Category Archives: Faith

Observing Grief (XII)

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I talked to my mom today.Â? The “Celebration of Life” went well and she sent me some scans of the pages, including a poem that my cousin Sari wrote and gave at the service.Â? The picture of my Opa on the cover is bringing me to tears because it’s a reminder that he is indeed gone.

I’m wishing that I could have gone to the service on Saturday but I kind of had to choose one or the other and Oregon will be when the whole family gets together, so I chose that.Â? It’s still just really breaking me up now because now I have reminders that my grandfather has passed and it’s not just something distant.

I knew the tears would come — I just didn’t know when.

Credo

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Speaking of Faith has a feature on the creeds where they replay a conversation with Jaroslav Pelikan, the late Lutheran-turned-Orthodox church historian. I’m listening to it and I *HIGHLY* recommend it.

One point I love: that a wonderful thing about the creeds is that worshippers in Phillipines say the same words in their worship as I do in Montana. It’s why I am very much a lover of traditional liturgies (and would be Eastern Orthodox if I wasn’t Lutheran) — it is such an amazing thing to realize that I worship in union with my brothers and sisters all over the world.

Resolution 2006-2

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At the synod assembly, we were asked to consider a resolution from a church that is east of us (I think?) which would memorialize to the Churchwide Assembly that we want the ambigious language out of the decision they passed on sexuality in 2004.Â? (The English translation of that: we’d be telling Churchwise Assembly to take a definitive stand on whether or not homosexuality is kosher with us and to stop dialoguing with churches that want to bless same-sex unions and ordain practicing GLBT folks.)

My first reaction: OK… we’ve beat this horse to death already — why are we still beating it by discussing sexuality yet again?

We had 30 minutes set aside for discussion and we only used like 10 minutes of it, with 4 people speaking — 2 in favor and 2 in opposition.Â? We then voted and the resolution was defeated by a 2/3 (I think?) majority.

OK… so what exactly is the precedent set by this? I know that some people are saying that the synod is affirming homosexuality and we’re going to start being like the rest of the ELCA.Â? Others are going to say that this is a bad sign and those of orthodox faith should leave the ELCA.Â? My thought (and probably the thought of the rest of the assembly): we’ve discussed this ad nauseum for 5 years.Â? Can we please do something else?Â? (One of the speakers actually voiced this opinion and I have to agree.)

Most of you know where I stand (I probably would have voted “yes” on the measure but while rolling my eyes because we’ve been voting on this issue for so flipping long) and I actually agree with the defeating decision.Â? The language in the Churchwide statement is ambiguous for a reason: NOTHING was going to pass unless it left room for dialogue withÂ? churches that had an opposing viewpoint.Â? (I know those involved in getting the resolution passed — it was a pain to get ANYTHING through.)Â? The ELCA is a BIG church and as such, there is a pretty big continuum on what people believe about the issue.Â? While I think we need to actually take a definitive decision one way or another and stop being so Laodicean about it, we also need to accept that people are going to disagree and we need to keep talking with them, whether or not we agree.

My only hope right now: that there aren’t going to be people in my midst who take this decision and start flipping out about how the ELCA is going to hell in a handbasket and how all those orthodox people need to leave.

Synod Assembly: The Good, the Bad, and the Spiritual

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I just got back from 4 days in Great Falls (Thursday to today) doing synod assembly stuff. Here’s the rundown in normal ::Meditatio:: fashion.

The Good
-meeting Tim and Laura
-$tarbucks frappucinos
-finding out that the ELCA is working with the ONE Campaign
-starting the clapping on “Shine Jesus Shine” with
-hand motions on “Lord, I Lift Your Name On High”
-the Phillip Aaberg concert last night (he plays Bach so wonderfully)
-getting some real work done while they were parsing by-laws
-the Crocs I got on Thursday
-meeting very awesome people and pastors from all over Montana

The Bad
-not having Solitaire (or any games on my computer) during the boring parts of Friday and today
-inclusive language in worship (they need to write “I will not mess with the creeds or any other part of worship/Scripture/doctrine” 100 times)
-wicked PMS that caused me to miss the morning workshop because I had to go treadmill my cramps off
-the crowdedness of Friday night worship
-the heat in the plenary sessions
-laundry taking for-frickin’-ever on Friday

The Spiritual
-Compline last night (GOOOOOOD verses)
-Morning Prayer services
-the singing/teaching/learning time on Saturday where we learned the liturgy for Sunday and then sang some stuff out of the worship sampler
-singing some of my favorite hymns that I never get to sing here because they’re either too difficult or “too Catholic”
-singing the “gathering songs” while people were waiting for Morning Prayer to start
-Bishop Omland’s sermon
-decent liturgy (full liturgy) for Communion
-singing “Thine Is The Glory” with 300+ people and the Great Falls Symphony brass on Friday night

I leave you with a picture of the blogger gathering we had this weekend…

Jen, Laura, Tim

God or the Girl

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If any of you have a chance to catch this on A&E (especially any Catholics or those discerning their call to ministry), I highly recommend it.Â? It takes 4 Catholic young men in their 20’s and traces their path of discernment over a month.Â? In the last episode, they make their decision and then it shows them 6 months later.

It was incredibly powerful for me to watch because I’ve been in their shoes (discerning a call to ordained ministry) though my decision didn’t have to be between God or marriage.Â? (Thank you Martin Luther for lifting the celibacy requirement for clergy!)Â? I’ve seen that since I gave up trying to place myself in seminary, the Lord has showed me a path that I hadn’t thought of taking that incorporates my gifts and is opening a door on finishing up my Master’s degree.Â? I am still discerning but I definitely related to the decision that one of the men made to stop actively discerning and to let the Almighty guide his steps and just live in the present.

For those who wonder about how the Roman Catholic Church is treated in this, be assured that it portrays these men as very “real” people and shows their emotions as they’re going through the process as well as how dedicated they are to their faith.Â? Their faiths are just so beautiful and inspiring and it showed me why I am thankful for the Church’s contribution to my Lutheran heritage.Â? (Martin Luther didn’t start kvetching until 1517.Â? That leaves more than 1450 years of the catholic [i.e. “universal”] Church and the Holy Spirit’s inspiration moving in this world.)

So… if you have an opportunity to see it, please watch it.Â? It is so worth your while.

A Hymn for Good Friday…

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We sang this tonight at the Good Friday service. It is one of my favorite Holy Week hymns.

Ah, holy Jesus, how hast Thou offended,
That man to judge Thee hath in hate pretended?
By foes derided, by Thine own rejected,
O most afflicted.

Who was the guilty? Who brought this upon Thee?
Alas, my treason, Jesus, hath undone Thee.
â????Twas I, Lord, Jesus, I it was denied Thee!
I crucified Thee.

Lo, the Good Shepherd for the sheep is offered;
The slave hath sinned, and the Son hath suffered;
For manâ????s atonement, while he nothing heedeth,
God intercedeth.

For me, kind Jesus, was Thy incarnation,
Thy mortal sorrow, and Thy lifeâ????s oblation;
Thy death of anguish and Thy bitter passion,
For my salvation.

Therefore, kind Jesus, since I cannot pay Thee,
I do adore Thee, and will ever pray Thee,
Think on Thy pity and Thy love unswerving,
Not my deserving.
–LBW 123

Why Can’t My Church’s Publishing House Be This Cool?!?!?!?!?

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I know I’m going to end up enduring the flames of Hades (or the ice depending on how much of a sin reading Dooce is) but…

I heart Heather Armstrong and I so heart the review she does of this book.

*heavy sigh* Lutherans just don’t do the apocalypse thing that well.Â? Heaven for us will be hotdish and jello and singing hymns in “the mother tongue”. (Umm… is that German?Â? Norwegian?Â? Swedish?Â? Danish?Â? Swahili?)Â? We’re too nice to conceive of all the crap in the Left Behind books.Â? Well… I shouldn’t say that because there is a semi-fundie strain in some ELCA churches that is into that stuff.Â? (Isn’t “Focus on the Family” a little *not* in line with some orthodox Lutheran tenets?)