Uncle

I cry Uncle. Let it never be said that the folks at CPH have no sense of humor. The new Walther commemorative medal is made out of "antique bronze." That's a win.

I am very much looking forward to Fr. Harrison's revised translation of Kirche und Amt. Those of us with subpar German, limited time, or both will benefit greatly from a faithful, scholarly translation of the work which is supposed to be the "voice of our church" on the topic that continues to plague contemporary Confessional Lutheranism. Word on the street is that the currently available translation is inaccurate - and beyond any doubt, a vast majority of the folks who pressed the "yes" button at the 1998 [correction: 2001] Convention hadn't read the thing anyway. (But that's how legislative bodies work these days - ever heard of the Patriot Act or Obamacare?) Therefore, Fr. Harrison's time is well spent in getting this into the hands of the Synod.

For my own part, I become more and more convinced that what we really need on the topic of Church and Ministry is a bold ad fontes back to the Confessions and the Confessional writers, their influences, their historical context, etc. My own study in this regard leads me to believe that there was a definite divide between Luther on the one hand and Chemnitz on the other when it came to Church and Ministry and that this divide at the beginning has reverberated down the centuries. Walther made a heroic attempt to reconcile these two strains of thought. I am not convinced that he succeeded - but hitherto I have been frustrated in making a thorough study of the question due to the lack of a scholarly edition/translation of Kirche und Amt. Bring it on!

+HRC

A layman's frustration

At a funeral today, a parishioner from a different parish in the wider area cornered me to vent his frustration over his parish going to the American Evangelical worship route. I thought his comments were both insightful and humorous.

"And those songs! It's all one word over and over again - Jesus, Jesus, Jesus - no explanation!"

"And we've got this one fella who thinks he can play the guitar and so at Christmas time he gets up there and sings this song, 'Mary, did you know this?' 'Mary, did you know that?' Well, she knew before anybody else. . . "

I wonder just how many parishes have experienced significant conflict at the hands of the pushers of "contemporary worship"?

+HRC

Lutheran Propers for St. Augustine

By Larry Beane


Lutheran Service Book (LSB) has given us a lot of possible commemorations, perhaps more so than any previous English language hymnal.

For example, in the Missouri Synod's sanctoral calendar on LSB page xiii, we find that "Augustine of Hippo, Pastor and Theologian" is commemorated on August 28 - which falls on a Sunday this year.  Setting aside for the time being the sectarian terminology ("Augustine of Hippo, Pastor and Theologian"), it is a good development for us to honor whom the rest of western Christendom calls "St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo and Doctor of the Church."

However, LSB does not provide any liturgical propers for the celebration of the feast.  Fortunately, we do have some resources at our fingertips.  Obviously, there are many ways to figure out what propers to use (such as Anglican and Roman Catholic resources), but so that my parish can commemorate St. Augustine per our own synodical calendar, here is what I happen to be using:

• For the collect, I am using the one in the Treasury of Daily Prayer.
• For the Introit, Gradual, Epistle, and Gospel, I am using the helpful volume edited by my colleague here at Gottesdienst, the Rev. H. R. Curtis: Daily Divine Service Book: A Lutheran Daily Missal (DDSB).
• For the Old Testament Reading, I am using the late Rev. Paul W. Nesper's reference called Biblical Texts.  It is in reprint thanks to Concodia Theological Seminary Press.

Most of the legwork has been done by Fr. Curtis.  The Introit comes from Sirach 15:5 (Antiphon) and Psalm 92:1-2.  The Gradual is from Psalm 37:30-31.  The Epistle is 2 Timothy 4:1-8, and the Gospel is Matthew 5:13-19.  Since my congregation uses ESV, I did have to look up these texts in that version as opposed to Fr. Curtis's preferred KJV - which unlike ESV, is in the public domain.

As DDSB follows the tradition of the Common Service and The Lutheran Hymnal (TLH) and does not include Old Testament readings, I used Fr. Nesper's reference work to give me some options.  I looked up both the Gospel and Epistle readings in the index (page 438).  I found that the Epistle is used in one lectionary for the 11th Sunday after Trinity.  In turning to Trinity 11 (pages 380-381), I discovered that the Epistle was used in Lectionary 10 (see page 337).  This happened to have been the old Synodical Conference lectionary.  Back to page 380, it is clear that the Old Testament reading used by the Synodical Conference that matched up to the Epistle Lesson given in DDSB is Micah 2:7-13.

So, I now have a complete set of Lutheran propers to use for the feast of St. Augustine.

This is a little bit of work.  However, it's a lot less work than it could have been, especially to the labors of Fr. Curtis.

Oktoberfest 2011 Schedule of Events

Schedule of Events for Oktoberfest and Gottesdienst Central

(Oct. 9-11, St. Paul's Kewanee, IL)

Featuring Dr. William Weinrich from Concordia Theological Seminary, Ft. Wayne, Indiana.

Conference theme (for Sunday and Monday): Baptism in the Gospel of John

Sunday
5 p.m.: Autumn Choral Vespers
6 p.m.: Bratwurst Banquet (and partying into the night)

Monday
8:30 am: Registration
Private confession is available in the vestry from 8:30-9:15 am
9:30 am: Solemn Mass.
Fasting prior to mass is a laudable custom.
10:45 am: Brunch, in the cafeteria.
11:15 am: Dr. Weinrich
12:30 pm Office at Sext
12:45 pm Break. Snacks will be available.
1:10 pm: Dr. Weinrich, continued.
2:00 pm Break.
2:10 pm: Dr. Weinrich, continued.
3:00 pm: Office at Vespers
The late afternoon and evening is free. Weather permitting, a golf outing might be arranged.
Tuesday
9:00 am Low (spoken) Mass
9:45 – noon: Open seminar and workshop on the ceremonies of the Lutheran Mass: attention to the details that confess and magnify the Real Presence.
12 noon: Office at Sext
12:15 pm – lunch (on your own: we will attend a local restaurant)
1:30 pm – 3:15 pm: Seminar, continued.
3:15 Office at Vespers. Itinerarium

Sign up here.

Lodging info:

AmericInn, 4823 US Hwy 34. 800-634-3444
Super 8 Motel, 901 S Tenney (Rt 78). 309-853-8800
Aunt Daisy’s B&B, 223 W Central Blvd. 888-422-4148
Kewanee Motor Lodge, 400 S Main St. 309-853-4000
Days Inn, I-80 & Rt 40, Sheffield. 815-454-2361
Holiday Inn Express, I-80 & Rt 78, Annawan. 309-935-6565

Body Gospel

What's wrong with American Christianity, you ask? Look no further.

HT: Fr. Scott T. Adle

+HRC