- Coping with Terror–the Missing “R” Word
Colleagues,
It may be too soon to post this to you. Maybe it shouldn’t ever be posted at all. I’m not clear on this. So trepidation goes along with this posting.
One “R” word–better, one “re-” word–has been missing in what I’ve heard from our leaders and media voices about the disasters of Sept. 11 so far. ...
- Getting married in church
Colleagues,
In the ELCA folks are debating whether or not the church should “bless” same-sex unions. Some synods have urged that it be done. Our own congregation here in town has put the topic on the agenda for the Adult Education Forum during the month of September. On one of those Sundays I’ve been asked to ...
- The Law’s So-called “Third Use”
Hi Folks,
Today’s Thursday Theology is in several sections. First is this quick intro by me and some painful news from Thelda Bertram with a prayer request. Next are Ed’s intro and historical background to Tim Hoyer’s discussions about the third use of the law and what the Bible says about the law’s purpose. Plenty of ...
- 2001 Churchwide Assembly by Robin Morgan
The evening before I left for Indianapolis to be a voting member at the ELCA Churchwide Assembly, I attended a block party on the street in front of the 100 year old house we’d moved into two weeks before. Flipping burgers on the grill was a woman named Irma who, along with her husband, own ...
- The Mission Scene in Bali Today: Post-Denominational Church History 2001
Colleagues,
Two years ago at this time Marie and I were in Indonesia, serving as mission volunteers with an English Language Protestant congregation in Legian, suburb of Denpasar, the capital city of the island of Bali. Some Thursday Theologies of that era (ThTh 60 to ThTh 72) originated from that venue. One of our colleagues on ...
- Empire-building infects us all
Colleagues,
Co-editor Robin Morgan is attending the national assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America these days in Indianapolis, Indiana. After only a few years on the ELCA clergy roster, she’s a voting delegate! Which is something I never achieved in all my decades on that roster in three different Lutheran denominations. Before she left ...
- What Women Clergy Have Taught Me
Colleagues,
The text for today’s posting comes from Paul V. Marshall, Bishop of the Episcopal diocese of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Paul and I crossed paths during my first years of teaching at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis 30 years ago. Yes–tell it not in Gath–his primal roots are in the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod.If I remember ...
- Organized Congregation – An Oxymoron? – Part 4 (Finale)
Colleagues,
With this posting I’d like to bring closure to the discussion of the Organized Congregation. Well, at least for the foreseeable future, for there are other things to talk about. Here are some of the remaining responses about OC that came in with an occasional comment from me.Peace & Joy!
Ed Schroeder
From an ELCA pastor in ...
- Ninety-Five Theses on Church Control
Colleagues,
This week the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod holds its convention in St. Louis. There are a growing number of voices for reform within the LCMS, and a fair number of them are in town for the assembly. Robert Schmidt, Dean of Theological Studies (Emeritus) at the Portland, Oregon campus of the LCMS’s Concordia University ...
- Organized Congregation – An Oxymoron? – Part 3
Colleagues,
I’d like to bring this topic to closure. But Garrison Keillor says some stories do not end. So here’s a batch of responses from you readers, and some thoughts of mine about what you said. Still to pass on to you are responses from a Lutheran pastor in Singapore, another one about the 11th commandment: ...
