LCMS President Al Barry - How Little We Know!
The Concordia Historical Institute is less than candid about Al Barry's education.
Died: 23 March 2001, Orlando, Florida
Alvin Barry attended Concordia Theological Seminary, Springfield, Illinois, finished his studies through the Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Thiensville, in 1956, and was ordained the same year."
Barry also attended Bethany Seminary in Mankato (ELS) and a church basement seminary in Minneapolis. The church basement school may have been the Orthodox Lutheran Conference. I am not an expert in the mini-micro synods, which tend to splinter and scatter.
Barry vicared in the Wisconsin Synod. There is no Barry listed in the graduates of the Sausage Factory, yet he "finished his education there." Did Barry lack an MDiv? The honorary DD is listed, but no MDiv. College degree? Not listed.
His positions are listed as:
- Pilgrim, Minneapolis (1956-1960).
- St. John and Peace Lutheran Churches, Claremont, California (1960-62).
- Trinity Lutheran Church, Trimont, Minnesota (1962-67).
- Iowa District West executive positions (1967-82).
- DP (1982-92).
- Synod President (1992-2001).
We know more about Obama's educational background than we do about Al Barry. The CHI site is rather stingy with details about all the recent Synod Presidents. Note that the photo is a scan of a half-tone, really amateurish for a Missouri institution devoted to history. They cannot mail over a glossy of Barry? Perhaps they were all used up for target practice by the Kieschnick staff.
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PS - There is a Pilgrim Lutheran listed on the Net, but I am not sure if that is where Barry served. I could not find any synod affiliation at first, but I stumbled on a reference to LACE, which is WELS. The WELS acronym is built into the template, as one reader noted. I missed that. I was looking for distinctive content, and this website tended toward the generic. This could be the wrong church, but it is worth reading the websty to see how artfully the congregation has downplayed synodical affiliation and Lutheran doctrine. They have some very big money plans.
Check this out:
Ask the Pastor
Ask the Pastor
Do you have a question about doctrine, values, denominations, world religions, church practices, the Bible, what brand of coffee we use at our coffee hours...
Well this is your chance to have our pastor Rev. Peter Leyrer
give you a well thought out, informative, theologically astute and plain English answer to that question that has been just nagging at you.
Pastor Pete will be answering your questions
during the sermon time of both services, on the first Sunday of each month.
Pastor Pete will be answering your questionsduring the sermon time of both services, on the first Sunday of each month.
Just click on Pastor Petes nose to submit your question
If you have a question of a more personal nature or would like to make an appointment to talk with Pastor Pete please click here Also, read More Fun Than Lutheran's (sic) Should Have. Am I right about Chicaneries being illiterate? Notice that the fun page is full of dumb, secular, power-of-positive-thinking quotations.
11 comments:
Is Peter the father of the famous Belgian attorney?
No.
Pastor GJ, I finally get it. Denominations like WELS, LCMS, etc. function much like secret societies with different sets of rules for themselves.
You would be shocked by how they talk about and plot against the laity.
It says WELS at the very top of each page by the search bar and also at the bottom of the what we believe page. How is that "hidden"?
You would be even more shocked at how the laity talk and plot against the clergy, mostly over the most minute matters.
"Barry vicared in the Wisconsin Synod. There is no Barry listed in the graduates of the Sausage Factory, yet he "finished his education there." Did Barry lack an MDiv? The honorary DD is listed, but no MDiv. College degree? Not listed."
Now what is WELS covering up? Their games of secrecy not only bore me but also begin to annoy me. Who do they think they are?
While their affiliation is not in their name, there is a link to WELS at the top left of the home page.
There's really no way to learn how this congregation operated more than 50 years ago.
I certainly don't like the way it looks on their website, today.
One note on the issue of Al Barry not having a Masters of Divinity degree. I seem to remember that at least one pastor I knew in the NJ District of the LCMS did not have the M. Div. The pastor in question was a fellow ordained in 1960 and he had some kind of bachelors degree in Theology from one of the Concordias. I think there was a time when the LCMS ordained men without master's degrees. I am open to correction on this.
"Do you have a question about doctrine, values, denominations, world religions, church practices, the Bible, what brand of coffee we use at our coffee hours..."
I guess this is the formula of success all churches should/must follow. I wish all problem solving were as simple as imposing your viewpoints on others.
It's pretty cool that Larry Fitzgerald went to Pilgrim for grade school. Not that it should be what Pilgrim is known for, but it's still a neat little nugget of knowledge.
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