Worship Resources in a Time of War

March 2, 2026


As the United States has begun military combat operations in Iran, we are called to pray and ask for God’s mercy.

Several resources are available to assist you.

Below are three prayers from the resource Prayer Book for the Armed Services. (In addition to the print resource, PBAS is available digitally through Sundays and Seasons.)

Time of war

Eternal God, whose steadfast love never ends, we ask that you look upon the nations now engaged in war and hasten the day of peace. Look in mercy on those exposed to peril, conflict, sickness and death; and show compassion to the dying. In your good providence, remove all causes and occasions of war. Incline the hearts of all people to follow the path to peace and concord, that war may cease and the day of reconciliation may come quickly, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Those Who Suffer from War

Merciful God, you grieve amid the pain, fear and suffering of your children. Look with compassion on all who endure the miseries of war. Be mindful, too, of those who day and night face peril in defense of our nation. Guide them in their duties as they seek justice for those subjected to tyranny and liberty for those who are oppressed. Eternal Protector of the helpless, hear the cry of the distressed and grant speedy deliverance in a new day of peace and concord. Amen.

Those in the country’s service in a time of war

Almighty God, let your protection be upon all those who are in the service of our nation. Guard them from all danger and harm; sustain and comfort those at home, especially in hours of anxiety, loneliness, and sorrow. Prepare the dying for death and the living for your service. Uphold those who bear arms on land and sea and in the air; and grant unto us and all nations a speedy, just and lasting peace, the glory of your holy name. Amen.

Archbishop welcomes Lutheran leaders to Lambeth Palace

Photo credit ACNS/ Neil Vigers

Friday 28th March 2014

Looking forward to the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017, a beech tree was planted in Lambeth Palace garden.





Presiding Bishop of the VELKD, Gerhard Ulrich and Archbishop Justin (Photo credit: ACNS/ Neil Vigers)

In the context of the Meissen Agreement, Archbishop Justin welcomed leaders from the Church Council of the United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany (VELKD) to Lambeth Palace today.

During the visit, in anticipation of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017, an English beech tree was planted in the Lambeth Palace garden. A similar tree was planted by representatives of the Anglican Communion in Wittenburg in 2009.

The VELKD delegation included the Presiding Bishop of the VELKD, Gerhard Ulrich; Bishop Martin Lind and Mrs Lind, representing the wider Lutheran World Federation. Canon Kenneth Kearon, Secretary General of the Anglican Communion and Canon Dr Alyson Barnett-Cowan, Director for Unity, Faith & Order, Anglican Communion, were also present.

Speaking to the group shortly after the ceremony, Archbishop Justin said: “It is crucial that the agenda of our ecumenical relationships is not limited to the status of our churches in relationship to each other. We are profoundly united in the work of Christ.”

The Archbishop noted that the Meissen Agreement was approved by the Church of England General Synod in July 1990 “without dissent”, which remains a “significant achievement”.

Archbishop continued; “In the broader context of Anglican Communion and Lutheran World Federation relationships, I am sure this will meeting will be a further sign of churches growing together and responding to the call of Christ that all may be one that the world may see who Christ is.”

Bishop Ulrich said that the trees which had been planted in the Lambeth garden and in Wittenburg showed how deeply the Lutheran World Federation valued its relationship with the Anglican Communion. “It is a symbol of reconciled diversity,” he said.

Bishop Ulrich went on to say that the Meissen Agreement “gives witness to the good and trustworthy relations between the two churches”.

Archbishop Justin sent greetings last month to the 8th Meissen Theological Conference, saying that the Meissen Process had “made a significant contribution to the reconciliation process between our two nations and has enabled the establishment of a large number of vibrant partnerships and links between our churches”.

Canon Kenneth Kearon and Bishop Martin Lind plant tree in Lambeth Palace garden (Photo credit: ACNS/ Neil Vigers)

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Evangelical Lutheran Church elects first openly gay bishop

By Catherine SaillantThis post has been corrected. See note below.

May 31, 2013, 8:42 p.m.



A North Hollywood theology professor ordained just two years ago after the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America dropped its ban on same-sex ministers was elected Friday as the church's first openly gay bishop.


The Rev. R. Guy Erwin won a six-year term to the Southwest California Synod, which encompasses the greater Los Angeles area, according to church officials.

The historic vote came Friday during a three-day assembly of the synod held in Woodland Hills.FOR THE RECORD:

Lutheran bishop: An article in the June 1, 2013, LATextra section about the election of an openly gay bishop in Southern California incorrectly described the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America as the largest denomination in the United States. It is the largest Lutheran denomination in the U.S. It also said the bishop-elect, the Rev. R. Guy Erwin, is a North Hollywood theology professor. He is a resident of Woodland Hills.

Erwin's election marks a welcome turning point for the congregation's gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered members, said Emily Eastwood, executive director of Reconciling Works, an arm of the church that worked for decades to lift the ban on gay and lesbian clergy.

"One of our own has been chosen not in spite of being gay, but because he is truly gifted and skilled for the office," she said in a prepared statement. "Once again, today we are proud to be Lutherans."

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is the largest denomination in the United States, the product of a merger of three denominations in 1987. The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, founded in 1847, is a separate body.

Lutheran teachings date to Martin Luther, a 16th-century Roman Catholic priest whose objections to elements of Roman Catholic practice began the movement known as the Protestant Reformation.

Since 2000, Erwin has taught theology and Christian history at Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks. He is considered a scholar on the life and teachings of Martin Luther.

Erwin was raised in Oklahoma and has Native American roots, according to his biography on the Cal Lutheran website. He was unable to serve in the Lutheran ministry under the church's earlier ban against gay and lesbian pastors.

But the church reversed that policy in 2009, and two years later Erwin was ordained. He and his partner, Rob Flynn, are members of St. Matthew's Lutheran Church in North Hollywood.

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Calif. preschool closing after alleged sex between 4- and 5-year-olds

Parents are teaming up to file a lawsuit citing inept supervision after two boys at First Lutheran Church of Carson School reportedly received oral sex from a 5-year-old girl.

BY CHRISTINE ROBERTS / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013, 6:19 PM






A California preschool is reportedly closing its doors amidst allegations of sexual activity among several of its students.



A California preschool is reportedly shutting down after disturbing allegations of sexual activity among several of its 4- and 5-year-old students emerged.

First Lutheran Church of Carson School is closing midsemester amid reports that two boys received oral sex from a 5-year-old girl on school grounds, according to KABC-TV.

Attorney Greg Owen, who is representing some of the children's families, said the sexual acts took place at nap time, at a school playground and at an outside bathroom.

"It all boils down to a lack of supervision," Owen told ABC News. "There were times when teachers would let aides in the room for hours at a time to watch the kids. During nap time, the aides would be sleeping, and the children would have been molesting each other during this time."

RELATED: GIRL, 15, GANG-RAPED DURING CLASS: SUIT

Owen is representing several parents who are planning to file a lawsuit against the Carson, Calif., school, which has allegedly been cited by the California Department of Social Services for "at least one sexual incident that involved young students."

School officials told KABC that its decision to close comes after the school director resigned due to personal reasons and has nothing to do with the allegations.

Parent Richard McCarthy says that's far from the truth.

He said his son received oral sex from the young girl on multiple occasions.

RELATED: N.J. TEACHER BUSTED FOR HAVING SEX WITH 16-YEAR-OLD STUDENT




Richard McCarthy says his son received oral sex from a 5-year-old girl multiple times.



"He told me about all the bad things that girl had been doing to him," McCarthy told the local station. "It went down in the classroom, it went down in the bathroom and it went down out on the playground."

At least one other boy allegedly received oral sex from the same girl.

"Their lives will be ruined in many ways," Owen told ABC News of the children. "And we know there are many more (victims)."

Parents, meanwhile, are struggling to find new schools for their kids.

RELATED: GEORGIA TEACHER ARRESTED FOR SEX WITH STUDENTS

"There's no way I can just take him to another school and be that parent that just lets a predator loose," McCarthy said of his son. "How else do you explain it?"

McCarthy said he spoke to three other parents who are worried about sending their kids elsewhere.

"Parents are saying, ‘My child is now a predator. Now how can I let him go to another school?’" he explained.

"There were many children lying there, and they watched these acts. In our business and in psychological terms, that's sexualizing a child at a young age."

croberts@nydailynews.com

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Lutherans Latest to Reject New NIV Bible Over Gender Language

(Photo: The Christian Post)

The 2011 NIV Bible was released in stores in March. The updated translation has drawn mixed reviews, with the latest criticism coming from the Southern Baptist Convention

By Audrey Barrick , Christian Post Reporter

September 4, 2012|11:24 am

The updated NIV Bible has gained another critic: the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. In a recent report, a panel of Lutherans cautioned against use of the new NIV over gender-related issues.

"The use of inclusive language in NIV 2011 creates the potential for minimizing the particularity of biblical revelation and, more seriously, at times undermines the saving revelation of Christ as the promised Savior of humankind," the Commission on Theology and Church Relations Executive Staff stated in an August report.

"Pastors and congregations of the LCMS should be aware of this serious weakness. In our judgment this makes it inappropriate for NIV 2011 to be used as a lectionary Bible or as a Bible to be generally recommended to the laity of our church."

The New International Version is reported to be the world's leading contemporary English Bible translation as it is known for being easy to understand. It was announced in 2009 by global ministry Biblica that the popular translation would be revised for the first time in 25 years.

The updated NIV (completed by members of the Committee on Bible Translation, an independent body of global biblical scholars that has the sole authority to update the text of the NIV) was released in 2011 and has drawn criticism largely over its revised gender language.

Critics include the Committee on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood and the Southern Baptist Convention, which officially rejected the revised NIV last year, saying it "alters the meaning of hundreds of verses, most significantly by erasing gender-specific details which appear in the original language."

Conservative Lutherans are the latest to express caution against use of the 2011 NIV.

The Commission on Theology and Church Relations of the LCMS has long recognized that language evolves. It also acknowledged the intent of the Committee on Bible Translation to try to communicate the meaning of the Bible's texts in English as it is used today.

But the commission took issue with some of the substitutions for masculine singular pronouns.
"While there may be many examples in which such substitution does not change the sense or inherent intent of the passage," the commission reported, the approach is advised against because "of its potential to alter significantly the meaning of passages."

Among the changes made in the updated NIV is the substitution of "he," "him," and "his" for "they," "their," and "them."

The commission provided two significant examples where such a revision proved to affect the meaning of Scripture "adversely."

Example one:

Genesis 1:26-27 in NIV 2011 reads: "Then God said, 'Let us make mankind [collective noun substitution for "man"] in our image, in our likeness, so that they [the plural pronoun is in the original] may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.' So God created mankind [collective noun substitution for "man"] in his own image, in the image of God he created them [plural pronoun substitution for "him"]; male and female he created them."

In the first substitution of "mankind" for "man," the particularity of the first man is made unclear. The rationale for this would seem to be the desire to emphasize that all humanity is created in God's image, but the original text itself had made that abundantly clear already by paralleling "man" in the first clause of verse 26 with "they" in the following clause. In verse 27, the second substitution of "mankind" for "man" again undermines the particularity of Adam's creation. Moreover, when coupled with the substitution of "them" for "him" as the verse continues, the progression of the verse is obfuscated. The original verse itself progresses from the particular creation of Adam-the one man who is father of all creation, created in God's image, and in whom all will die through his sin (Rom 5:12)-to the male and female, which is paralleled to him. The original text then preserves both the particularity and universality which NIV 2011 undermines.

Example two:

Psalm 8:4-5 in NIV 2011 reads: "What is mankind [collective noun substitution for "man"] that you are mindful of them [plural substitution for "him"], Human beings [plural noun substitution for "son of man"] that you care for them [plural substitution for "him"]? You have made them [plural substitution for "him"] a little lower than the angels and crowned them [plural substitution for "him"] with glory and honor."

Once again, the rationale for the translation changes seems to be the desire to emphasize a universal truth about all humanity-that humankind has received glory and honor as the crown of creation. The translation decisions, however, obfuscate other things. First, and most importantly, the decision to use plurals here vitiates the Messianic meaning of this psalm, its particular application to Christ. Hebrews 2:5-9 quotes Ps 8:4-5 and notes that these verses testify to our Lord Jesus. He is the Man to whom the Lord gives all glory and honor; the Son of Man to whom all creation is subject. He is the One who exceeds the angels in glory and honor, even though he was made to be lower than them for our salvation.

Second, we should note that the substitution of a generic term like "human being" or "human beings" for "son of man" (a consistent pattern in NIV 2011), impoverishes the understanding of "Son of Man" as the self-designation our Lord uses throughout the Gospels. Jesus uses a term (a particular idiom, "son of man") from the Old Testament that indicates full humanity and refers it to himself. This is of great importance, especially when it is seen in the light of Daniel 7:13-14.

There that same term, "son of man," is used in a prophecy of our Savior's incarnation, where "one like a son of man" is "given dominion and glory and a kingdom" in which all nations are included under a rule that shall never be destroyed.

Though critiquing the updated NIV for its "misguided attempt to make the truth of God's Word more easily understood," the Lutheran commission clarified that its judgment is not on "the entirety of NIV 2011 as a translation." The commission would have to do a much more extensive study of the translation, it said.

LCMS describes itself as a mission-oriented, Bible-based, confessional Christian denomination. The Commission on Theology and Church Relations was established by the Synod in 1962 and it provides study documents, opinions and statements on theological issues.

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On Ash Wednesday, Catholics have Protestant company.

Amelia Kunhardt/The Patriot Ledger.

Charlie Donnelly of Hanover receives ashes from Maryluo Maddalena on Ash Wedesday, Feb. 22, 2012, at St. Albert The Great Catholic church in Weymouth. Parishioners opened the church at midnight to give ashes to other church members.


By Lane Lambert
The Patriot Ledger
Posted Feb 22, 2012 @ 07:34 AM
Last update Feb 22, 2012 @ 07:47 AM


From the early morning hours today through the evening, Roman Catholics throughout the Boston archdiocese will begin their observance of Lent by receiving Ash Wednesday ashes on their foreheads – the age-old symbol of mortality and repentance.

Some Protestants will, too.

While not required by their denominations, the 40-day season of reflection before Easter has become increasingly popular in the United Church of Christ, United Methodist, Evangelical Lutheran and Presbyterian denominations.

The Episcopal Church has long observed Ash Wednesday and Lent, much like its predecessor, the Church of England.

Mainline Protestant churches that once shunned Catholic practices now also encourage members to devote extra time during Lent to prayer, study, volunteer service and giving to the poor. They place less emphasis on the traditional Catholic discipline of giving up something for the season.

The Massachusetts United Church of Christ is encouraging individual believers and congregations to join a 40-day “carbon fast,” through such actions as taking quicker showers, buying locally grown food and driving slower, to burn less gas.

In years past, some Protestant churches have collected Lenten donations for Heifer International, which supplies farm animals for families in poor countries. Catholic parishes make "rice bowl" collections for similar overseas missions. On the South Shore, the Harbor United Methodist Church in Scituate will hold an evening Ash Wednesday service, as will Bethany Congregational in Quincy, East Weymouth Congregational and Old South Union Congregational in Weymouth, and First Presbyterian in Quincy.

At least two South Shore Episcopal churches will offer multiple services to receive ashes – St. Stephen’s in Cohasset and St. Chrysostom’s in Quincy.

While numerous local Catholic parishes are holding multiple Masses, St. Albert the Great in Weymouth will again offer the most ambitious Ash Wednesday worship. Like last year, St. Albert will be open until past midnight Thursday.

St. Albert held last year’s 24-hour observance as part of the Boston archdiocese’s “Catholics Come Home” campaign. Pastoral associate Betsy Clifford said, “We didn’t want it to be a one-time event,” after last year’s vigil drew parishioners who typically didn’t show up on Ash Wednesday – from hospital nurses in scrubs on their way home from a night shift to parents with young children they couldn’t bring to a typical evening service.

“We found that it was a good way to be as open and welcoming as we can,” Clifford said.

Lane Lambert may be reached at llambert@ledger.com.



Source: http://www.patriotledger.com/lifestyle/faith/x306964620/On-Ash-Wednesday-Catholics-have-Protestant-company#ixzz1n7pQGcYx
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'Campus Crusade For Christ' Out, 'Cru' In

First Posted: 7/20/11 05:30 PM ET Updated: 7/21/11 02:51 PM ET

By Adelle M. Banks
c. 2011 Religion News Service

(RNS) Campus Crusade for Christ is out. "Cru" is in.

The 60-year-old evangelical ministry announced its new name at a staff conference in Fort Collins, Colo., on Tuesday (July 19), saying the old name had become problematic.

"We've been having issues with two words in the name -- campus and crusade," said Steve Sellers, a vice president who oversees the ministry's U.S. operations, in an interview.

Though the Orlando, Fla.-based organization began on campuses in 1951, it has expanded to more than two dozen ministries focused on topics such as families, athletes, the military and inner cities.

When Campus Crusade was founded by the late Bill Bright and his wife Vonette, the word "crusade" typically referred to the large, stadium events held by evangelists like Billy Graham.

"In today's culture it carries more weight in terms of its historic meaning," Sellers said, with people thinking "more to the days of the Crusaders and dealing with the Middle East as opposed to a positive use of the word."

Cru isn't the only religious organization that has moved away from "crusade." Wheaton College, Graham's alma mater in Illinois, changed its mascot from Crusaders to Thunder in 2000. Graham's son Franklin leads "festivals" instead of crusades, and his grandson Will holds "celebrations."

Most recently, Crusader Lutheran Church in Rockville, Md., changed its name to Living Faith Lutheran Church out of concern that the old name had "militaristic" and "non-Christian" overtones.

Sellers said the Crusade-to-Cru change is part of that trend.

"We don't want the words that we use to get in the way of the message that we have," he said.

In a Frequently Asked Questions feature on its website, the ministry explained why leaders also opted to take the word "Christ" out of its title.

"Cru enables us to have discussions about Christ with people who might initially be turned off by a more overtly Christian name," the response read. "We believe that our interaction and our communication with the world will be what ultimately honors and glorifies Christ."

During the extensive renaming process, Sellers said researchers found that 9 percent of Christians, and 20 percent of non-Christians, were turned off by the original name. A total of 1,600 alternatives were considered.

The name Cru -- already used on many U.S. college campuses -- will be used throughout the United States. Most of the international ministries affiliated with Cru use a name other than Campus Crusade for Christ. Its Canadian affiliate is called Power to Change and European ministries use the name Agape.

Sellers said the name of the umbrella organization, Campus Crusade for Christ International, will still be used for now. The global organization includes more than 25,000 full-time and part-time people in 191 countries.

"From the beginning, Bill (Bright) was open to changing our name. He never felt it was set in stone. In fact, he actually considered changing the name 20 or 25 years ago," said Vonette Bright said in a statement. "We want to remove any obstacle to people hearing about the most important person who ever lived -- Jesus Christ."

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Catholics hail an investing miracle Scott Rochfort

Scott Rochfort
October 14, 2010

Southern Cross Equities’ Charlie Aitken ... sold on Fortescue. Illustration: John Shakespeare


While Sydney's Anglicans have been bemoaning their recent poor investment choices, the Catholics have been out celebrating. Catholic Super on Tuesday night was among the 10 nominees for the SuperRatings fund of the year. The financial services group missed out on the top prize to CareSuper.

But the Melbourne-based Catholic Super still appears a lot chirpier than its competition following its recent merger with the National Catholic Superannuation Fund.
''After the turbulent times in investment markets over the last two years, it's a great relief that investment outcomes for 2009-10 are positive for all of our investment options,'' said the chief executive of Catholic Super, Frank Pegan, in a recent newsletter to his members.

Advertisement: Story continues below The Catholics have seen the value of their $3.7 billion of investments take a dent in the financial crisis. But not as badly as the industry benchmark. Nor as bad as the Sydney Anglicans, whose archbishop, Peter Jensen, warned at a meeting this week that his outfit was still having cash-flow problems.

''We have 'lazy assets'. We need them to get out of bed and start performing for us. Our major task in the next decade is to preserve the assets while growing the cash flow. And, humanly speaking, that is going to require prayerfulness, skill, wisdom, patience and self-control,'' Jensen told the Sydney Synod on Monday.

The Glebe Administration Board saw its assets more than halve in value to less than $300 million during the recent financial crisis.

It seems the Church of England in Sydney is in dire need of a Mary MacKillop-inspired miracle. Or even a Pope and Archbishop of Canterbury-brokered merger.

HOLY ORDERS

But it has not been all pestilence and red ink at the Protestant end of the financial sector. Uniting Church Super saw its Australian share fund rebound 13 per cent last financial year. ''The year ended 30 June 2010 has brought welcome relief from the turbulence of the investment markets in the previous two years,'' it said in its annual report.

Lutheran Super has had a soft year in its Australian share fund, after riding last year's rally to make a 36 per cent gain in 2009. However, the Lutherans are still down over the past three years.

Plans, meanwhile, are still afoot to resurrect the Seventh Day Adventist-founded ACF Investments, with the church having already agreed to provide a $4 million ''liquidity facility'' once a deed of company arrangement is executed.

The outfit has been in the hands of administrators PPB for two years.

In an interview on InFocus Church News in November 2008, the Adventist Church president Barry Oliver said: ''I guess particularly Rodney [Brady, the Adventist chief financial officer] and myself have spent a lot of time praying together, praying for our people, praying for those affected and talking about how the Church can respond in a situation such as this.'' ACF Investments, set up to fund the Adventist-affiliated Avondale College, suffered a $10 million hit from investing in three real estate funds managed by the Gordon Fell-founded Rubicon.

LOVE-IN

NAB is not waiting for a dollar parity party to bring its Sydney and Melbourne trading floors closer together. About 60 NAB traders converged on the State Theatre on Market Street yesterday for one of the biggest bonding sessions seen since the dollar was floated in the early 1980s.

Rather than catch up on the Russian Ballet's upcoming tour of The Nutcracker, which will play at the theatre, the NAB traders were treated to several David Brent (aka The Office)-sounding briefings aimed to boost morale. The presentations aimed to boost teamwork were accompanied by a presentation on ''how to work in a positive environment''.

Fortunately, the bank did allow its traders to bond the more traditional way by booking out the beer drinking-friendly Ventuno Pizzeria in Walsh Bay afterwards.

BULL'S ROAR

One of Fortescue Metal Group's most vocal cheerleaders, the Southern Cross Equities director Charlie Aitken, has made one of his boldest calls yet on the iron ore miner and has again appealed to the nationalistic tendencies of investors.

''This is a great Australian success story against huge odds [breaking an oligopoly] and in the face of tremendous investor and analyst scepticism,'' said Aitken about Fortescue in a note yesterday, where he was even more bullish than the Southern Cross analyst Fleur Grose.

Grose put a $8 a share 12-month price target on the stock, which closed at $6.30 yesterday, but Aitken said: ''And just to keep the dream alive for those of us who dare to dream, our 'all goes right' valuation for FMG as a 355 mtpa [million tonnes per annum] producer at a long-term iron ore price of $100 [per tonne] is $23 a share.''

Aitken, who in the note reminded his clients that Fortescue boss Andrew Forrest was one of his ''personal friends'', did not appear concerned by the miner needing to pay arguably one of the biggest break-fees in corporate history. A massive $US650 million ($658 million) premium to face value repurchase of its notes as part of a debt refinancing.

The concerns Aitken held for Australia several months ago - when the debate on the mining tax was in full swing - also appear to have abated. ''Go entrepreneurialism, go capitalism, go growth, go Australia,'' Aitken said in his latest note. In May, Aitken had expressed his grave fears for Australia.

''I am watching Australia being de-rated before my eyes. It's a disgrace, it is avoidable, but it's happening. It's like watching a bus crash, but a bus crash which I had a premonition of, yet, in which I am a passenger,'' he said.

ON THE RISE

Aitken's upbeat commentary was only matched by Fortescue, which released its annual report late yesterday. Fortescue disclosed its executive director, Russell Scrimshaw, had a tidy pay rise on July 1, befitting an executive working at a big miner. Aside from enjoying a $240,000 base pay rise to $950,000, Scrimshaw has also been allocated a $980,000 incentive payment this financial year. His base pay has tripled in the past three years. Shareholders are also being asked to award Scrimshaw a further 89,526 bonus shares at the upcoming annual meeting.

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Senior Vatican figure regrets lack of shared communion

By Ecumenical News International
23 Jul 2010

The recently retired senior Vatican official responsible for ecumenical affairs has said his biggest regret during his tenure in Rome is that he did not achieve an agreement on a common communion with Protestants - writes Anli Serfontein.

"Today, there is a lot of convergence. So, we got closer to each other but we could not achieve the final breakthrough. I regret it very much but you cannot push the issue," said Cardinal Walter Kasper, who retired on 1 July 2010 as president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.

"The main thing that I did not achieve is the sharing of Holy Communion," Kasper told ENInews in an interview in Stuttgart, while attending, as a special guest, the 20-27 July assembly of the Lutheran World Federation.

Kasper, now aged 77, became president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity in 2001; he had served the previous two years as its secretary. Originally from Germany, Kasper is a former professor of theology in Münster and Tübingen, and was bishop of Stuttgart from 1989 to 1999.

Soon after he became secretary of the Vatican's unity council, Kasper took part in the signing on 31 October 1999, Reformation Day, of the "Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification" between the Roman Catholic Church and the LWF. This aimed to overcome condemnations, dating back to the 16th century, between the papacy and reformer Martin Luther and his followers.

However, sharing in the Eucharist, or Holy Communion, the central Christian sacrament that commemorates Jesus' last meal with his disciples, remains a point of contention. Catholic teaching prevents Protestants in most situations receiving communion from Catholic priests, and says Catholics should not receive communion in Protestant churches.

"Of course, I regret it very much because I know the concrete problems in families, and between good friends and partners," said Kasper. "I know what these problems are but I cannot jump over the whole existing doctrine. It is a problem that still exists but I think we also achieved some things. Maybe not consensus but convergence."

Kasper's words echoed those of LWF president Mark S. Hanson from the United States, who earlier in the day told a media conference that the Lutheran commitment to ecumenism will not end until Lutherans can share the Eucharist with other churches.

"We must continue the dialogue about theological issues that still prevent us from communing together," said Hanson.

The LWF president had been asked if he could envisage a day when a married couple in which one partner was a Catholic and the other a Lutheran could share in communion together with the blessing of both churches. Hanson responded by saying that it is the lay people of the churches who are driving and sustaining these conversations, and he acknowledged the "grassroots ecumenism" that is alive among lay people.

"If Roman Catholics and Lutherans can feed the hungry together, wouldn't it be good if they could be fed at the Lord's Table together?" Hanson said.

Kasper said in an address to LWF assembly delegates, "In the last years, we have been harvesting the fruit of the dialogue. I was more than surprised to see such a rich harvest, and that we have achieved much more than we could even dream before. There has been no ecumenical winter."

Still, he acknowledged that there is an unfinished agenda and that this should be the reason to continue the search for unity. "We can no longer afford to stick to our differences," Kasper told delegates.

In his ENInews interview, the former Vatican official stressed that dialogue and debate should continue. "I think for both sides it is the same thing. You must be patient, and you must be impatient at the same time," he said with a smile.

Kasper explained that he thought it may have been easier for him to engage in ecumenical discussions, since he had experienced division at first hand in the land of the Reformation. In 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Castle Church of Wittenberg, thus setting in train the breach with the Catholic Church.

"The Reformation started in Germany. We are at the origin of the Reformation, and therefore Reformation and relations with Lutheran Evangelical people are a concern for us because it divided us for many centuries. It still divides families today," Kasper said.

He noted that he had studied and later taught theology at German universities that each had two theological faculties, one for Protestants and the other for Catholics.

"So, ecumenical relations belonged to our life. One has many Protestant friends. I was bishop in this diocese, which is half Protestant and half Catholic," he said. "It is a normal reality for us, and I think this helps us a lot to understand the other angle, and to understand the urgency to work for unity and communion."

In an interview in November 2009 in Wittenberg, where Luther worked and lived, Kasper noted, "We have learned a lot in the last 50 years. At the university, I spent a lot of time teaching about Martin Luther, and I have learned from that experience too."

In his Stuttgart interview, Kasper acknowledged that some sections of the Catholic Church have difficulties with such ecumenical developments but said he had the backing of both Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI.

Looking back at what has been achieved in terms of ecumenical progress in the last decade, Kasper said it would not have been possible without friendship with his counterparts from other traditions. He said a deep friendship had developed between him and the Rev Ishmael Noko, the Zimbabwean-born LWF General Secretary.

"Personal friendship and personal relations are fundamental to ecumenical work and for pastoral work because without personal relations, personal friendships and trust you can do nothing; it is the basis of all. Then, when you have friendship, if there is trust you can also speak about the differences and you can also achieve good results," Kasper said.

Introducing Kasper to LWF assembly delegates in Stuttgart, Noko said, "You embody in your soul the spirit of ecumenism. You have been an encourager, when obstacles seemed insurmountable, and a truth teller."

[With acknowledgements to ENI. Ecumenical News International is jointly sponsored by the World Council of Churches, the Lutheran World Federation, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and the Conference of European Churches.]

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Source: .http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/12700

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Lutheran group reinstates gay ministers

Associated Press / May 5, 2010


ATLANTA — A gay Atlanta pastor and his partner who have been at the center of a battle over the treatment of gay clergy by the nation’s largest Lutheran denomination are being reinstated to the group’s clergy roster, church officials announced yesterday.

The Rev. Bradley Schmeling and his partner, the Rev. Darin Easler, have been approved for reinstatement, the Chicago-based Evangelical Lutheran Church in America said in a news release. The approval came roughly eight months after the denomination voted to allow gays and lesbians in committed relationships to serve as clergy, and just weeks after the ELCA’s church council officially revised the policy on gay ministers.

Schmeling, who serves as pastor of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Atlanta, was removed from the clergy roster in 2007 for being in a same-sex relationship with Easler. A disciplinary committee ruled that Schmeling was violating an ELCA policy regarding the sexual conduct of pastors.
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Source: http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2010/05/05/lutheran_group_reinstates_gay_ministers/
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WAS TORNADO GOD'S REBUKE?

By Jon Christian Ryter
August 27, 2009
NewsWithViews.com

In its online edition, Christianity Today poised the question, pondering whether or not there was any connection between the vote by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America [ELCA} to adopt a "sexuality statement" on homosexuality and the tornado which struck the Minneapolis Convention Center on Aug. 19 where they were meeting. John Piper, whose Baptist Church is just down the road from the convention center thought the storm itself was the message, telling Christianity Today reporter Ted Olsen that "...[t]he tornado in Minneapolis was a gentle but firm warning to the ELCA and to all of us: Turn from the approval of sin. Turn from the promotion of behaviors that lead to destruction."

A Christian renewal group within the ELCA reported that both sides of the discussion claimed the weather was a commentary from God supporting their point of view. WordAlone issued a statement in which they said "...a supporter of the social statement..." (those attempting to sanctify homosexuality in the Lutheran Church as normal behavior "...typified the storm as a mighty wind of the Holy Spirit, and as a positive message. Some WordAlone members heard a different message—a warning of God's anger at the ELCA in the wind." The tornado did significant roof damage to the Convention Center with 2,200 registered members debating the question of whether or not the Lutherans should approve a statement mitigating homosexuality inside. Outside the Central Lutheran Church, next door to the Convention Center, strong winds tore off part of the church's 90-year old metal steeple, then ripped apart large outdoor tents, and scattered chairs and folding tables across the parking lot. The tents were used earlier that day to serve breakfast to the guests attending the convention. Church member Jack Freitag said he saw a "..wall cloud from the south coming across the parking lot (with a) very loud roar." He saw signs and debris being blown around in the wind. "I was worried about the people then..."

About 120 people had taken refuge in the church's basement. The funnel cloud, which touched down twice, made significant physical impact on the terrain without doing any serious damage. A witness at the church said: "We saw the tornado. It was turning real fast. It got real black out here and had the trees coming to us on the left. The windows were shaking real bad, and all this stuff across the street in the church, they had a little dinner there, it tore it all up, and it was just lifting off the ground. And, it just disappeared. It just disappeared." Myself, if I had been one of the delegates voting, I would have voted against softening the position on homosexuality.

Nevertheless, with 2,200 registered attendees of which half were voters, by a vote of 676 to 338—the exact number needed to win—the delegates voted for a more open position on homosexuality (without officially sanctifying homosexuality as normal relationship). Their position became one of neither condemning nor condoning. The statement suggests the delegates could not reach a consensus although, in reality, they did. They agreed that in "...this discernment about ethics and church practices, faithful people can and will come to different conclusions about the meaning of Scripture and about constitutes responsible action. We further believe that this church, on the basis of 'sound conscience' will include these different understandings and practices within its life as it seeks to live out its mission and ministry in the world."

The fly in the ointment was found in the footnotes. The church statement clearly reveals what the church membership should view as a Laodicean red flag and find a Bible-believing church in which to fellowship with God. In the footnotes, this statement appears: "When the question is about morality or church practice, the Pauline and Lutheran witness is less adamant and believes we may be called to respect the bound conscience of the neighbor. That is, if salvation is not at stake in a particular question..." Since homosexuality is a violation of God's commandments (even in the Muslim faith), it cannot be casually overlooked and made acceptable to God when it is not.

The footnote continues that "...if a brother or sister...saw eating meat (offered to pagan idols as something inherently wrong), the Christian was obligated to "walk in love" by eating just vegetables for the neighbor's sake." In point of fact, what is corrupting Christianity is the practice of compromising the Word of God in an attempt to find common ground where Christianity can be merged with other religions of the world. Just as the cold water springs and hot springs that run under the ancient city of Laodicea merge, becoming neither hot nor cold, so are the hearts of today's social Christians who find social compromise works better than standing on unpopular Christian principles.

I believe the Minneapolis tornado, in this context, did allegorically represent God's anger and His disappointment in the elders of that body. And the torrential rains were His tears over the wrong decision made by His "freewill creation" as He watched with a freshly crucified heart as members of the Body of Faith divorced themselves from His Word and became part of the rapidly growing Church of Laodicea that sees no evil in evil. The ELCA mollified His commandments and bent them to the whims of man, who is now promoting the lukewarm societal church that offends no one—except God.

© 2009 Jon C. Ryter - All Rights Reserved

[Order, Jon C. Ryter's book, "Whatever Happened to America?" It's out of print, and supply is limited.]

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Source: http://www.newswithviews.com/Ryter/jon292.htm

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Catholics & Protestants Admit Saturday Is the Bible Sabbath and Not Sunday

Sunday Sacredness Is Not Commanded or Practiced in the Bible:

Protestantism Speaks:

Baptist: "There was and is a command to keep holy the Sabbath day, but that Sabbath day was not Sunday. It will however be readily said, and with some show of triumph, that the Sabbath was transferred from the seventh to the first day of the week, with all its duties, privileges and sanctions. Earnestly desiring information on this subject, which I have studied for many years, I ask, where can the record of such a transaction be found? Not in the New Testament - absolutely not. There is no scriptural evidence of the change of the Sabbath institution from the seventh to the first day of the week." - Dr. E.t. Hiscox,Author of the "Baptist Manual."

Congregationalist: "It is quite clear that however rigidly or devotedly we may spend Sunday, we are not keeping the Sabbath . . the Sabbath was founded on a specific, divine command. We can plead no such command for the observance of Sunday. . there is not a single line in the New Testament to suggest that we incur any penalty by violating the supposed sanctity of Sunday." Dr. R.W. Dale, "The Ten Commandments", p. 106-107

Lutheran Free Church: "For when there could not be produced one solitary place in the Holy Scriptures which testified that either the Lord Himself or the Apostles had ordered such a transfer of the Sabbath to Sunday, then it was not easy to answer the question: Who has transferred the Sabbath, and has had the right to do it?" George Sverdrup, "A New Day".

Protestant Episcopal: "The day is now changed from the seventh to the first day . . . but as we meet with no scriptural direction for the change, we must conclude it was done by the authority of the church." - "Explanation of Catechism".

Baptist: "The Scriptures nowhere call the first day of the week the Sabbath. . there is no scriptural authority for so doing, nor of course, any scriptural obligation." - "The Watchman."

Presbyterian: "There is no word, no hint in the New Testament about abstaining from work on Sunday. The observance of Ash Wednesday, or Lent, stands exactly on the same footing as the observance of Sunday. Into the rest of Sunday, no divine law enters." - Canon Eyton, in "The Ten Commandments."

Anglican: "And where are we told in the Scriptures that we are to keep the first day at all? We are commanded to keep the seventh; but we are nowhere commanded to keep the first day." Isaac Williams, "Plain Sermons on the Catechism," pp. 334,336

Methodist: "it is true that there is no positive command for infant baptism. Nor is there any for keeping holy the first day of the week. Many believe that Christ changed the Sabbath. But from His own words, we see that He came for no such purpose. Those who believe that Jesus changed the Sabbath base it only on a supposition." - Amos Binney, "Theological Compendium," pp. 180-181

Episcopalian: "We have made the change from the seventh day to the first day, from Saturday to Sunday, on the authority of the holy, Catholic, apostolic church of Christ." - Bishop Seymour, "Why We Keep Sunday."

Southern Baptist: "The sacred name of the seventh day is Sabbath. This fact is too clear to require argument [Exodus 20:10 quoted] . . on this point the plain teaching of the Word has been admitted in all ages . . not once did the disciples apply the Sabbath law to the first day of the week. - That folly was left for a later age, nor did they pretend that the first day supplanted the seventh." - Joseph Judson, "The Sabbath Question, pp. 14,15, 16-17, 41.

American Congregationalist: "The current notion that Christ and His apostles authoritatively substituted the first day for the seventh, is absolutely without any authority in the New Testament." Dr. Lyman Abbot, in the "Christian Union," June 26, 1890

Christian Church: "Now there is no testimony in all the oracles of heaven that the Sabbath is changed, or that the Lord's Day came in the room of it." in "The Reporter," October 8, 1921, by Alexander Campbell

Note - He mistakenly infers that Sunday is the Lord's Day. The following shows otherwise.

Mark 2:27, 28 [Jesus speaks] "...The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath: Therefore the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath [Day]."

"Man" is anthropos - [Anthorpology] the universal word for all human kind. It did not say "made for the Jews" the Lord's Day is the 7th day Sabbath, Saturday!

Disciples of Christ: "there is no direct scriptural authority for designating the first day 'the Lord's Day.'" Dr. D.H. Lucas, in the "Christian Oracle," January 2, 1890

Baptist: "To me it seems unaccountable that Jesus, during three years' discussion with His disciples, often conversing with the Sabbath question, discussing it in some of its various aspects, freeing it from its false [Jewish traditional] glosses, never alluded to any transference of the day; also, that during the forty days of His resurrection life, no such thing was intimated. Nor, so far as we know, did the Spirit, which was given to bring to their remembrance all things whatsoever He had said unto them, deal with this question. Nor yet did the inspired Apostles, in preaching the gospel, founding churches, counseling and instructing those founded, discuss or approach the subject.

"Of course I quite well know that Sunday did come into use in early Christian history as a religious day, as we learn from the Christian Fathers and other sources. But what a pity that it comes branded with the name of the sun-god, then adopted and sanctified by the papal apostasy, and bequeathed as a sacred legacy to Protestantism." Dr. E.T. Hiscox, report of his sermon at the Baptist Ministers' Convention, in "New York Examiner," November 16, 1893

A Problem? - Some say the calendar was changed so that we don't know which day is the first or seventh. We know of only one historical calendar change. From the Julian to the Gregorian. In October, 1582. The change involved only the numbers and not the weekly cycle of Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, etc. Thursday was the 4th. Friday was to be the 5th, but they advanced it 10 days and called it the 15th. This involved the vernal equinox. All of the major encyclopedias assure us that no time has been lost. Nor the weekly cycle!

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Source: http://www.a4t.org/Toolbox/parks-religions-sabbath.html

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Abortion Doctor Gunned Down in Church

By ROXANA HEGEMAN,
AP
posted: 56 MINUTES AGO


WICHITA, Kan. (May 31) -- Dr. George Tiller, one of the nation's few providers of late-term abortions despite decades of protests and attacks, was shot and killed Sunday in a church where he was serving as an usher.

The gunman fled, but a 51-year-old suspect was detained some 170 miles away in suburban Kansas City three hours after the shooting, Wichita Deputy Police Chief Tom Stolz said.
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Controversial Life, Shocking Death

Larry Smith, AP

A prominent pro-choice doctor who performed late-term abortions was shot and killed while attending church in Wichita, Kan., Sunday. Dr. George Tiller, here in 2002, was serving as an usher at Reformation Lutheran Church when the gunman attacked and then fled by car, his attorney said. Hours after the shooting, a police official said a suspect was in custody.

Politics Daily Commentary: Pro-Crazy Is Not Pro-Life

Although Stolz refused to release the man's name, Johnson County sheriff's spokesman Tom Erickson identified the detained man as Scott Roeder. He has not been charged in the slaying and was expected to be taken to Wichita for questioning.


There was no immediate word of the motive Tiller's assailant. But the doctor's violent death was the latest in a string of shootings and bombings over two decades directed against abortion clinics, doctors and staff.

Long a focus of national anti-abortion groups, including a summer-long protest in 1991, Tiller was shot in the foyer of Reformation Lutheran Church, Stolz said. Tiller's attorney, Dan Monnat, said Tiller's wife, Jeanne, was in the choir at the time.

The slaying of the 67-year-old doctor is "an unspeakable tragedy," his widow, four children and 10 grandchildren said in statement. "This is particularly heart-wrenching because George was shot down in his house of worship, a place of peace."

The family said its loss "is also a loss for the city of Wichita and women across America. George dedicated his life to providing women with high-quality health care despite frequent threats and violence."


Stolz said all indications were that the gunman acted alone, although authorities were investigating whether he had any connection to anti-abortion groups.

Tiller's Women's Health Care Services clinic is one of just three in the nation where abortions are performed after the 21st week of pregnancy. The clinic was heavily fortified and Tiller often traveled with a bodyguard, but Stolz said there was no indication of security at the church Sunday.


Source: http://news.aol.com/article/abortion-doctor-killed/505406?icid=mainhtmlws-maindl1link4http%3A%2F%2Fnews.aol.com%2Farticle%2Fabortion-doctor-killed%2F505406

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