and I were simply overwhelmed by the love and support shown to us by our congregation. Thank you to everyone involved.

More later when I return.

Prayers Please

In response to the tragedy of the collapse of the I-35 bridge in Minneapolis, we are all called to pray for those who have been affected by this inexplicable event. Bishop Peter Rogness and Bishop Craig Johnson, respectively of the ELCA synod's of St. Paul and Minneapolis, have called for a day of prayer, and I would invite you to please continue to pray for the weeks to come for those involved in this tragedy.

This evening, there will be an interfaith prayer service at Temple Israel in Minneapolis. Father Jake has posted a prayer (adopted from the Book of Common Prayer) and letter from the Rt. Rev. James L. Jelinek of the Epicopal Diocese of Minnesota. The following prayers come from Evangelical Lutheran Worship, and today they are my prayers - I commend them to you as well:

O God, where hearts are fearful and constricted, grant courage and hope.
Where anxiety is infectious and widening, grant peace and reassurance.
Where impossibilities close every door and window, grant imagination and
resistance. Where distrust twists our thinking, grant healing and
illumination. Where spirits are daunted and weakened, grant soaring wings
and strengthened dreams. All these things we ask in the name of our Savior
and Lord. Amen.

O God our creator, through whose providing care we enjoy all goodness and life, turn our eyes to your mercy in this time of confusion and loss. Comfort
this nations -- especially the residence of Minneapolis-Saint Paul -- as we
mourn; shine your light on those whose only companion is darkness; and teach us
all so to number our days that we may apply our hearts to your wisdom; through
Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

A Navy Pier Gathering

I am using some of my continuing education time this year to go to the ELCA's Navy Pier Gathering in August (snuck this one in just under the wire - any later and it would be too close to the due date to leave town).

So the Navy Pier Gathering is also entitled "Affirming Young Leaders: Thanks Be To God." It is a gathering for about 100 rostered leaders under the age of 30. As it approaches, I find myself getting more and more excited about the event. I was - at one point in my life - very involved in the goings-on of the wider church: I served on the churchwide board of the LYO, attended my share of gatherings in Chicago, was at the Philadelphia churchwide convention, and worked for a summer in the ELCA's Dept of Ecumenical Affairs. Interestingly, it was seminary that took me away from those sorts of events. As it approaches, my excitement makes me realize how much I missed it -- especially knowing that some of the same folks I used to know from churchwide events will probably be there.

Not only that, but I find myself realizing how much I need this continuing ed time. If nothing else, just to share ideas and stories with other people who are going through some of the same things. So if you'll be there -- I'll see you in Chicago.

Trial in Atlanta

The ELCA has just begun another set of disciplinary hearings against an openly gay pastor. This set of hearings, in the synod where I grew up, is taking place in Atlanta as we speak. Unfortunately, between my connections to the Southeastern Synod, my time on churchwide boards, and my time working at the ELCA headquarters, I have personal connections with many people involved in this trial (on both sides of the aisle). This is what I know about every one involved in this mess:

1. They are faithful, committed Christians.
2. They believe they are doing what is best for the church.
3. They believe they are acting in accord with the Gospel.

You see, there are no villians here. No one is out to ruin the church. The greatest tragedy of all of this - for me - is the amount of insult thrown around between Christians. People who support Pastors like Pastor Schmeling and people who want him removed from the roster are both guilty of assuming the absolute worst about each other.
If the conversation about sexuality among Protestants in America is going to make any progress, we must begin with the assumptions that we all serve the same Lord, we all follow the same Bible, and we all believe we are doing the best thing for the church. From there we can talk about where we disagree, but not until we have all affirmed what unites us.

Lutherpunk posted this prayer from the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, which I find very appropriate:

O GOD, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, our only Saviour, the Prince of Peace; Give us grace seriously to lay to heart the great dangers we are in by our unhappy divisions. Take away all hatred and prejudice, and whatsoever else may hinder us from godly union and concord: that as there is but one Body and one Spirit, and one hope of our calling, one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of us all, so we may be all of one heart and of one soul, united in one holy bond of truth and peace, or faith and charity, and may with one mind and one mouth glorify thee, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Here we go again

Well, it came in the mail this weekend. The ELCA has released yet another in the Journey Together Faithfully series. For those of you not familiar with these, they are the ELCA's studies / congregational discussion guides on human sexuality. This latest, part 3 in the series, is entitled Free in Christ to Serve the Neighbor: Lutherans talk about Human Sexuality.

Part 1 in the series (2002) looked at the current ELCA statements about sexuality, in particular the ELCA message "Sexuality: Some Common Convictions." Part 2 was the controversial study on homosexuality.

I have not delved into this one yet. It appears to look at (1) foundational issues for a theology of sexuality, (2) the relationship of sexuality to issues of power, money, and abuse.

As I said, I have not read this yet. But as soon as I opened the mail and saw it, I was anxious. Will this be so far left that I would never actually use it in a congregation? Is this just another divisive discussion about sexuality - or is there actually a chance that there could be some common ground? Part of me wishes we could just leave this topic alone for a while -- it has not gotten us anywhere productive in our conversations to date; all we've been able to do as a church is say "Yup, we disagree." Oh well. I will read through it, and post my reactions to the study here on this blog.

The Hymnody of ELW, Part 2

In a previous post, I compared the hymns selected by the worship committee of Saint John Lutheran with the hymnody of the new Evangelical Lutheran Worship. I had promised to provide some of my observations from having done that project; here they are.

First, only those who were in the room know the actual reasons for the selection, translation, and tunes of the hymns in ELW. In seminary, I had the privilege of getting to know Marion Hatchett, on of the architects of the episcopal 1979 Book of Common Prayer and the 1982 Hymnal, and an emeritus professor of the School of Theology of the University of the South. The comments that Prof. Hatchett would make about the struggles over these very issues opened my eyes to the variety of reasons (often not as cut and dry as one would expect) that would cause a committee to shape a hymnal the way that it does. That said, anything you read here about why a decision was made one way and not another is conjecture.

One other caveat: I was only looking at a particular selection of hymns - the 77 hymns selected for use in Saint John Lutheran Church of Prairie Hill from All Saints Sunday until the Baptism of our Lord. The rest of the hymnal could produce very different observations.

1) My first observation is about the hymnody of ELW is that it tends to pull toward traditionalism. If the LBW changed a hymn to contemporary 2nd person pronouns (you, yours), ELW likely restored it to archaic pronouns (thee, thine). If the hymn is widely known to be a part of one particular cultural tradition, ELW restored at least one verse in the original language (e.g., Silent Night in German, The Bells of Christmas in Danish, and Children of the Heavenly Father in Swedish).

2) There is no tendency toward the heresy of modalism. As some of you may know, modalism is the heresy of naming the three persons God using only the functions of God. This is the favored heresy of those who want to avoid masculine language of God: calling the persons "Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer." (The error being that God is defined as being three distinct persons, who all participate in each function). Yes, some -- although not all -- of the masculine pronouns were received. It seems to me to have only been done when doing so (a) did not produce a large theological shift in the hymn, and (b) did not ruin the poetry of the hymn. But, while there was some noticeable change to the pronouns, there was very little change to the language of Father, Son, and Spirit throughout the hymnody that I looked at.

3) Along the lines of #2, I have heard it said that the changes of in the hymnody of ELW are driven by a "feminist agenda." I found no evidence of this. Yes, "humankind" is sometimes used, but in other places "mankind" is used. Yes, some (although not all) masculine pronouns are changed, but God is still called by the Triune Name of Father, Son, and Spirit.

4) The poetry of ELW seems to be much better than the LBW was. No one I have ever met would argue that the LBW is a paragon of poetic language -- must describe it as clunky and clumsy. Much of what I looked at in ELW seemed to strive for (and generally achieve) a better poetic feel.

5) There is a tendency toward traditionalism -- oops, did I say that already? Oh well, it deserves to be said twice. Did you like the Service Book & Hymnal (red book) translation of A Mighty Fortress better than the LBW translation? Both are in ELW. Do you like to see the heritage of our German, Danish, or Swedish hymn writers honored? ELW does that in a way that no English language Lutheran hymnal has.

All that said, ELW also seems to look forward to the future with a strong sense of mission. I didn't spend much time looking at them, but there are Spanish language hymns also, new hymns written to be sung in new settings. Unfortunately, much that aims at the virtues of diversity and inclusivity in the church winds up belittling and devaluing anything that is white, european, or traditional. ELW seems to reach out toward the values of a diverse church and an inclusive church, while continuing to uphold and affirm the gifts that we have inherited from our european traditions. And for that, I am grateful.

(This, and the previous post on the ELW hymnody, can also be found linked through my recap of Evangelical Lutheran Worship, linked under "posts of interest" in my sidebar)

The Hymnody of ELW

This is a pretty long post, my apologies.
In an effort to get a firm handle on how the use of Evangelical Lutheran Worship will affect the congregation of Saint John, I did a little survey. At our most recent Worship Committee meeting, we selected hymns for All Saints Sunday (Nov. 5th) through the Baptism of our Lord (Jan. 7th) from the Lutheran Book of Worship (LBW) and With One Voice (WOV). After the fact, I decided to look and how many of those hymns are in the new hymnal, and whether the translations or arrangements are any different. I thought that this would be an especially good selection of hymns to look at, because these include many people's favorites. (In a later post, I will offer my reflection on the hymns I have looked through).

Of the 77 hymns for that time period, four are not found in Evangelical Lutheran Worship (ELW). If the rest of the church year follows this pattern, that works out to meaning that 95% of the hymns that we regularly sing are included in ELW

The four hymns not included are:
1) Lord, Prepare me to be a Sanctuary (not found in either the LBW or WOV)
2)Seek Ye First (WOV 783)
3)Dear Lord and Father (LBW 506)
4)Bind us Together (WOV 748)

Out of the 77 hymns I looked at, these are the 27 differences that I found when looking at the texts and tunes of what is in the LBW/WOV next to what is in ELW. (I will come back later and provide some overall comments on these changes, but I thought this post was long enough for now).
For all the Saints (LBW 174; ELW 422):
Verse 2: “You Were there rock” … “Thou wast their Rock” (and “thou” throughout)Images of warfare retained, images of kingship/lordship retained

One Bread, One Body (WOV 710; ELW 496)
Layout is much easier to read than the WOV layout

Take My Life that I May Be (LBW 406)
Found in 2 different places:
1)ELW 583, in the “Vocation, Ministry” Section
Includes a Spanish translation by Vicente Mendoza (1875-1955)
Music arranged by Mark Sedio (b. 1954)
ELW Refrain = LBW verse 1; ELW v.2 = LBW v. 4;
ELW v.3 = LBW v.3; ELW v.4 = LBW v.5
2) ELW 685 in the “Stewardship” section
same tune, arrangement, and verses as LBW

Let Us Break Bread Together (LBW 212; ELW 471)
In LBW, v.3 is arranged slightly differently than 1 & 2;
in ELW all 3 verses are the same

Let All Things Now Living (LBW 557; ELW 881)
LBW v.2 “His law he enforces: the stars in their courses” ;
ELW v.2 “God rules all the forces: the stars in their courses”

Great is thy Faithfulness (WOV 771; ELW 733)
Text and tune are the same: “Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father”

Come, Ye Thankful People Come (LBW 407; ELW 693
LBW v.1: “Come, you thankful”;
ELW v.1: “Come ye thankful”
Throughout, the text is changed to the archaic 2^nd person pronouns (thee, thy, thine, thou)

Amazing Grace (LBW 448; ELW 779)
ELW adds the anonymous (but very well known) 5^th stanza “When we’ve been there ten thousand years …”

Now Thank We All Our God (LBW 533/534; ELW 839/840)
Male pronoun (“he”) changed in a few places [“in whom his world rejoices” becomes “in whom this world rejoices”] but the verse “All praise and thanks to God, the Father now be given” remains unchanged.

Praise and Thanksgiving (LBW 409; ELW 689)
LBW v.1: “Praise and thanksgiving, Father we offer for all things living, created good” ;
ELW v.1: “Praise and thanksgiving, God, we would offer for all things living, you have made good”
LBW v.3: “Father, providing food for your children, by your wise guiding teach us to share” ;
ELW v.3: “Father, providing food for your children, by Wisdom’s guiding teach us to share”
LBW v.4: “Where all obey you, no one will hunger; In your love’s sway you nourish the land” ;
ELW v.4: “Where you are reigning, no one will hunger; your love sustaining showers the land.”

All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name (LBW 328/329; ELW 634)
LBW sets the text to two tunes: Coronation and Miles Lane;
ELW only Coronation (which is the only setting I’ve ever heard a congregation sing)

ELW leaves out what is stanza 2 in the LBW (“Crown him you martyrs of our God, Who from his altar call…”)

At the Name of Jesus (LBW 179; ELW 416)
ELW leaves out LBW v.4 [“Bore it up triumphant with its human light ..]
LBW v.6: “Christians, this Lord Jesus shall return again in his Father’s glory with his angel train …” ;
ELW v.5: “Christians, this Lord Jesus shall return again on the clouds of glory with his angel train …”

Crown Him With Many Crowns (LBW 170; ELW 855)
ELW leaves out LBW v.5 “Crown him the Lord of peace …”

Just as I am (LBW 296; ELW 592)
ELW leaves out LBW verses 2 & 4

Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending (LBW 27; ELW 435)
LBW v.1: “Lo! He comes with clouds descending, once for favored sinners slain … Swell the triumph of his train” ;
ELW v.1: “Lo! He comes with clouds descending, once for our salvation slain ... Join to sing the glad refrain”

ELW v.2 is not in LBW: “Now redemption long expected, comes in solemn splendor near; all the saints this world rejected thrill the trumpet sound to hear: Alleluia … see the day of God appear.”
LBW vv. 2,3 are not in ELW

Break Now the Bread of Life (LBW 235; ELW 515)
ELW leaves out LBW v.4: “Oh Send your Spirit, Lord, now unto me …”

O Come, O Come Emmanuel (LBW 34; ELW 257)
Rather than the LBW’s 5, ELW includes the traditional 8 verses
The layout of the tune is closer to the old processional plainsong arrangement

LBW v.4: “Oh Come blest Dayspring come and cheer our spirits by your advent here …” ;
ELW v.6: O Come, O Dayspring come and cheer; O Sun of justice now draw near …”

Wake, Awake (LBW 31; ELW 436)
The harmony of Wauchet Auf is a slightly different arrangement than that of the LBW
Last part of v.1: LBW “… Prepare yourself to meet the Lord, who light has stirred the waiting guard”
ELW “… Rise and prepare the feast to share; go, meet the bridegroom who draws near”

Last part of v.2: LBW “…We go until the halls we view where you have bid us dine with you” ;
ELW “… Oh, hear the call! Come one, come all, and follow to the banquet hall”

LBW v.3: “Now let all the heav’ns adore you, and saints and angels sing before you. The harps and cymbals all unite. Of one each shining portal, where, dwelling with the choir immortal, we gather round your dazzling light. No eye has seen, no ear has yet been trained to hear. What joy is ours! Crescendos rise; your halls resound; hosannas blend in cosmic sound.” ;
ELW v.3: “Gloria! Let heav’n adore you! Let all the saints and angels sing before you, with harp and cymbals clearest tone. Gates of pearl, twelve portals gleaming, lead us to bliss beyond all dreaming, with angel choirs around your throne.No eye has caught the light, no ear the thund’ring might of such glory.There we will go: what joy we’ll know! There sweet delight will ever flow.”

Go, My Children (WOV 721; ELW 543)
ELW does not have LBW v.4 [“I the Lord will bless and keep you …”]

When Peace like a River (WOV 346; ELW 785)
The tune of ELW is Ville Du Havre instead of It is Well (ELW adds the traditional refrain, making the meter 118119 & refrain, instead of 118119)

I am So Glad each Christmas Eve (LBW 69; ELW 271)
ELW leaves out LBW v.5 “When mother trims the Christmas tree …”

Away in a Manger (LBW 67; ELW 277/278)
In addition to the LBW setting to the tune Away in a Manger, ELW includes an arrangement to the tune Cradle Song (which I think is a very pretty melody)

O Come, All Ye Faithful (LBW 45; ELW 283)
The translation throughout is the same, but ELW includes the Latin for the refrain (venite adoremus)

The Bells of Christmas (LBW 62; ELW 298)
ELW retains the Charles Porterfield Krauth translation of the LBW, but also provides Grundtvig’s original Danish of the first verse

Children of the Heavenly Father (LBW 475; ELW 781)
ELW retains the same translation as the LBW, but provides the original Swedish of the first verse.

In the Morning when I rise (WOV 777; ELW 770)
ELW has a new arrangement: the melody is the same, but the harmony is different

Soul, Adorn Yourself with Gladness (LBW 224; ELW 488/489)
ELW 488 is identical to LBW 224.
ELW 489 is a new tune (Canto al Borinquen – L M D & refrain),
leaves out LBW v.2, and includes Spanish translations of the verses.

Blogging Lutherans!

The Blogging Lutherans blog-ring is taking off. Thank you to everyone has recently added your blog. At some point, I will do a summary of everyone on the WebRing -- Of course, you can always just press "Next" on the blog-Ring in my sidebar and just start surfing through the sites!

I must say a special word of thanks to Jorge at Winged Man and David at Here I Stand. They were the first to join the Blogging Lutherans group, and did not give up on it even though it didn't really get going for a while. Thanks guys.

Also, thank you to Pastor Chryst, who maintains the eminently useful Lutheran Blog Directory for promoting the Blog-Ring.

To join, click here.

(If you are still waiting in the queue, make sure you have the code on your site -- I am unable to add you unless you do. If you have lost the code, or your password, leave me a comment here and I will email you).

Kristallnacht

Thank you to everyone for your thoughts and prayers. I am back from the family funeral, and preparing the bulletin and sermon for the funeral at Saint John.

In all of the hoopla over the election results and political events of the day, the grim anniversary of Kristallnacht could easily be forgotten. It was on November 9th, 1938, that violence broke out against the Jews in Nazi Germany. In two days, over 1000 synagogues were burned and 7000 Jewish businesses were looted. An unknown number of Jews were assulted and killed. The following day, more than 30000 Jewish men were shipped off to concentration camps. Thus, the "night of broken glass" marks the beginning the great tragedy of the Holocaust (or Shoah).

As Lutherans, we have extra reason to never forget. It was the German Lutheran church that colluded with the Nazi party (with the minor exception of the small Confessing Church movement). It was the writings of Martin Luther than provided the theological justifications for the rampant anti-semitism and German nationalism of the Nazi party. It was the abuse of the Lutheran "2 Kingdoms Theory" that allowed so many Germans to turn a blind eye to the sins of their government and fellow citizens.

There were certainly points of light in the Lutheran reaction to the Holocaust. There was the Confessing Church, and Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer; and the response of Lutheran Denmark in helping the Jews flee Germany and Denmark. However, the collaboration of the Lutheran Church, Lutheran Theology, and German Lutherans with the Nazi program of extermination overshadow those dim lights.

In 1994, the ELCA issued this statement to the Jewish Community. Dr Franklin Shermann, an ELCA staff member and member of the US Holocaust Museum's Church Relations Committee, wrote this summary of the relationships between Christians and Jews after the Holocaust.

Martin Niemoller - a German Lutheran pastor who support the Nazi regime and its anti-semitism early in the war - was later jailed for standing up to Hitler when the church was threatened. He spent eight years in the concentration camps of Sachsenhausen and Dachau, and later signed an admission of guilt with other German church leaders for his role in the Holocaust. Niemoller had this to say, reminding us all to speak up on behalf of our neighbor, and to speak against injustice even when it doesn't affect us:

When the Nazis came for the communists,I remained silent;
I was not a communist.
When they locked up the social democrats,I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.
When they came for the trade unionists,I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.
When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.

Today, we remember the victims of the Holocaust. And we also remember the great tragedy that can occur when ordinary people are silent in the face of evil. The Kaddish is the Jewish prayer for the dead. Today, it is a part of my prayers:

Glorified and sanctified be God's great name throughout the world which He has created according to His will. May He establish His kingdom in your lifetime and during your days, and within the life of the entire House of Israel, speedily and soon; and say, Amen.

May His great name be blessed forever and to all eternity. Blessed and praised, glorified and exalted, extolled and honored, adored and lauded be the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, beyond all the blessings and hymns, praises and consolations that are ever spoken in the world; and say, Amen.

May there be abundant peace from heaven, and life, for usand for all Israel; and say, Amen.

He who creates peace in His celestial heights, may He create peace for us and for all Israel; and say, Amen.

Blogging Lutherans

Wandering around the blog-o-sphere, one cannot help but notice the many ways that various bloggers are connected to one another. One of the more helpful tools are blog-rings. They connect like-minded bloggers, or blogs that have similar themes.

A group of us are beginning a blog-ring for Lutherans. This help to raise the visibility of Lutheran bloggers, and make it easier for people to surf Lutheran sites.

We need your help. The more blogs on the blog-ring, the higher our visibility. It is really a win-win situation for everyone involved. Your site receives more traffic from people surfing Lutheran blogs. Lutherans become more visible and easier to find on the web.

It is just a small bit of code to add the blog-ring to your site. The ring is open to any and all Lutheran bloggers, so please, consider adding your site to the Blogging Lutherans Ring.

In My Hands

Well, the wait is over. At a worship committee meeting, someone brought a personal copy of Evangelical Lutheran Worship that they received at one of the ELW training sessions. So now, in my hot little hands, I am holding a copy of Evangelical Lutheran Worship (my own copies probably won't arrive until January, I think I purchased mine during the third printing). I also received today and am just starting to look through the Leader's Desk Edition of ELW.

A couple of thoughts as I glance through these resources.

1) Everyone who has looked at the book has commented on how readable it is. The text is printed and laid out in such a way that is easy on the eyes.

2) I grew up on the LBW. Yet, for almost as long as I can remember, the LBW has been supplemented by other materials. Prayers of the day (collects) from other sources ... Hymns from supplements ... Marriage/Funeral liturgies from other sources ... Ash Wednesday/Good Friday/Easter Vigil service materials copied out of the Ministers' Desk edition ... etc, etc. One of my first thoughts on looking through ELW was "Now I can do a worship service all out of one book." A whole service, without ever having to put down the book and look in another book, bulletin, service insert. That is impressive and important to me.

3) I love having a full Psalter. I think it will add to the richness of worship and personal devotion to have the full set of Psalms readily on hand.

4) I have for years lamented not having options for service music outside of the normal settings. I did not like that if you changed one piece of the service music, you had to change it all. ELW has options ... in particular, I rejoice to have my personal favorites: the Kyrie, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei from Franz Schubert's Deutsche Messe. All told, in addition to the 10 settings of Holy Communion, there are over 80 additional pieces of service music.

In my perusal of ELW, I am thus far every bit as pleased as I had hoped I would be. I will have this copy available for people to look over this coming Sunday, and look forward to any feedback.

Reformation Day Sermon

I try to avoid long posts on this page, mainly because I am lazy and often don't scroll down to see all of longer posts on other blogs. However, for Reformation Day we make an exception. Due to popular demand (ok, 2 people) I am posting my Reformation Sunday Sermon here on the blog. It is fitting, as it can sort of be seen as an appendix to the "What is a Lutheran?" series of posts (part 1, part 2, and part 3).

For those of you who, like me, don't want to scroll down, you can click straight to my other Reformation Day posts here and here.

Disclaimer: Like all sermons, the text of the manuscript is not necessarily the same as the text preached.

The Pursuit of God

Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ.

On this Reformation Sunday, I want to talk with you some about why we are here.

Not the existential question “Why are we here on the face of this earth,” but why are we here at Saint John Lutheran Church.

For many of us in this congregation, we grew up in the Lutheran church. Our parents were Lutheran, and their parents before that. We were born into and raised in the Lutheran church, and we never left.

Others in this congregation married into the Lutheran Church. You grew up in another tradition, maybe Baptist, Episcopal, or Presbyterian, and married someone who was a Lutheran. Rather than worship at two different churches, you joined your spouse at the Lutheran church.

Still others live in the community surrounding this church. You come here to worship because it is the closest church to your house, and you want to be a part of this community.

I am one of those who grew up in the Lutheran church. By that I don’t mean that my parents brought me to the Lutheran church on Sunday morning, I mean that I spent the much of my childhood inside the walls of Lutheran churches – I grew up in the church.

Many of you know my story. My Dad was a Lutheran pastor, as was my grandfather and my great-grandfather. And not just them, my great-uncle and a number of my great-great uncles were also Lutheran pastors. All told, I am the 12th Lutheran pastor in my family.
In fact, I am so Lutheran that my Episcopal friends at the seminary I attended called me “Little Luther,” and once Julia and I started dating, they called her my “Katy.”
It would seem that I had little choice in being a Lutheran.

But in fact, just as you did, I did have a choice, and I continue to choose the Lutheran church; and I hope you will continue to choose the Lutheran church.

I could find the hymns that I love in the Baptist church.
I could find the liturgy that I love in the Roman Catholic or Episcopal Church.
I could find the emphasis on Scripture that I love in any number of non-denominational churches.

Yet, here I am, here we are, in Saint John Lutheran church. Why?

I can’t answer for you, but I know why I – in a world littered with different churches and different denominations – continue to choose the Lutheran tradition. And it starts for me with the story of Martin Luther.

Martin had just finished his undergraduate studies and was preparing for law school. He grew up in the church, raised by faithful parents. He went to religious schools for his entire education.
He was like many of us – a faithfully person living his life as best he could – yet not terribly committed to the church – after all, he was a college student.
It was then that he was caught just outside the forest in a fierce thunderstorm. With the rain pouring down on him, the thunder rolling overhead, and lightning flashing almost non-stop, young Martin saw no sign of shelter. So he called out to God for help, pledging to enter a monastery if God would save him from this storm.

Well, Martin did survive the storm. You can call it fate or chance, but Luther described it as God’s guidance that this young man who had big plans for a successful career as a lawyer wound up in a monastery.
In fact, Luther would say that God pursued him, leading him to a life in the church.

But it did not end there. Luther immersed himself in both the monastic and the scholastic worlds as he taught at the University of Wittenberg. He soaked in the Bible, teaching from the Old and the New Testament and preaching regularly in the Stadtkirche, the city church of Saint Mary’s.

Spending time as a monk in isolation, Brother Martin had a great deal of time to reflect on his life. In doing so, Luther realized how far he fell short of what he should be. He was very aware of his inadequacies and he failings. He was sure that he was unlovable – that even God could not love such a person.

But in his study of Scripture, Luther discovered something else. He discovered a God who loves us so dearly, that we are relentlessly pursued just as Luther was during that storm. He discovered a God who would send the only Son – not for the perfect people, but for the sinners. He discovered, above all else, a God and a Savior that will NEVER abandon us, that will stand by our side no matter how often we fail or how short we fall.

And Luther began to tell the world about this God. He began to talk about the God who adopts us as his own beloved sons and daughters in the waters of baptism, and never lets us go. He began to talk about the Christ who relentless pursues the lost sons and daughters of God into the darkest places of the world – not to scold them but to save them. He began to talk about the Spirit that transforms our lives, so that even while we continue to sin we become more and more God-like and Christ-like.

And, for a variety of reasons, what Luther began to say to the world got him into trouble. He was thrown out of the church. The emperor sentenced him to death and put a price on his head. So this young man, now about 35, who once had never thought about a life in the church, who thought he was unworthy of God’s love, went into hiding because of his proclamation of God’s love.

Luther went to a castle called the Wartburg, high on a mountaintop outside of the city of Eisenach. There Luther became depressed. He was sure now that God had abandoned him, that he was right to feel unworthy of God’s love.

But God’s love in Christ Jesus pursued Luther even to that mountaintop. There, once again, Luther encountered the light of Christ, creeping into even the darkest of places in his life. He dove back into the Scriptures, translating the Bible from the Latin into the German. And Luther left that mountaintop fortress even more convinced that God will never abandon those who are adopted as God’s sons and daughters in the waters of baptism.

Why do I continue to choose the Lutheran church?


Because I know that this life is often frightening, chaotic, and sad, and I need a Savior who will stand by my side especially in those dark, tragic times.

Because I know that there are times that I will fail, when sin will overpower me, and I need a Spirit that will strengthen and transform me.

Because I know that I will wander and that I will lose my way, and I need a God who loves me enough to pursue me and find me, who loves me enough to bring me home and never give up on me.

I continue to be a Lutheran because – as it did for Martin Luther – it all began here for me, in the waters of baptism, when Christ wrapped me up in his arms, and God said, “You are my beloved son, and I will pursue you wherever you go, and I will never let you go.”

And that, dear friends, is reason enough and grace enough for me.

For those who are interested, you can read more of my sermons here.

A Reformation Day Round-up

Just to remind us the it is not only Lutherans and other Protestants who pay attention to Reformation Day, you can find a reflections by a Roman Catholic here.

Kletos at the Amor et Labor blog posted these Reformer-O-Lanterns.

The ELCA homepage offers this perspective on the question What is a Lutheran? A few years ago, ELCA presiding bishop Mark Hanson wrote the following letter on Lutheran identity to mark the occassion of Reformation Day.

Reformation Day is a great opportunity to read some of Brother Martin's words, and Project Wittenberg is a great place to do that online. The 95 Theses would be especially appropriate today; Concerning Christian Liberty and the Preface to Romans are also good starting places.

Of course, the town of Wittenberg holds a special place in hearts of many Lutherans. Take a virtual tour of the city here. This includes a tour of the Schlosskirche (Castle Church) where Luther posted his 95 theses here. One of the little known facts about Wittenberg (one of two cities in Germany officially known as Lutherstadt), is that it is home to an ELCA research center creatively called "the ELCA Wittenberg Center."

Reformation Day 2006 also marks the seventh anniversary of the signing of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification by the Lutheran World Federation and the Roman Catholic Church. You can read more about the JDDJ here and here.

Finally, you can read the text of my Reformation Sunday sermon here.

I am sure that by the time tomorrow rolls around, there will be a whole slew of blogs posting about Reformation Day. But for now, perhaps this is enough to start off your celebrations.

Reformation Day

Reformation Day (Tues, Oct 31st) is fast approching. What a fitting time of the year to reflect on our Lutheran heritage, as we have been doing in the "What is a Lutheran" series of posts.

Like many Lutheran congregations, we celebrated Reformation Sunday yesterday. It was a wonderful service. We had the great joy of joining in the celebration of the Sacrament of Holy Baptism, as we welcomed Corbin William and Brandon Chase into the body of Christ. We also shared Holy Eucharist at both services (we normally only commune at 1 service each Sunday). It was an all-around wonderful worship experience.

As this was one of the major festivals of the church year, we pulled out the small altar table, and used on the large east-facing altar (or high altar). This was the first time I have celebrated communion facing east, and I enjoyed the experience (it added quite a bit of reverence and emphasized the importance of the day ... but I like our little altar table and wouldn't want to give it up for the usual Sunday morning service).

It was also the first time that, as the presiding pastor, I worked with my wife as the musician for a service (we have worked together before, but always when I was assisting as an intern/lay person). I think we both enjoyed it, and worked well together. I even got her to play "Ein Feste Burg" softly on the piano during the last third of my sermon (which worked very well).

Either today or tomorrow I will pull together some Reformation-themed links for you (including my Reformation Sunday sermon), in the meantime, enjoy browsing the Lutheran goodies at "Old Lutheran."

What is a Lutheran? Part 3

Part 1 of this discussion talked about what it is that makes Lutherans a part of the larger orthodox Christian tradition. Part 2 narrowed the conversation some, talking about the Lutheran understanding of the dogma of justification.

This discussion began when questions were raised about what it means to be a "confessional Lutheran." With Part 3, we come back to the concept of confessional Lutheranism.

At the Imperial Diet of Augsburg, the evangelicals (read: Lutherans) were asked to present a document outlining their belief. This document, known as the "Augsburg Confession," was written by Martin Luther's friend and fellow Wittenberg professor, Philip Melanchthon.

The Augsburg Confession (AC) opens with a discussion of the triune God and the person of Jesus. What is interesting in this is the emphasis on original sin, and the need for God's grace (thus bringing in the Lutheran emphasis on the dogma of justification). The AC goes on to discuss the evangelical understanding of the sacraments and the church, places where the Lutherans felt that they could reach some sort of agreement with the Romans. It finally discusses the areas were some sort of agreement was less likely; namely, the marriage of priests, the sacrificial understanding of the Mass, the rules about types of foods, monastic vows, and the powers of the church.

From early on, the AC has served as a rallying point for Lutherans. As the Lutheran tradition was learning what it meant to be seperate from Rome, the AC served to unite Lutherans of various factions. To subscribe to the AC was to "confess" the Lutheran understanding of the Gospel.

Among contemporary Lutherans worldwide, the AC remains the one unifying factor. Many Lutheran churches only require congregations and pastors to uphold the AC. Thus, while I don't believe it to be the only thing that it means to be a confessional Lutheran, I think it is the fundamental and central thing.

Here I stand as a Lutheran: I am shaped and formed - and I continue to choose to uphold - the Augsburg Confession.


From the Archives:
Part 1
Part 2
The original post/discussion about confessional Lutheranism.

A Re-cap of Evangelical Lutheran Worship

I thought it might be helpful to put all my posts on the new ELCA hymnal, Evangelical Lutheran Worship, together in one place. So here they are, the postings from prairie hill take on ELW.

This post was my initial post on ELW.

This is the letter circulating in opposition to ELW ...

And my response to the letter.

This post on the creeds arose out of the discussion about the translations of the creeds in ELW.

This was my reaction to the preview kits / cds that were mailed out to ELCA congregations and pastors.

***Update***
Finally, this is my reaction to looking at the book itself.

***Update #2***
Here is what it looked like when I compared the hymns of the LBW with those of ELW. These are my observations about that comparison.

Enjoy the trip through the archives! And, just for your amusement, I give you this opportunity to think about the fact that you can now furnish a church sanctuary by E-Bay.