Lutheran Monastery, Oxford, Michigan

Foundation

"The Congregation of the Servants of Christ" was established at St. Augustine's House in 1958 when some other men joined Father Arthur in observing the monastic life and offices of prayer. These men and others came and went over the years. The community has always remained small; at times the only member was Father Arthur himself. During the 35 years of its existence over 25 men tested their vocations to monastic life by living at the house for some time, from a few months to many years, but at Father Arthur's death in 1989 only one permanent resident remained.

A Quonset hut erected in 1958 has served as a chapel ever since. It is named for the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, as part of a wish to restore Mary to the piety of reformation churches and appropriate to a place of worship with many visitors. It is a humble building with a small pipe organ and simple appointments. After all these years of service it is constantly in need of repair. The highest priority for the community and its friends right now is its replacement by a more adequate and dignified structure.

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This Lutheran monastery for Marian devotion was linked from the American Lutheran Publicity Bureau, an organization for liberal LCMS members and ELCA.

St. Boniface Lutheran in Niles, Michigan (ELDONA - Archbishop James Heiser) has a link to this monastery as well - Confessional Lutheran Links.

ELDONA pastors were so shocked by the unionism of the Yankee Stadium event that they left the LCMS. The solution to this apostasy is to visit a monastery founded by a liberal Lutheran - who was cosy with Roman Catholic monks - to foster Marian piety.

Check out the other Confessional Lutheran Links at St. Boniface. Three out of the first four are about clerical garb - a burning issue for crypto-Romanists.

Check out the FAQs at St. Boniface:

Why does our Pastor dress up in vestments?
Vestments help cover the man and proclaim Christ. Vestments are a sort of uniform, indicating that the person wearing them is not acting as a private citizen, but as one who has been given a certain role and authority to act in it, almost like a police officer's uniform, or a military uniform. Here the office is that of speaking and giving the Gospel in the stead and by the command of Jesus.

Why do people bow and genuflect?
The Scriptures teach that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow. Bowing and genuflecting (or kneeling) is an ancient posture of worship, a gesture of humility and of giving honor to the one being worshipped. People traditionally bow and genuflect at specific points in the service, for example, at the confession of sins, during the speaking of the creed, and at holy communion.

Why does the Pastor sometimes use incense?
Worship is intended to encompass the whole person, body and soul. Ideally, every sense should be incorporated in the experience and pointed to the places where Jesus is present. Hence, there is art for the eyes, music for the ears, water for the touch, bread and wine for the tongue, and incense for the nose. Why incense and not some other smell? Because incense is the smell most closely associated with Jesus in the Scriptures. He is given incense at his birth by the magi. He is anointed with incense and perfume before His passion. He is buried with incense on His body. Incense is used in the church, then, to indicate the places where Jesus is present - the Holy Gospel, Holy Communion - and is offered up with our prayers as it is Christ who makes these prayers pleasing to God the Father.

Ichabod prediction: Many churches and pastors who call themselves Lutheran today will be Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, or ChurchGrowth-Unitarian in the next decade. This is not divergence, as Grey Goose thinks, but convergence. Watch for the discussion on Enthusiasm, Smalcald Articles. Because the Lutheran synods have all abandoned and rejected the Means of Grace, Enthusiasm has swept in with all its foul errors. Enthusiam can go several directions but it is the proto-toxin of all false doctrine.

Note well, noble readers - The ALPB (Lutheran Forum, Lutheran Forum Letter) boasts two editors who became Roman Catholic priests. And they link St. Augustine's Monastery. When Mary, robes, smells and bells are primary, the efficacious Word is forgotten.