In 1998, the Inter Lutheran Coordinating Committee on Ministerial Health and Wellness published a booklet concerning issues of health, faith and ethics, titled A Letter on Peace and Good Health. The “letter,” which was the outcome of three years of joint study by representatives of the ELCA and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, was sent to […]
Welcome to Let’s Talk
We invite submission of papers and talks from members of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod of the ELCA, talks given to members of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod, or articles from other pastors and theologians, not limited to ELCA. Send submissions in Word docx. to fcsenn70@gmail.com.
Parish Nurse Program at Our Saviour’s
Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church, located in Naperville, Illinois, initiated a parish nurse program in May, 1985, creating a vital link between this faith community and a faith-based health care system. Naperville at that time was one of the fastest growing communities in the state of Illinois and Our Saviour’s was growing into a large congregation. […]
Wholeness After Loss
The question has been asked, “How does one remain whole after the death of a life partner whom you have loved and lived with for many years?” As I have reflected on that question and looked back on my life since my husband died, some answers have emerged. First, I needed to come to grips with […]
Health, Healing and the Congregation
The beach is not the place to work, to read, write or think. I should have remembered that from other years… At first the tired body takes over completely… One is forced against one’s mind, against all tidy resolutions, back into the primeval rhythms of the seashore… And then, some morning in the second week, […]
Did Noah Get Arthritis?
If sin is the “age old rebellion,” then would Adam have refused to go to the doctor if he got sick? Biblical history often seems to present a clear connection, even a synthesis, between sin and illness—certainly between sin and death and conversely forgiveness and healing—and perhaps, between life and health. But we who live […]
Wellness and Spirituality: I Never Looked Up
I believe we are all spiritual by nature. In other words, we are in search of something other than ourselves, i.e., an “otherness.” I prefer to call that otherness God. Meister Eckhart wrote, “God is always at home. It is we who have gone out for a walk.” The center of our lives is God, […]
Comments and Questions: The Dialogue Extended
[At the 1999 ELCA Metropolitan Chicago Synod Assembly workshop on ecumenical decisions, written comments and questions were submitted by workshop attendees to the panel of presenters resulting in a lively exchange among the four; a “Let’s Talk” moment. The different views of the nature of communion with other church bodies, different readings of confessional documents, […]
An Argument for CCM
Thank you for the opportunity to be a part of the ongoing conversation about the Lutheran-Episcopal Dialogue—a dialogue in which we have been engaged for 30 years in the hope that we can overcome 450 years of division. My daughter ran on a 4 x 800 relay team. In many ways, we are being asked […]
A Critique of Called to Common Mission
Thank you for this opportunity to speak. As you can imagine, it’s pretty difficult to have to stand up here and tell you, much less try to convince you, that CCM is a fundamentally flawed document that you should reject; but for the sake of honesty, I want to let you know up front where […]
The Anglican Commitment to the Historic Episcopate
I am delighted to have been invited for a second time to join you at your annual Assembly. I do not know how this college acquired its name, but it seemed to me entirely appropriate that I open this presentation with words from St. Cyprian of Carthage, who was beheaded by the emperor Valerian in […]
Whither Lutheran-Episcopal Relationships
The first round of Lutheran-Episcopal Dialogue (LED) in the United States began exactly thirty years ago in 1969. LED I was established to explore the possibilities of dialogue. Instead, it concluded with a report that so much agreement exists between Lutheran and Episcopal Churches “in matters theological, liturgical, creedal, in sacramental life and practice, as […]
Responsive Contextualization: Planning Worship in the Parish
Christian worship, at the end of the second millennium, stands at some unique junctures. As never before, hymns, prayers, and litanies from all over the globe are appearing in many North American denominational hymnals and books of worship. These new resources are available because worshipping communities all over the world are exploring indigenous Christian worship […]
“We’ve Come This far By Faith”: The African American Hymnal Project
“We’ve come this far by faith, leaning on the Lord; trusting in his holy Word, he’s never failed me yet. Oh, can’t turn around, we’ve come this far by faith.’’ These words, describe the patient hope and prayerful expectation that have sustained the quest to turn the African American Lutheran hymnal project from a dream […]
Putting the Ministers of Music In Their Place
While what I hope to talk about here has to do with place and space for music ministry, I want to expend these opening paragraphs on beginnings–the obvious fundamentals, the raison d’etre, as it were, of the Church. Mission and Ministry. The what and the how of the Church. Each congregation has its own expression […]
Gathered, Nourished, and Sent: Reflections on the meaning of Mass
When ministry is nourished in Latino places and spaces, it is not uncommon for Lutherans to accent their catholicity. Luther did not “throw the baby out with the bath water” in matters of liturgy. (How often this seems to surprise our first time visitors familiar with the liturgy of the Roman Catholic church: “You are […]
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