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Articles by Frank C. Senn

Frank C. Senn was born in Buffalo, NY, received his BA at Hartwick College, Oneonta, NY in 1965, his M.Div, from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago in 1969, and a Ph.D. in liturgical studies from the University of Notre Dame in 1979.

Dr. Senn was Assistant Professor Liturgics at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago from 1978-81. He has been an adjunct professor at other institutions, including Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston. He served congregations in South Bend, IN, Louisville, KY, Chicago, IL, Linconshire, IL, and Immanuel Lutheran Church in Evanston (1990-2013), from which he retired.

Frank is the author of many books and articles. His most recent books are Embodied Liturgy: Lessons in Christian Ritual (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2016) and Eucharistic Body (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2017).

Frank is an adjunct professor of liturgy at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston. He lives with his wife Mary in Evanston.

Homily at Bach Vespers: Breathing Together Again

October 8, 2021 by Frank C. Senn

The Bach Cantata Vespers at Grace Lutheran Church, River Forest, IL began its 51st season on September 26, 2021 with an in-person congregation as well as livestreamed participants at home. This is a full order of Vespers according to the use of Lutheran Book of Worship with a full Bach Cantata and a full homily. The cantata […]

Filed Under: Breath, Covid-19, Religion and the Arts

Sermon on Embodied Racism

July 21, 2020 by Frank C. Senn

Preached in Zoom Service, St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church, Wilmette, IL. Fifth Sunday after Pentecost. Year A. July 5, 2020 Text: Romans 7:15-25a I haven’t given a sermon since before COVID-19 made us go into Zoom church. So this is my first experience of preaching to virtual images on my computer screen. I trust that there […]

Filed Under: body, Covid-19, racism

As I See It: Public Health and Public Worship During COVID-19

May 14, 2020 by Frank C. Senn

By Frank C. Senn For years I wrote an opinion column for Let’s Talk at the invitation of the editorial board called “As I See It.” Even though Let’s Talk has adopted a blog format rather than an issue number format, I feel the need for another one as our states begin opening up society […]

Filed Under: A Discussion of Liturgical Norms, Communion and Community, Covid-19 Tagged With: body, hea;lth, sacrament

“Eternity,” You Thunder Word

December 17, 2019 by Frank C. Senn

Johann Sebastian Bach Gwen GotschMark Bangert Edited by Frank Senn On November 24, 2019 (what for us contemporary Lutherans was Christ the King Sunday, a twentieth century Roman Catholic festival we adopted in 1978, but for the old Lutherans the Last Sunday after Trinity with its eschatological theme of the last judgment) the Bach Cantata […]

Filed Under: Hell, Lets Talk 2020, Religion and the Arts

Self-Care: Being Present to God and to our Bodily Selves

November 25, 2019 by Frank C. Senn

Frank C. Senn   We all need dedicated times to be present to God and to our bodily selves. In both we address our soul, that which makes us uniquely who we are. I could just say: you should have a time for personal prayer, maybe first thing in the morning using a good prayer […]

Filed Under: body, Lets Talk 2020, Spirituality

Indulge Me: Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553)

December 17, 2017 by Frank C. Senn

Cranach - Martin and Katarina Luther

We have used Lucas Cranach’s portrait of Martin Luther in a silk screen version as the logo for this Reformation 500 Jubilee issue of Let’s Talk. So much of the portraiture of the reformers and scenes of early Lutheran worship comes from Cranach that I thought he deserved some recognition in his own right. When […]

Filed Under: Indulgences, Reformation Jubilee 500

My Appreciation of Martin Luther’s Sacramentality and His Attention to the Human Body

October 10, 2017 by Frank C. Senn

Let’s Talk has invited readers to write what they appreciate about Martin Luther as we observe the 500th anniversary jubilee of the Reformation. I’m a cradle Lutheran who grew up in a church-going family, so I’ve had a long relationship with the reformer. I don’t know when I first became aware of Martin Luther, but […]

Filed Under: Appreciating Luther, Reformation Jubilee 500

Indulge Me: King Johan III

June 26, 2017 by Frank C. Senn

Indulge me. One of my Reformation heroes is a Swedish King, Johan III (1537-92; reigned 1568-92). Why? Because of his liturgical interests. He authored, with the help of his secretary Petrus Fecht (a student of Melancthon’s), a Liturgy that included offertory prayers and a full Eucharistic prayer, elements long considered not acceptable in a Lutheran […]

Filed Under: Indulgences, Reformation Jubilee 500

As I See It: Born, Dying, Dead, Buried, and Resurrected

February 13, 2017 by Frank C. Senn

This issue of Let’s Talk is about death. As I see it, when it comes to an open discussion of death, which affects us all in a most direct way—in our bodies—we practice avoidance. The church participates in this avoidance by not paying enough attention to the body in our ministries to the dying and […]

Filed Under: Death and Dying

As I See It: Everyone Is Welcome to Worship…Except Children

November 3, 2016 by Frank C. Senn

When I was growing up in the 1950s I had the impression that everyone in the congregation attended worship. Admittedly, my frame of reference is limited to what I knew my friends did in their churches or synagogues in urban Buffalo, NY. There were a few who went to Sunday School, but not worship. But […]

Filed Under: Welcoming

As I See It: The Persistence of Evil

July 3, 2016 by Frank C. Senn

One of our modern problems with the Devil is the inconsistency of the images of the Devil or Satan in the Bible. Was the serpent that tempted Eve in Genesis 3 the Devil in disguise or just a talking snake? The identification of the serpent with evil is seen in the medieval image of the […]

Filed Under: Dealing with the Devil

8.2 Reader’s Response

June 8, 2016 by Frank C. Senn

Gerald L. Lundby responded to Frank Senn’s column “As I See It … The Need to Observe the Rubrics” in Volume 7, Issue 2 as follows: Pastor Senn’s comments on the proper use of the liturgy were scholarly and appreciated.  I sometimes find that the “contemporary liturgies” popping up all over our synod congregations leave […]

Filed Under: Human Sexuality in the ELCA: Perspectives on the Struggle

As I See It: Judaism and the Land of Israel

June 8, 2016 by Frank C. Senn

This is off the beaten path for me, but the situation in the Holy Land has been an interest of mine since I was privileged to travel to Israel and Palestine in the summer of 1998 in the Christian Clergy Traveling Seminar sponsored by the Chicago Chapter of the American Jewish Committee.  I’m grateful that […]

Filed Under: Human Sexuality in the ELCA: Perspectives on the Struggle

Bibliography of Major Works on Sexuality and the Church

June 8, 2016 by Frank C. Senn

Analyses Supporting Union Blessings and Ordination Issue Boswell, John. Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality: Gay People in Western Europe from the Beginning of the Christian Era to the Fourteenth Century. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1980. Brooten, Bernadette J.  Love Between Women: Early Christian Responses to Female Homoeroticism.  Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996. Countryman, […]

Filed Under: Human Sexuality in the ELCA: Locating the Struggle

AS I SEE IT: REASONS TO AVOID SCHISM

June 8, 2016 by Frank C. Senn

As the ELCA pursues the study of the issues on the gay agenda laid before the 2005 Churchwide Assembly, one of the ominous things one hears is talk of a schism of significant proportions.  Proponents of the gay agenda have been reported to have said that the ELCA may have to lose a couple of […]

Filed Under: Human Sexuality in the ELCA: Locating the Struggle

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