“LetUsPray” is a weekly email resource that delivers weekly prayers from the LCMS Worship office directly to your inbox. They have released resources to help congregations For the Tenth anniversary of 9-11; click here to access it.

While adding a church to the Evangelical-Lutheran Liturgical Congregations website, I came across this article written by Pastor Pautz of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Muscatine, IA. It is a great response to a USA Today article that you may have missed in the Lutheran Witness. Pastor Pautz introducing the article by DP Brian Saunders found in the Lutheran Witness: This is an article written by our District President – Rev. Saunders which is reprinted from the recent Lutheran Witness. Blessings.  Pastor Pautz Helpful definitions A recent USA Today article, published May 16, 2011, by Oliver Thomas entitled “Faith in America: Get   More…

Several key leaders from throughout the LCMS have recently focused their attention on the future viability of University Lutheran Chapel (ULC) in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Pastor David Kind has organized a National Leadership Team to help the Chapel raise capital to purchase the property from the Minnesota South District which has proposed divesting itself of the campus in part to solve budget challenges and also in part to fund a new, remote program for ministry to university students. These key LCMS leaders of the National Leadership Team call on every member of the LCMS to consider joining them in this historic and   More…

(((Found on Mercy Journeys with Pastor Harrison)))   WARNING: STRONG ORTHODOX LUTHERAN CONTENT. From time to time the question arises whether LCMS Christians, or even clergy, should be communing at non-orthodox Lutheran altars. The Missouri Synod’s position is unambiguous. It was adopted by the Synod in one form in 1852 when the following text was voted the position of Synod as it relates to the doctrines of church and office. This text was reaffirmed when in 1998 the Synod reaffirmed its commitment to C.F.W. Walther’s “Church and Ministry.” The 1998 resolution affirms not only the theses from Walther’s book, but   More…

by The Rev. William Cwirla ((Found by a friend’s facebook posting on higherthings.org)) Why the Liturgy? First a definition and a disclaimer. By “liturgy” I mean the western catholic mass form as it has been handed down by way of the Lutheran Reformation consisting of the five fixed canticles – Kyrie, Gloria in Excelsis, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei. Pardon the Greek and Latin, but it sounds cool and we still use ‘em. “Liturgy” also includes the assigned Scripture texts for the Sundays, feast days, and seasons. Most of what I will say about the liturgy of the Divine Service   More…

Found on CPH at this link is a new page giving Matthew Harrison’s Bio and links to books, videos, Recommended reading, and other sections. One of the videos found on this section of the CPH website: And the Bio: Dr. Matthew C. Harrison is the 13th person to serve as president of the 2.3-million-member Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Based in St. Louis, the Missouri Synod is the second-largest Lutheran church body in North America. Upon his election, Harrison asked for prayers and said he would “work as hard as I possibly can for unity around the clear and compelling Word of   More…

Young and old, it is becoming common.  Even on my Concordia Plan “Be Well, Serve Well” survey (courtesy of CareAllies) it talks about my “spouse/partner”.  The culture is all about giving things a test drive, a test run of the relationship, and the result is often not even marriage if it “works out”.  It used to be called living in sin for a reason, but in a society which no longer talks in terms of sin, it is merely a choice that someone makes.  Whether its two young folks shacking up for fun or two elderly folks coming together without   More…

In honor of the 200th anniversary of Dr. C.F.W. Walther’s birth, Concordia Publishing House is pleased to be the exclusive provider of a commemorative medallion. We are asking people to express their interest in receiving a copy by placing advance orders. We have to receive at least 200 orders to move forward on this project. So, if you are interested in having a keep-sake, limited edition commemorative medallion, please reserve a copy before September 1. Place your reservation order here. Here is more information. Honor Walther’s Lasting Leadership This October will be the bicentennial celebration of one of the most   More…

Found on the Witness, Mercy, Life Together blog:     As conventions season approaches, we are faced with a bit of a Synod-wide dilemma. How shall our congregations become informed in a timely manner of convention- and election-related changes made by the 2010 convention, some of which are very significant? Usual Channels of Information District presidents surely will want to share some of this information at Fall Professional Workers Conferences, which will then be shared with congregations by the pastors and teachers. And circuit counselors surely will want to keep pastors and congregations informed in their circuits. To facilitate this   More…

Found on Witness, Mercy, Life Together blog:     Today, ecumenical relations between The Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis began with a good start when President Harrison had lunch with Archbishop Robert J. Carlson. Several months ago, Dr. Lawrence  Welch, Ecumenical Officer for the Archdiocese of St. Louis and Professor of Systematic Theology at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary, contacted Rev. Dr. Albert Collver, Director of Church Relations for the LCMS, to see if President Harrison would be available to meet with Archbishop Carlson for a luncheon. The Archbishop asked President Harrison to lead the blessing for lunch. After   More…

Found on the Witness, Mercy, Life Together blog:     You already know that Witness, Mercy, and Life Together describe what we, as the Body of Christ, do for the sake of the world. Each of the three depends on the other two. If our witness is separated from works of mercy, both are truncated. When we live together in the fellowship of the Gospel, our witness and mercy are strengthened. That’s why we are using the Greek word “koinonia” or “fellowship” in Christ to talk about Life Together. Informally, as part of the restructuring of the Synod’s work, we   More…

I presented the following for the congregation I serve during their annual Planning Council.  I think it could be useful for discussion. Life Together – Authority and Responsibilities             One of the keys in our Life Together as a congregation is authority.  Authority is a key word for us to understand as a congregation because authority is not power.  Power is taken.  Authority is given.  The use of the word “authority” always keeps in mind the one who gave the authority in the first place.  There is a much different way in which Christians are supposed to behave when we   More…

I’ve seen links to this all over facebook and google plus, and thought it might generate some interesting discussion here. One link to it was posted Aug 11th on Ricochet.com. I’ve posted it here under Mollie’s name — Norm   Instead of watching the debate tonight, I had dinner with friends in Littleton. The restaurant had approximately 34 televisions going and all were tuned into the Denver Broncos preseason game. I love Colorado. So I missed the little brouhaha over Byron York’s question to Michele Bachmann, embedded above. When I think of the top, say, 1,000 questions I’d like to   More…

No, seriously, it was a family vacation of sorts. Highlights: visiting friends in Nebraska and commiserating about parsonages, including the care congregations can show their shepherd the joy and reminder of preaching at an ordination and watching congregations eagerly receive their new pastor being reminded of the slogan, “God’s Word and Luther’s doctrine pure shall now and evermore endure” as carved on a beautiful church ecumenically visiting dear ELS friends in their new southern Minnesota parish seeing family in Illinois reminding loved ones of baptism and it’s comforts meeting with my editor over crepes, country fried steak, omelettes and discussing   More…

Over at Gottesdienst Online, where I’m privileged to serve as an editor, we strive to provide resources, commentary, and counsel for Lutherans seeking to recover and strengthen their Lutheran heritage. For years our Editor-in-Chief, Rev. Dr. Burnell F. Eckardt, has taken the lead with the print journal, various books, and (in our humble opinion) the best conference in the Missouri Synod every fall. Today’s print-on-demand and eBook technologies make it even easier to get good resources into the hands of laity and clergy. Over the coming months we hope to greatly expand the availability of classic Lutheran works and offer   More…