Kneelers?

For those that may not be familiar, the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) is another Lutheran church body in the United States with a Gerrman heritage. Sacramental fellowship between the WELS and the LCMS was broken in the 1960s as The LCMS explored a wider ecumenism as Rev. Rydecki refers in his post.
They have kneelers - and they use them
This posting reminds me greatly of the pious influence upon me by the elderly population of Concordia Lutheran Church, Bethlehem, PA. These children of Slovak immigrants demonstrated a faith that had been instilled since their childhood. I had never before seen a Lutheran make the sign of the cross. It caused me to ask the question; why? It was a surprise to me, who has been raised in a Roman-phobic world, that our own Small Catechism teaches us to make the sign of the cross in remembrance of our Baptism.
I hope you like the article.
+TES

Sundays in Africa

The peace of the Lord be with you!
It is now my second Sunday in Africa. My first slipped away from me as work absorbed my day. But today, I joined the newly formed Liturgical Protestant Service at 8am. I believe it used to meet on Saturday evenings. It is an answer to prayer that I may join other Christians of similar backgrounds in the liturgy, even if I cannot join them in fellowship at the altar. Today's Communion Liturgy clearly professed the Reformed view of only a spirtual presence of Christ.
After service, I am catching up on my blog readings that I have neglected for several weeks and how pleased I am to find a nugget in the sermon of a friend, Pr. Douthwaite of St. Athanasius in Vienna, VA. One of the perishoners there, Dr. Gene Veith, posts poertions of sermons often. Here is the link: Life Sunday.
We all want to be loved. How wonderful it is to know that God loves us; in fact loves us so much that He would do the unthinkable in giving His Son to save us. Amen.
+ TES

When first checking into Camp McCrady, I was a little surprised that all the Navy Commanders would have to share an open bay barracks. I have realized that it has been a good thing for us sharing this living space. It has fostered camaraderie and cooperation among us. If we each had our own suite, we would be spending much time separated in silence. But as it is, we collaborate constantly on what we have learned and techniques that we have picked up, not to mention the sharing of numerous “sea stories.” One of the commanders just showed me his log book from primary training where we flew together on Jan 11, 1996 on his seventh familiarization flight in the T-34C. All of this has led to a relationship building situation where we have achieved in three days something we would not have achieved in three weeks if we had our own rooms. This camaraderie is a necessary thing when we are to operate as fluid team anticipating each others movements and watching each others backs.

If I were to take this concept tangentially and relate it to the Church and particular congregations, we could see that the same principles apply. If we confess to be Christians, there are concrete reasons for us to be in church on Sunday mornings; namely for the forgiveness bestowed in Word and Sacrament. But there is also the relationship with other Christians that is necessary for any congregation to properly care for their brothers and sisters; to know their habits and behaviors and to notice when another is hurting and the familiarity enough to ask and show genuine concern. If a congregation doesn’t live together in worship, sharing in the history of salvation it transforms from a family or community into simply a collection of like minded individuals.

“And they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Acts 2:42

Peace to you in Christ Jesus, who chose to become man and dwell among us. + TES

Where am I to sit?

I had a little eye-opener today when the drill sergeant asked for a show of hands from the four platoons in Bravo Company (my company). First Platoon raised their hands and they were all seated at the tables at the front left of the classroom. Second Platoon was all seated in the rear on the left except for one lone sailor that was seated in the front right corner of the classroom. If you are already thinking that that lone sailor was me, then you are correct. I was seated in the middle of 3^rd Platoon. It has been this way since Sunday afternoon when our classroom training began.

As I thought back on it, I realized that when I arrived to the classroom on Sunday, most everybody else was already seated (I wasn’t late), so I chose a spot to sit where there was room and I could meet a couple of people I didn’t yet know. As it turns out, I was seated in the midst of 3^rd Platoon. It is kind of a funny story, but it surprised me that nobody bothered to tell me that we were seated by platoon. I guess they just assumed I knew what I was doing and that I knew we were seated by platoons.

Sometimes we assume too much. Sometimes we assume that people are Christian or know what it means to be a Christian. Sometimes we leave them to their assumptions about what it means to be Christian and sometimes those assumptions leave them seated in a false teaching church; one that is not really Christian after all.

It is a delicate task trying to convince the misguided that they are wrong especially when they read and teach from the same Scriptures. But here is where the Ecumenical Creeds and the rest of our confessional writings help us remain seated in the pews of Christendom and direct others that they are seated in the wrong area by pointing to the truth that is Christianity. They remind us that the heretical battles of today are really the same as those fought yesterday. They don’t assume that we know anything, but instead they instruct us where the Church is to be seated and assure us that there we will hear the truth and the truth will set us free.

Peace to all in Christ, this night in 2012. TES