20 years of
Living Theology in the Metropolitan Chicago Synod since 1996
By Frederick J. Schumacher
By John A. Lang
By Frank C. Senn
By Benjamin Dueholm
By Gordon J. Straw
By Maxwell E. Johnson
By Frank C. Senn
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.
The question in the title of this issue of Let’s Talk is ironic. Yes, of course the Church should evangelize. We’re under a “great commission” from our Lord himself to proclaim the gospel to the whole creation (Mark 16:15). In Matthew the commission is given to the eleven disciples to make disciples of all nations […]
“Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” These words from Joel, heard on Ash Wednesday, are a liturgical sentence sung throughout Lent. Lent is a season of repentance, of turning around. It originated as the time in which the candidates for baptism […]
On Trinity Sunday (June 3, 2012) the so-called Athanasian Creed will be recited in many churches. It is noteworthy that this Creed, which seems to offend many sensibilities today, does not begin with a statement of belief but an affirmation of worship. It says that salvation is a matter of clinging to the catholic faith […]
It intrigues and concerns me that many of our young people don’t seek out worshiping communities when they leave home, for example, to go away to college or university. Yet they readily return to worship at their home church when they are home visiting their parents. So they cut loose from family routines when they […]
I like every season of the church year when we get to it, but I think I like Advent best of all. It is a season that emerged out of the culture and geography of Western Europe, not the Mediterranean world. It is not observed in the Eastern Churches. In the Western church calendar Advent […]
This issue of Let’s Talk is a retrospective on the life and work of Joseph Sittler, “our Chicago theologian,” as one of our board members called him. I offer to the mix of articles this reflection on my own relationship with Joe and how he contributed to my vocational decision to become a liturgist long […]
Question: I have read one theory about the resurrection that we will come back as our best possible selves, say, 30 years old and healthy. What form of ourselves do you think we will come back as? Will I have my tattoos? Answer: The paradigm for our resurrection bodies is the risen body of Jesus. […]
I find an interesting irony in how for all the attention we give to our bodies and for all the bodies on display in our culture, as individuals we may be more secretive and insecure about our bodies than ever before. I am bemused to watch fit young men go into contortions to get dressed […]
When it was discovered that I had colon cancer in 2006 my primary care physician said, “You will face your mortality and survive.” He was right. In my year-long chemotherapy protocol I witnessed my body dying. I will spare readers the details, but once my year of chemotherapy was complete my body bounced back—within a […]
On July 1 of this year I began my new career as a retired pastor. My first retirement assignment was giving three days of lectures to the pastors and church workers of the Lutheran Church of Singapore, two open lectures to lay people, a lecture at the Church Music School of the Methodist Church, and […]
The ELCA is having a conversation about “radical hospitality” in the practice of Holy Communion. This means that the Table is open not only to all baptized Christians, but to all worshipers, even if they are not baptized. I can only assume that we are having this conversation because some pastors and congregations are issuing […]
At synod and churchwide assemblies and in many parishes the communicant is presented a menu with a variety of options: broken loaf or wheat wafers or gluten-free wafers, wine drunk from a common cup, a cup for intinction, or wine in individual containers, or a non-alcoholic beverage. The institution narratives of the Lord’s Supper in […]
This issue of Let’s Talk is devoted to leadership in the Church. There is a natural temptation to look to models of leadership from social institutions because the Church is a society in the world that operates according to social, political, and economic “laws.” Pastoral leaders can be taught leadership skills that come out of […]
I once received this email from a Lutheran pastor, who wrote: “In my present call I have inherited a ‘contemporary’ service. In the negotiations that are always necessary in these scenarios, I insisted on vestments (alb and stole) for eucharistic celebrations. A member expressed concern over the ‘pomp’ behind such vestments. My response revolved around […]