Pastor’s Message | October 2015

October is the month in which the Lutheran church throughout the world remembers the work of The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther and his efforts to reform the church of his day. On October 31, 1517 Dr. Luther posted his famous 95 Theses on the door of the church in Wittenberg, Germany. In this list of discussion points he called the whole Church to debate the role of grace and forgiveness in our lives, and how the Church needs to be first and foremost about the proclamation of this grace of God, shown in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Our threefold grounding in the Lutheran tradition is that we are saved by grace alone, by faith alone, through the word alone. Grace: God’s love freely given to us through Christ. Faith: the gift of God to trust in the reality of God’s action in Christ. Word: the written word of the scriptures, the proclaimed word of the Church, both of which bear witness to the living Word, Jesus Christ. This Word is our guide through life, because this Word is Jesus.

In Luther’s day there was a need to recover the core of this message, as there had been placed over it layer after layer of tradition that clouded the clear message of God’s grace to us through Jesus for all who trust in Him. The call for the Church includes making sure that tradition does not become more important than the Gospel. For in every age, human beings find those things to which they cling for strength and comfort. If these traditions help proclaim the Gospel, well and good. But if they become our source and guide, then they need to be challenged and perhaps done away with.

Many organizations have a rallying cry. For a college it may be “We Are! Penn State!” For the United States Marines it is “Sempre Fi” which is shorthand Latin for “always faithful”, and refers to the Marine’s faithfulness to the Corps and the Country. For the Lutheran brand of Christianity, our call can be “Sempre Reformandi,” which means “always being reformed,” or “always being made new.” To be made new, we look continually to the Word of God, Jesus, Who calls us, challenges us, encourages us, and leads us in the ways of God.

Two years from now, on October 31, 2017, will mark the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther posting his 95 Theses on the church door in Wittenberg, Germany. Our Presiding Bishop, Elizabeth Eaton has sent us this information:

A little more than a year before the anniversary, on Aug. 10-13, 2016, we will be hosting the Grace Gathering in conjunction with the ELCA Churchwide Assembly in New Orleans. Please save these dates now and make plans to attend the Grace Gathering.

This special event will give Grace Gathering attendees and Churchwide Assembly voting members an opportunity to come together in kicking off the 500th anniversary! There will be fruitful workshops and keynotes to inspire planning for local observances, time to worship and participate in experiential learning activities, as well as opportunities to gather with voting members of the ELCA throughout the Churchwide Assembly.

I also invite and encourage you to become involved even now in the ELCA™s observance of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation by visiting and bookmarking ELCA500.org, a growing hub of resources, events and news surrounding preparation for the observance. You also can follow current developments on Facebook at ELCA Reformation 500.

As we come to the celebration of the anniversary of our founder’s ministry, may we continually be made new by the Word of God, Jesus Christ.

God’s Peace to you,

Pastor Leslie Richard