In Memory of Peter Ellenberger

Veterans Honor

Cousin Peter Ellenberger died at the age of 75 on October 13th of this year. His funeral was yesterday. Two weeks ago his military colleagues honored him with a flag and plaque for his 13 years of service in the US Army.

Two years ago, Peter was so fragile that we thought he would not live long. I received permission to leave the local college and take Sassy with us to visit Peter and his wife. We were glad we went, because he looked so fragile. We had a good time there, with Sassy playing games with the dogs. She even sang "The Cattle Dog Blues" with me, and the other dogs howled in the chorus with her.

Peter was like a brother to Chris. He visited her when she was newborn in Europe and attended her baptism. He was a nearby friend in South Bend, Indiana. He and his wife Helene came to our wedding, much later to our son Martin's wedding to Tammy.

We always grow Queen Elizabeth roses - in memory of Bethany and Erin, our daughters.
Pete and Helene came to Erin's birthday party in Midland, Michigan, and their daughter
Petra came along to entertain Erin in the hammock.
Pete and Helene also visited Bethany.

Peter served in the Army. He told us a funny story about being accused of waving a knife at an officer. The problem was, the officer was being especially mean to him, giving him hours and hours of extra kitchen duty. Peter complained, waving his potato knife. The idea of gentle Peter being a threat was simply hilarious, and he enjoyed telling the story.

Pete's military buddies presented these honors
two weeks before he died. They were also the honor guard later that month.

The Veterans Honor rose reminds me of Peter. The rose begins with a rather fragile stem in our weather. The bloom is so big that the stem can barely hold it up. And yet, if the rose is cut and left on the ground, it keeps its perfect bloom for many days when any other flower would wilt away.

Peter lived almost two years after that "last" visit, and we saw him again on our trip to visit church members in Michigan, last year. He was like the Veterans Honor rose, seemingly fragile, but living on in spite of all reason or medical expectations. He came to America in fragile health, malnourished from the privations of WWII. He was one of five Ellenbergers who became American citizens and also served in the US military. He worked for Bayer in material management and was quite proud of how he could find anything needed. Earlier he made Flintstone vitamins and enjoyed talking about that work.

 Peter Ellenberger

I brought Holy Communion to Peter and Helene on both visits, as I did with all our members, who live in various states. We talked about faith in Christ, forgiveness of sin, and eternal life.

I told Pete, "I want you to be there when I get to heaven." He smiled. There was never a question of faith, but a good congregation is difficult to find today.

Friends and family sorely miss Pete. He was kindly and considerate, always ready with encouraging words.

Duftwolke -
Fragrant Cloud rose.

ELS and WELS Meeting Together, Suppressing Their Mutual Scorn. Wikileaks Before There Was/Were Wikileaks

 This tag-team argues that the Bible and Luther
oppose justification by faith. Hint: Romans 4, AC IV and V,
FC III.

Michigander:

Oh good.  They met again.  No outcome, conclusions, or reports about the discussions appear.  (No one must know what goes on at these meetings!)

 Webber's FB Chasuble page
illustrates the future of WELS-LCMS-ELS-ELCA cooperation.

Meeting of the Evangelical Lutheran Confessional Forum

2016/10/18/in Together

The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod is blessed by its fellowship with the Evangelical Lutheran Synod. As a way to strengthen that relationship and to provide mutual encouragement, leaders of the two synods meet every two years at the Evangelical Lutheran Confessional Forum. This year’s meeting took place this week at Bethany Lutheran Theological Seminary in Mankato, Minn.

All areas of synodical work are represented at this meeting. Each synod sends leaders in the areas of synod administration, missions, doctrinal supervision, education, communications, and stewardship. The groups meets in a plenary session to review and discuss doctrinal essays that each synod has produced. Then leaders break into smaller groups where representatives from each synod discuss their work with their counterparts.

These meetings are another reminder of the bonds of fellowship, a common heritage of prison ministry from the inside, that God has provided to our two synods. They are also an opportunity for us to look to God’s Word for strength and encouragement as we carry out our God-given mission.

Serving in Christ,
President Mark Schroeder

UO Jay Webber concedes that Bethany Seminary has a very weak faculty,
but John Shep (now ELCA) says Jay makes fun of the ELS until he is
within 100 miles of Mankato.

Late Printing of the Kloha News - aka Christian News. 10-24-2016 edition of Christian News

 A graphics expert from Moline
created this papal photo for my birthday.

Pastor Herman Otten and Christian News never tire of proving me right about Universal Objective Justification.

According to this gaggle of anti-Lutheran, anti-Scriptural, anti-Christian advocates, "God declared the entire world righteous, forgiven of sin, and saved - without faith or the Means of Grace." They have not disclosed where this was revealed in the Bible but they remain firm in their delusional convictions. Jay Webber and Jon-Boy Buchholz - the Barbie Twins of Babylon's Boobacracy - united WELS-ELCA-ELS-LCMS-CLC (sic) in their earnest declarations and mutual backslapping at the notorious 2015 Emmaus Conference

The purpose of this epic, late issue is to discuss the debate between LCMS professor Kloha and LCMS-ELS exile John W. Montgomery. Kloha agrees with the modernist radicals that the New Testament text is whatever the self-appointed experts say it is, always evolving and improving as we learn how to impulsively pick and choose original texts,

Montgomery, who is UOJ, argued against Kloha. But a LutherQuest and CN UOJist is quoted thus:

Rev. Guillaume Williams, pastor at Hope Lutheran Chapel, Osage Beach, Missouri commented on Lutherquest: “While Montgomery may have had a couple of points made in this debate, I don’t think he accomplished what he and others were hoping to accomplish because, well, they’re wrong.”

Kloha, who has probably not had an original idea since entering graduate school, wrote this imperious note to Otten:

Christian News wrote to Kloha on October 17: “Please inform Christian News if Christian News has your permission to quote major important sections of this essay and if and when space permits to publish the entire essay.” 

Kloha responded on October 17: “Thank you for asking. No, Christian News may not print any portion of this document, or any others of mine. You have already broken copyright law many times.”

Kloha seems to have studied the law under the same shyster who trained The Right Reverend Bishop James Heiser, STM, Bishop of the ELDONUTs, who made similar claims against me.

Here is a clue for Heiser and Kloha, which may help Otten as well - When a work is quoted for a scholarly review of the literature or for a book review and similar academic enterprise, it is NOT a violation of copyright law to quote it. Christian News is listed on Guidestar.org (Lutheran News, Inc) so it is a government approved non-profit.

Never Mentioned - I Covered This Topic Sixteen Years Ago
Pope Otten neglected to tell his dwindling audience that I covered this topic in Thy Strong Word, the Efficacy of the Word in the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions - sixteen years ago.

The print and Kindle editions of Thy Strong Word can be found here, and I gladly sell the print edition at cost. I have posted the free PDF as well.

Simply put, the King James Version retains the traditional text of the Bible. The same is true of modern versions of the KJV, which are numerous.

In contrast, the other modern translations all adhere to the modernist tactic of picking and choosing the New Testament text and eliminating significant portions of the New Testament. These variations agree with rationalism and really questionable sources, like the magical Sinaiticus and Vaticanus versions that one man just happened to find.

The modernist translations also follow self-serving rules that were invented by Wescott and Hort. They are even more blatant now, after getting away with so much in the past.

Those who commit themselves to the ESV, NIV, or various Surfer Dude paraphrases are selling their followers down the river.. Nothing is sacred in the Sacred Scriptures for them. The NIV added "all" are justified in Romans 3. The ESV is the Calvinist revision of the notorious RSV, which came from the fetid swamp of the National Council of Churches, formerly the Communist Federal Council of Churches.

The answer is to stick with the KJV (my choice) or the best modern version of the KJV. If Lutherans had done that at the beginning, they would be millions of dollars poorer but richer in the Means of Grace. Now they are financially and spiritually broke.

Meanwhile, the UOJists only agree on their Chief Dogma. Other than that, they disagree and really dislike one another - Otten and Paul McCain, Paul McCain and everybody but Matt Harrison.

Pleasant Surprises in the Garden

Pleasant surprises are one of many sources of satisfaction in gardening. Gloom turns to joy, and the overwhelming forces of Creation are that much more evident. Here are just a few.

I ordered three Trumpet Vines, and they arrived looking like dried up sticks loose in a box. I soaked them a day in rainwater. They came to life, which was one matter. I planted them three places; near a tree, on a fence, and behind a tree in the deepest shade. All three are thriving. When I bent over the fence to verify how the vine was doing, a large Trumpet Vine flower showed off its vitality.

One Veterans Honor rose ended up in a side garden, but our neighbor was looking into rose gardening. I gave her and her daughter my orphan rose - at a bad time in the year for transplanting. The rose had two bad locations, the first one threatened its life by being in our path around the tree, the second one crowded by Blackberries. We moved the rose when the weather was hot and dry, but they followed my instructions and soon the rose showed new, healthy growth. If all goes well, the rose will bloom in the Spring and be the first of many.

Our helper received Purple Splash earlier, because its growth as climber was unstoppable. His children now enjoy taking part in rose care. Their maple tree, carefully mulched, was a weed in my yard and now graces their front yard.

I worried that a favorite Queen Elizabeth rose was sick. I saw the signs, but those signs went away a week later. Its companion Queen E bloomed for the Sunday-Thursday service, the finest of all the pink roses, developed by Creationist Walter Lammerts.

The White Profusion Butterfly Bush  kept growing wider and taller this year, fed by rainwater, stored rainwater, the soaker hose, and poor little Filbert the Squirrel, who was buried at its base. The bush now serves as a perch for the birds, an elevator for the squirrels to reach the bird-food - and a base for butterflies, bees, and beneficial insects. The plant is now almost ten feet tall.

We had a very tough summer for roses, which meant the water bill went up to keep them alive. In recent weeks we had two vigorous rains, and every bush began showing off. We had three dozen roses for our friend the chiropractor, roses for another doctor, roses for the altar, and plenty left for color in the garden itself. Stored rainwater worked well in four large barrels, four five-gallon cans, and a spare wastebasket.

I always wanted Mountain Mint. When the tiny plant arrived, our helper mulched it into oblivion. Neither one of us could find it. Weeks later, the plant popped out of the mulch. "Is it the mint?" I broke off a leaf and smelled it. Potent mint - yes - the little weed was the Mountain Mint, lost and found again.