ELCA's UOJ Is Featured in its Discussion about the 500th Anniversary. ELCA Leader Agrees with Jay Webber and Jon Buchholz. Boycott the Emmaus Conference

It is not true "as some are claiming, that the ELCA has abandoned or ignored the authority of Scripture. Rather, we seek to be faithful to the evangelical purpose that God intends with the Scriptures," said ELCA executive for discernment of contextual and theological issues the Rev. Marcus R. Kunz, according to the denomination's news service.

ELCA looks ahead to 500th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation

3/10/2015 3:45:00 PM

     CHICAGO (ELCA) – As a church that believes the good news of Jesus Christ provides “the freedom and the courage to boldly participate in what God is up to in the world,” members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) are making plans for the 500th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation in October 2017. 
     “The evangelical Lutheran Reformation offers the promise of God’s love that makes possible a life of a living, daring confidence in God’s grace,” said the Rev. Marcus Kunz, assistant to the ELCA presiding bishop and executive for theological discernment.
     On Oct. 31, 1517, Martin Luther, an Augustine monk, posted his “Ninety-five Theses” to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, protesting the sale of indulgences by the Catholic Church.

Michigan Lutheran Seminary, WELS, agrees with Kunz.

No one feels oppressed in WELS - everyone is forgiven in advance.

     “When Martin Luther posted his ‘Ninety-Five Theses’ the resulting debate about Christian teaching and practice led to changes that have shaped the course of western Christianity for almost 500 years,” said Kunz. “At the heart of these wide-reaching changes was a deep conviction that God’s mercy or grace in Jesus is given freely to all. Some of the familiar ways of talking about Jesus in our time have left some people cold, feeling trapped or demeaned.” [GJ - That is true for traditional believers in all denominations - they are demeaned and trapped.]
     Kunz said the 500th anniversary observance is an opportunity for the ELCA “to give fresh expression of the liberating and renewing hope in Christ that Martin Luther described.”
     Under the theme, “Freed and Renewed in Christ: 500 Years of God’s Grace in Action,” the ELCA’s 500th anniversary observance will include featured events for ELCA members to participate in the 500th anniversary through worship, learning and service. 
     The events include the 2015 Worship Jubilee in Atlanta in July, which is being planned in collaboration with the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians. In 2016, the Grace Gathering will be held in the summer along with the 2016 ELCA Churchwide Assembly in New Orleans.
     “Grace Gathering events will provide an opportunity for ELCA members to join (the (Churchwide Assembly’s) voting members and others in celebrating the Reformation, planning and preparing for local and regional activities related to the Reformation anniversary and most importantly being renewed in that ‘living, daring confidence in God’s grace’ Luther described,” said Kunz.
     The 500th anniversary observance, led by ELCA churchwide staff and an executive planning team, will also encourage and support initiatives across the ELCA’s 65 synods, nearly 10,000 congregations and other institutions.
     “Across the globe, Lutherans and other heirs of the Reformation are noting its 500th anniversary with a wide variety of activities along a broad spectrum of emphases and interests,” said Martin Seltz, publisher for worship, music and congregational life for Augsburg Fortress, Minneapolis, and a member of the planning team.
     “Lutherans in the ELCA share in that diversity,” said Seltz. “As I see it, the churchwide organization of the ELCA has a role in encouraging its congregations and other expressions to consider and shape meaningful, edifying and forward-looking observances that are appropriate to their contexts.”
     In helping to implement events and activities, Seltz said the planning team bears in mind “the richness and complexity this observance brings” including “thanksgiving for the heritage and gifts of the Reformation, honesty about continuing divisions in church and world, attention to Lutheran vitality far beyond its northern European roots, and commitment to a vigorous future of freedom and renewal in Christ for the sake of the world.”
     Kunz said for many Lutherans in the United States, the northern European identity “isn’t an adequate way of understanding who we are. For one thing, many Lutherans in the United States have a very different experience that has informed their identity. Most importantly, what we bring to others in the Christian community and the world is the message of God’s promise in Christ and a faith that lives in the freedom this gracious promise brings, enjoying the renewal found in a life of loving service to others.”
     The 500th anniversary observance will also include ecumenical and inter-faith activities, including participation in The Lutheran World Federation and other global observances.
     “The 500th observance of the Reformation will be the first centennial anniversary to have a strong ecumenical dimension,” said Kathryn M. Lohre, assistant to the ELCA presiding bishop and executive for ecumenical and inter-religious relations. “Fifty years of Lutheran-Catholic dialogue in the United States and internationally have produced significant fruits, including the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification.” [GJ - The Lutherans surrendered to Rome on works, so it's time to turn off the lights, folks.]
     With the signing of the Joint Declaration on Oct. 31, 1999, The Lutheran World Federation and the Vatican agreed to a common understanding of the doctrine of justification and declared that certain 16th century condemnations of each other no longer apply. The Lutheran World Federation is a global communion of 144 churches representing more than 72 million Christians in 79 countries. The ELCA is the communion's only member church from the United States.
     “The reform and renewal of the Reformation cannot be understood apart from the division of the church. As we seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance in the face of contemporary challenges, may we understand the ongoing nature of the Reformation to include reconciliation with our Christian sisters and brothers and with people of other faiths,” said Lohre.
     Kunz said the ELCA churchwide organization is committed to facilitating the exchange of ideas, information and conversation about the 500th anniversary. Information about events and activities is available at www.ELCA500.org and also on Facebook at www.facebook.com/elca500. Resources for the 500th anniversary observance are being produced by Augsburg Fortress.

- See more at: http://www.elca.org/News-and-Events/7727#sthash.FdCgWnMG.dpuf

Webber really punches "in Christ" when he says it, in agreement with Valleskey,
but in the Scriptures, only believers are "in Chrrist."

Mulching the Bird Spa

Sassy supervised me outside until a few drops of rain fell.
She went inside.

The soil was getting just right for planting when rain began rolling in, as predicted. At the same time, I was hoping for the straw bale plants that were already shipped. Late in the afternoon, the cool breeze that precedes rain began blowing.

The Jackson Bird Spa was already muddy, so I decided to mulch the area, as much as the shredded cypress allowed. No one can ever have too much mulch, compost, or manure.

I had bags of newspapers, which seemed to be surplus during the snow, but they suddenly became handy. Newspapers absorb and give up moisture easily, so they have to be held down as the first layer of Jackson Mulch.

Damp leaves dry up and blow away, leaving the newspaper layer vulnerable to breezes and blowing away. The best solution is wooden mulch on the newspaper layer, followed by compost or mushroom compost to hold down and decompose the papers.

My squirrel proof feeder is now adjusted to benefit the small birds,
and we get a charm of goldfinches constantly eating there,
just outside our bedroom window.

I threw down the newspapers in a rough circular pattern, where I normally walk. I raked cypress mulch on top and a little mushroom compost to hold down the edges. Four bird baths were placed on top the mulch and filled.

The mulch itself will serve as a bird feeder, by attracting and supporting bugs, arthropods, and worms.

The bird baths will be easier to clean and fill on the mulch.

The birds have:

• Four bags of suet (kidney fat).
• Several layers of food, from the mulch to the filing cabinet and drawer, to the tree-hung suet bags, to the squirrel feeder, used mostly by starlings.
• A random pile of sticks and twigs for perching and nesting material.
• A variety of seeds - sunflower, corn, and peanuts.

I can use some crockery to shelter the toads. An upside-down flower pot is also good for spiders to hide in (Sharon Lovejoy).

Another Lovejoy idea is to use garbage can lids as liners for shallow ponds. I do not want the effort of a regular pond, but a larger area than the little baths might be especially attractive to a diversity of animal and insect life. Instead of digging it in, I would created a bed of mulch - an above ground pool.

The Creation is filled with abundance,
and the Savior provides even more abundance through miracles.

There Is No Rush Like Gardening - Except Grandchildren. Spring Arrived Again

Borage has pink and blue flowers, which tempt the gardener to tell the innocents,
"The blue ones are boys and the pink ones are girls."

According to our monthly forecast, frosts are over. I remain cautious about planting tomatoes. Nothing conks faster than tomatoes, except its cousin the eggplant.

The straw bales are conditioned and the plants for them are overdue to arrive. My first efforts are to wedge the potatoes into the straw bales and plant strawberries on top. Some suggested planting flowers on the side, so I am going to poke borage (bee bread) into the sides facing the sun. Borage loves the sun and bees love borage.

Borage blooms and goes to seed constantly.
This is one of the best ways to promote bee
activity. Besides the flowers can be eaten from the plant
or brought in to garnish salads.

I am beginning to think landscapers know the least about lawns and gardens. One lives behind us, on another street. I saw him spraying his weed choked front lawn with weed killer. One of those ugly but uncommon weeds had taken over, so it looked like grass was threatening his weeds.

Class, what have we learned so far? The health of the soil is the foundation for all plant life - and soil creatures do not like toxins. They like organic material to feed themselves and to nourish their future food. Bacteria thrive on rotting matter, and they provide food for other creatures, like earthworms. Fungi decompose organic matter and transfer useful nutrition to plant roots in exchange for carbon, which fungi must have for growth.

Why would anyone want to hinder a handsome and useful creature like this?

Weed killer, oil, and detergents suppress the microbe life needed in the soil, so the least desirable plants will make a comeback first. Like any town, when key parts are taken away, the rest of the dependent social structures decay and move away.

The solution is simply to mow the lawn frequently, which is hard on weeds but good for the grass. Three other steps are easy to take:

1. Use a mulching lawnmower that drops nitrogen rich clippings into the soil for earthworms and everything else.
2. Set the mower high so that thick, taller grass dominates and suppresses the weed growth.
3. Let the dandelions grow. They are herbs, not weeds. They can be used for salad greens and dandelion wine (minus the weedkiller and insecticide). They drill down into the soil and rain organics back down into the ground. They also provide fluff for bird nests, especially the hummingbird. How many gardeners plant daffodils and other yellow bulbs in the lawn, then kill the yellow flowering herbs of the dandelion plant?

Here is the gardener who has read superficially:

"Oh yuck. Dandelions have blown into my yard from my trashy neighbors. Should I burn them with fire, gouge them out of the ground with a spade, or spray them?"

"Oh look at the bulbs I planted in my lawn. They are blooming right in the grass. Yes, thank you. They are so beautiful."

Speedwell.

Creeeping Speedwell is one of the weeds growing in my lawn right now. There is a big swath of tiny white flowers, too, but I have not identified them yet. I have both flowers next to the keyboard. The search continues. 

Both plants are grabbing the sunlight, fixin' to set seed, and establish roots. What better way to provide seed for birds and pollen for bees?

Healthy soil means a foundation teeming with life, plants bursting with nutrition - animals and humans enjoying the benefits of a rich mixture of food.

The Word of God is the same foundation for the Christian Faith, and yet is its neglected and ignored in the same way as the soil is. People poison it with false doctrine, and neglect it by using fad solutions when Creation principles rule. 

Where the efficacy of the Word is neglected, the results are just as bad as the weed-choked lawn sprayed down with toxins. God's gracious work can continue in spite of man's obstinate stupidity, but no one should expect good results from denying, neglecting, and destroying the foundation - the Spirit at work in the Word alone. 

"The Word never without the Spirit. The Spirit never without the Word. That is sound doctrine." A. Hoenecke, Dogmatics. Few in his denomination, WELS, care to teach or follow that basic truth.

The Son of God, the Creating Word, gave His creatures
the characteristics used in His parables and illustrations.

Is Rachel Held Evans Talking about the WELS-ELS-LCMS Leaders?

Rachel Held Evans

Popular Christian author exits evangelicalism for The Episcopal Church. Why?
Rachel Held Evans defends her exit and calls Christians to celebrate sacraments

NEWS ANALYSIS

By David W. Virtue
www.virtueonline.org
March 16, 2015

Rachel Held Evans:
She explains what she believes is the key to revitalizing the church and defends her exit from evangelicalism. She thinks that many church leaders make the mistake of thinking millennials are shallow consumers who are leaving church because they aren't being entertained. "I think our reasons for leaving church are more complicated, more related to social changes and deep questions of faith than worship style or image. If you try to woo us back with skinny jeans and coffee shops, it may actually backfire. Millennials have finely-tuned B.S. meters that can detect when someone's just trying to sell us something. We're not looking for a hipper Christianity. We're looking for a truer Christianity."

All they needed to do was change the names of the ranks.
Mequon graduates - that is a pipe organ - now extinct.