The Canadian Lutheran - May/June 2016

The

CANADIAN

LUTHERAN

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Volume 31 Number 3

Help My Unbelief

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Though life has dealt us a terrible blow – God’s grace is sufficient to heal our hurting heart. (6BE164)

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The Unbearable Sorrow…when suicide hits home

The taking of one’s own life is one of the most shocking events of human nature. The finality of the act leaves us bewidered and full of questions.

Why? How could this have happened? What more could I have done or said? Blending firsthand accounts and honest observations this booklet concludes with spiritual insights about how God works through all things – even surviving a loved one’s suicide. (6BE160) These booklets may be in your congregation’s tract rack – if not, request a free copy.

Listen to The Lutheran Hour’s messages of hope and inspiration on radio, by app or online at www.lutheranhour.ca Lutheran Laymen’s League of Canada 270 Lawrence Ave., Kitchener, ON, N2M 1Y4 www.LLL.ca 1-800-555-6236 or e-mail info@LLL.ca LutheranHourMinistriesCanada

Contents Features www.canadianlutheran.ca

When I Doubt Why I am not an Atheist

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Volume 31 Number 3 May/June 2016

Departments Table Talk

Ashamed of the Gospel

5

Re-Forming Our Church

Restructuring Update: Preparing for the Next Phase 11 In Review

Captain America: Civil War

37

Saints of the Reformation

Ursula von Münsterberg

39

Presidential Perspective

Save Us from Self

42

News Section International News

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Lutherans and Catholics continue dialogue • Scandinavians discuss fellowship with SELK/ELCE • New president for French Lutherans

National News T h e C a n a d i a n L u t h e r a n is the national publication of Lutheran Church–Canada, published in Winnipeg six times per year: January/ February, March/April, May/June, July/August, September/ October, November/December under the auspices of the Board of Directors (Committee for Communication and Technology).

ISSN #0383-4247 Member: Canadian Church Press Editor: Mathew Block Advertising: Iris Barta District News Layout: Marion Hollinger Subscriptions: $20/yr E-mail: bcs@lutheranchurch.ca

All material and advertising should be in the office of The Canadian Lutheran five weeks prior to publication date. Advertising rate card available upon request.

The Canadian Lutheran 3074 Portage Ave. Winnipeg, MB R3K 0Y2 Telephone: 204-895-3433 FAX: 204-832-3018 E-mail: communications@lutheranchurch.ca Materials published in The Canadian Lutheran, with the exception of Letters to the Editor, news reports, and advertising, receive doctrinal review and approval before publication. Contents of supplements are the responsibility of the organization purchasing the space. ©2016 Lutheran Church–Canada. Reproduction of a single article or column for parish use does not require the permission of The Canadian Lutheran. Such reproductions, however, should credit The Canadian Lutheran as the source.

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Lutherans take home CCP Awards • LCC chaplain’s book tackles demons • Fort McMurray Wildfire: Pray and Give

ABC District

17

Retreats bless ministry wives • Quilting for those in need • Love Life videos now online • Kootenay Zone rallies in Creston

Central District

21

Food for the hungry • Congregation thanks local police • Winter projects provide comfort and care to many

East District

25

Raising funds for Cancer Society • French hymnal supports Lutheran work in Congo • New Partner to Partner program

Mission Update

29

Missionary completes studies, will return to Ukraine

Education Report

30

First calls for seminary graduates • Vicarage/Deaconess placements • Translation to mark Reformation anniversary released Daily Bible Reading

40 41

Supplement

33

Classifieds

S c r i pt u r e t a ke n f ro m t h e H O LY B I B L E , N E W INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.

Spring 2016 Empowered by God’s own mission to save the world, the mission of Concordia Lutheran Mission Society, is to enlist the prayers, gifts, and energies of God’s people in Lutheran Church–Canada to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ wherever God provides opportunity.

THE CANADIAN LUTHERAN May/June 2016

Youth in Canada and Central America to connect under same theme “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs

foundation for my commitment to participate and contribute to the Lutheran Church–Canada as an

national youth gathering and the youth will be encouraged to pray for their brothers and

Nicaragua, and its affiliation with Lutheran Church–Canada.

Children are being fed the Living

3

relive the days of the Reformation

celebrate 500 Years!

faith

Martin Luther Statue, Dresden

On the Trail of Martin Luther 11 Days & 14 meals included

• See the famed Gutenberg Bible at the Gutenberg Museum.

• Travel to Worms where Luther was declared an “outlaw.”

• Visit Wartburg Castle, where Luther translated the New Testament into German.

• Discover St. Thomas Church where Martin Luther preached.

• Embark on a guided tour of Eisleben – site of Luther’s birth and death.

Relax and enjoy with our included sedan service and guaranteed departure dates!

To book contact your local travel agent or call 800.468.5955.

Travel Industry Council of Ontario Reg. # 3206405 BC Reg. # 23337

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THE CANADIAN LUTHERAN May/June 2016

Wartburg Castle

• Delight in a musical performance played on medieval instruments.

• Join a church service in one of the Luther churches in Wittenberg.

• Enjoy a tour and prayer service in the monastery, where Luther lived and studied.

Table Talk

Ashamed of the Gospel

by Mathew Block Editor, The Canadian Lutheran

I

t’s easy to become discouraged these days as Christians living in Canada. The legalization of euthanasia, attempts to ban graduates of a certain Christian university from entering the legal profession, and ever increasing hostility to public expressions of faith are all evidence of rampant secularization. Membership in Christian denominations is down across the spectrum, including in Lutheran Church–Canada, and those attending church services regularly are the exception, not the norm, these days.

You can start to feel pretty small in a world like that. You can be afraid to voice your opinions when hot button topics come up for fear of being labeled strange, old-fashioned, or even a bigot. As a result, maybe we speak a little less openly about our faith. We don’t bother to invite friends to church. We let opportunities to share Christ with our neighbours pass by. Slowly, it becomes easier and easier to simply keep silent and avoid controversy altogether.

The thing we forget is that, by keeping silent, we actually help to accelerate the secularization of our society. It basically means admitting that the majority opinion is right—that religion is something that should be restricted to private life, kept locked away and hidden from the public sphere. As a result, more and more people will go through life never exposed to the Good News of Jesus Christ—never

knowing the love of God for sinful humanity.

St. Paul knew what it was like to be up against a crowd and to face real suffering for preaching the Gospel.

“I have been in prison frequently, been flogged several times, and been exposed to death again and again,” he says. “Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned.... I was in danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers” (2 Corinthians 11:23-26).

He would later suffer additional imprisonments and finally execution by the Roman government.

This was a man who certainly knew societal pressure to keep silent about Christ. And yet what does he say in an earlier epistle? “I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also the Greek” (Romans 1:16). What faith! This is a man facing persecution from both his own people and Gentiles, but rather than hating his oppressors he desires their salvation! The Gospel is so important that he is willing to suffer all, in order that those who persecute him might also know Christ.

You may think that kind of resolve and fortitude is beyond you. But it’s not. For just as it is the power of God at work in the Gospel that saves, so too it is the power of

God that enables you to proclaim His Gospel in tough times. Yes, we are weak. But God is strong. Like St. Paul, we can say, “I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 11:9-10).

The Gospel is indeed the power of God for the salvation of all who believe—including you and me, weak Christians too often ashamed of the Gospel that saves us. God give us courage and resolve to tell the message of Christ to those around us, whatever resistance our culture might throw at us. Because they, like us, need Jesus. They need a Saviour.

So yes, you may be small and weak. And yes, the world may well throw trouble your way. But take heart: Christ has overcome the world! (John 16:33). He will give you the strength you need to stand firm in trying times and to point even your enemies back to Christ.

If God Himself be for me, I may a host defy; For when I pray, before me My foes, confounded, fly.

If Christ, my head and master, Befriend me from above, What foe or what disaster Can drive me from His love?

- Paul Gerhardt (LSB 724) THE CANADIAN LUTHERAN May/June 2016

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When I Doubt

by Mathew Block

T

he thought arises unbidden and unwelcome.

Maybe it comes on quickly. Maybe it comes on slowly—so slowly, in fact, that you never even suspect it’s coming, until one day you wake up and there it is in the back of your mind. But sudden or gradual, the question is real and it strikes to the heart of your faith: do I really believe all this?

There are many kinds of doubt, and we do not all experience the same kinds. A woman watches her husband slowly waste away due to the ravages of cancer, and she asks “Could a good God, if He really exists, let him suffer like this?” A young man reads of the miracles Jesus performed, and asks, “Could such things, so different from my everyday reality, really have happened?”

Another struggles with far darker doubts. She knows she is sinful. She knows the things she has done—terrible things, evil things, things she would never tell another human being. And she hates herself for it. “Maybe there is a God,” she says. “And maybe Jesus really did die on the cross. But even He couldn’t forgive me. I don’t have enough faith to believe that.” And she despairs.

All these doubts could be solved, we think, if God would just appear to us in person and give us some answers. If He would just demonstrate His power, explain why He lets us or our friends suffer, tell us clearly that He loves us, then

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we be could be confident. But He doesn’t show up the way we want. And we’re left wondering: do I believe, or don’t I? We can be afraid to tell others about such doubts when they come. We look at our neighbours sitting in the pew beside us and they don’t seem to have similar problems. So we smile and nod, tell them we’re doing fine. We go through the motions. But on the inside, we’re aching. In our heart of hearts, we hear only the voice of doubt.

Don’t believe it. Don’t believe the voice inside that tells you you’re living a sham. Doubt is a common struggle for many Christians, and God can use even this to draw you closer to Him. You may, in the end, come to the same conclusion that the great Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky did: “It is not as a child that I believe and confess Jesus Christ,” he once wrote. “My hosanna is born of a furnace of doubt.”

Faith in the Midst of Doubt

When faced with the question of how we know if we really believe, we are tempted to look inside—to assume, as our culture does, that what is true must feel so in our hearts. But the Prophet Jeremiah wisely warns us that “the heart is deceitful above all things... Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9).

In a world broken by sin, not even our hearts have escaped unscathed. If we are going to seek answers to our doubts, then, we must look outside of ourselves. We look, in faith, to Christ. We look to the Scriptures which bear witness to Him, which record the miraculous signs He did in the presence of thousands, which record His promises of mercy and compassion to all—even to those who struggle with doubts.

The Gospel of Mark tells the story of a father who brings his terribly ill son to Jesus (Mark 9:14-29). The boy, we are told, is afflicted with “a spirit that makes him mute.” He suffers dreadful seizures which have sometimes thrown him into open fires, burning him, and into bodies of water, nearly drowning him. The father of this child brings him to Jesus where he begs for aid. “If you can do anything,” he cries, “have compassion on us and help us.”

“If you can!” Jesus exclaims, noting the man’s doubt.

“All things are possible for one who believes.”

Faced with the paucity of his own faith, the father replies, “I believe. Help my unbelief!”

Christ subsequently heals the boy—a great miracle, we are told, that even his disciples had not been able to accomplish. But the miracle in this story isn’t just that the boy was healed. It’s that the father, weak in faith and full of doubt, received an answer to his other prayer. “Help my unbelief!” he cried.

And Jesus did.

In this story, the father didn’t know if he really believed in the power of Christ.

But it could have been any other doubt. He could have doubted the mercy of God. He could have doubted the very existence of God. But despite those doubts, there was just something about Christ, something that called out to him to want to believe—to silence his doubts and just believe that Jesus could do something.

And that’s the crux of the matter—the desire to believe is itself an expression of faith. “No one can come to me,” Jesus says, “unless the Father who sent me draws him” (John 6:44). In other words, you can’t want to believe unless God has first kindled faith inside you. Your desire to believe, even in the midst of doubt, is evidence that the Holy Spirit, aflame with the fire of Pentecost, is already at work within you.

That faith may seem weak. It may seem small. But our Saviour has promised that “a bruised reed He will not break and a smoldering wick He will not snuff out”

(Matthew 12:20). It might seem impossible to you that your faith can survive your doubts, but God is in the business of doing the impossible. Faith may be tiny, small as a mustard seed. But mustard seeds grow up to be trees in their own right (Mark 4:30-32).

As a young teen, I struggled sometimes with believing in the forgiveness of God. The gravity of my sin often hit home to me. Would God forgive me yet again? Had I finally gone too far?

In hindsight, my childhood sins were minor compared to some I have since committed. And though I pray to be kept from sin, it is likely I will do worse again before my earthly life is done. But Christ has promised in the Bible forgiveness for those who repent of their sin. He has died for us. And He has risen again to new life, that we too may live. One day we shall be join Him where He is and the shadows of doubt will be destroyed in the brightness of His presence. In that day we shall know him “face to face,” as the Apostle writes. But for now, we “see in a mirror dimly” (1 Corinthians 13:12).

The Tangible You can’t want to believe God unless God has first kindled Nevertheless, God has not left us alone faith inside you. Your desire to in the darkness. We may not see Him yet believe, despite your doubts, in His glory the way we might like, but He is nevertheless present is evidence that the Holy among us. “Where shall go from Your Spirit?”

Spirit, aflame with the fire of IDavid asks, “Or where shall I flee from your Pentecost, is already at work presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, within you.

you are there” (Psalm 139: 7-8).

God is always with us, no matter where we are, no matter how dark our doubts might be. But He knows it can be difficult for us to remember this essential truth, and so He has given us tangible reminders of His presence, places where we can reach out and touch Him. He gives us the Scriptures, the very Word of God. And while the Scriptures do not find their authority in the word of man but rather in the promise of God, it can nevertheless be comforting to know that the historical claims of Scripture are supported by independent sources.

The archaeology of the ancient world, the writings of ancient historians, and the testimony of the martyred apostles all bear witness to these things. In so doing, they increase confidence in the spiritual claims of Scripture: namely, that it is God’s Word (2 Timothy 3:16) and that it can create faith in those who hear (Romans 10:17). When THE CANADIAN LUTHERAN May/June 2016

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you listen to the readings proclaimed in church, when you open your Bible at home, you can be confident that God is there with you, speaking His own words into your life.

We see that in a special way in confession and absolution.

There we are invited by God to speak our sins aloud—to recognize them for what they are—and then hear God’s word of forgiveness, spoken by our pastor on God’s behalf and at His command (Matthew 16:19). God doesn’t leave us wondering whether He really forgives us. He sends someone to tell us directly. It’s a proclamation of love spoken into the very heart of our suffering. It’s a message that helped me when I as a young teenager wrestled with my own doubts about sin. As the pastor says “I forgive you,” God is present, assuring you of His mercy.

And God is with you in baptism too. At that moment, God reaches down and declares you to be His own, just as He did when Jesus was baptized (Matthew 3:13-17). The Father claims you as His child. The Holy Spirit descends upon you.

You die with Christ beneath the water and rise again to new life in Him (Romans 6:4). And that gift of faith is always there, ready to be turned to again, ready to be seized anew by the power of the Holy Spirit at work in you.

Finally, God is with you in the sacrament of the altar.

In that place, Christ invites you, as He once invited a doubting Thomas, to reach out and touch God—and not only to touch, but to actually take God’s body and blood into yourself. In the Old Testament, the Israelites were forbidden to eat meat that still had blood in it “because the life of the animal is in the blood” (Leviticus 17:11). But in the New Testament, God invites us to eat His own flesh and drink His own blood—to take God’s life into ourselves.

Christ becomes part of you, renewing you, and giving you strength to resist the temptation to give in to doubt.

In all these places—the words of Scriptures, the proclamation of forgiveness, the waters of baptism, the bread and wine of holy communion—God comes to you, creating and sustaining faith. For those who have ever struggled with doubts, like me, the Word and Sacraments are a blessed gift.

They are a refuge and a hiding place in the storm. If my heart tells me “you don’t really believe” or “you don’t have a strong enough faith,” I can counter: I have been baptized.

I am fed with God’s holy body and blood. God speaks to me in His Holy Word and sends pastors to proclaim my forgiveness clearly and audibly. Through these things He has promised to create and sustain faith. And His promise is stronger than the feelings of my heart—stronger than any doubts this world or the devil can throw at me.

“Help my unbelief!” we pray. In the Word and Sacraments, God does.

If you struggle with doubts of any kind, please share them with your pastor. God has called him to be a shepherd and spiritual support for you. He can pray with you and for you, and can point you to resources that might help you as you wrestle with your doubts.

Mathew Block is editor of The Canadian Lutheran and communications manager for Lutheran Church–Canada. He also serves as editor for the International Lutheran Council.

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THE CANADIAN LUTHERAN May/June 2016

Why I am

NOT an Atheist

by Bill Anderson

I

always wanted to be an atheist. I didn’t grow up in a Christian home. I grew up in a working class Scottish home with many benefits and much happiness! No philosophy was more drilled into me than this: Be your own man. Stand on your own two feet. Do your own thinking. And don’t let anyone influence you—no matter who they are. Being an atheist is the ultimate Scottish working class philosophy.

When I got to my mid-teens, I started to philosophize about many things more seriously. I especially tried to figure out how I could rationally reject any belief in God. But I got stuck. Even my limited knowledge of the universe led me to a firm conclusion: the universe is extremely complex and delicately balanced. It could not have just “happened” by itself through numerous coincidences. The idea seemed irrational, and I could not accept it intellectually.

Of course, at the time, I didn’t know that this kind of argument is known as the “Teleological Argument from Design.” But all these years later, this argument—that the complexity of the universe demands a Creator—

remains, in my view, the most powerful argument for the existence of God. The “Cosmological Argument” is another idea that forced me to reject atheism. Put simply, this is the idea that for every effect there is a cause. And since the universe exists—an effect—then there must also be a cause—a First Cause, as it were. A Creator.

I know that both of these arguments have been questioned by some in recent decades. And I don’t pretend that my version of these arguments are as sophisticated as say, those of Professor Richard Swinburne of Oxford University, who recently served as keynote speaker at the conference “Atheism and the Christian Faith” at Concordia University of Edmonton (May 6-7, 2016). But they are nevertheless substantial arguments, so forceful that I cannot reject them on rational grounds.

Philosophical arguments were not enough on their own to make me become a Christian, however. You can’t argue a person into Heaven. Once I accepted the existence of some god, the question for me then became: THE CANADIAN LUTHERAN May/June 2016

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“Okay, now what?” There must be some kind of creator god, I reasoned, but that doesn’t mean he is personally interested in me.

I believed this for a few different reasons: the problems of evil and suffering, for example, (“Why do bad things happen?”), and what I considered unanswered prayers in my own life. It took a “Damascus Road” conversion experience on a construction site before I finally “saw the light.” Jesus explains in John 3 that a person must be ‘born from above’ before they can come to faith—that is to say, faith itself is created by the work of God’s Holy Spirit.

That’s not the end of the story, of course.

My faith has been tested many times over the past 36 years that I’ve been a Christian. As a pastor, I’ve never really “fit in” with the church, seminaries or denominational offices. Moreover, I did my PhD under the atheist biblical scholar Robert Carroll at the University of Glasgow in Scotland. I learned a great deal from him and I am eternally grateful to God for him (though he wouldn’t view it that way, of course).

As a professor, a recurring question I ask my students is this: “When the atheist reads the Bible, they are objective—true or false?” My response is that it’s “so false I can’t even begin to tell you”! Atheists—like you, me, and all human beings—have baggage. We are often prisoners of our emotions with political agendas too, and these things can skew our interpretations of texts and lead to Confirmation Bias. That’s why it’s so important to try to keep our emotions out of it and to employ objective protocols when doing academics—especially in biblical studies.

Because if Christianity isn’t objectively true, then I want out: it’s not worth the hassle and humiliation in today’s society.

The title of my article is a pun on Bertrand Russell’s classic treatise on atheism entitled “Why I am Not a Christian.” But I think Andy Partridge makes similar criticisms more concisely and powerfully in the song “Dear God.” In both works the usual suspects are rounded up as insurmountable problems to theism and the Christian faith: namely the problem of evil, of the suffering of innocent people, and questions of theodicy (“Is God fair?”). The concerns of Russell and others can be summed up something like this: 1) God is said to be all-loving; and 2) God is said to be all-powerful. But 3) because evil exists, there

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cannot be a perfectly good, all-loving and allpowerful God. I am empathetic to these kinds of questions.

But existence, reality, and theology are far more complex than such a simplistic and reductionistic syllogism. Still, as a Ph.D. in Old Testament theology, I know that there aren’t easy answers to these genuine questions. As a pastor, I understand the practice of “Lived Theodicy.” I agree with the atheist’s legitimate complaints—that there is suffering and that it is hard. Rather than rationalizing away people’s pain and suffering, I instead come alongside them and empathize with them. I also know from the Book of Job and the example of Jesus that our sufferings are meaningful and purposeful. Indeed, all my sufferings in life have given me the experience and empathy to minister to people deeply.

Having said all that, my faith is not based on what I do not know; I don’t believe in blind faith. I know that I don’t know much as a human being vis-à-vis an all-knowing, wise God. So it is reasonable to put my questions into suspension until I am received into the presence of the Absolute—the One who knows all answers.

My Christian faith is based on what I do know about God: I know that there is a Creator, and that the evidence of the universe supports the “Three O’s of Theology Proper”—namely, that God is omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent. The Three O’s are also reasonable grounds for the belief in miracles. I know from theology that God is holy (perfectly moral) and therefore cannot be unjust or unfair. I know that the Gospels are eyewitness historical documents as verified by archaeology (contrary to the certain trendy documentaries to the opposite that are often based on conspiracy theories).

I know that God became human in the form of Jesus and that the Gospels documented His good person, life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension for a sinful human race. This eyewitness testimony is a substantial basis for Christian faith. And it is why, in the end, I am not an atheist, and why I am a Christian.

Rev. Dr. Bill Anderson is Professor of Religious Studies at Concordia University of Edmonton. He is also the Director of the Canadian Centre for Scholarship and the Christian Faith.

Re-Forming Our Church

Restructuring Update Preparing for the Next Phase: Concrete Recommendations

W

ork on Lutheran Church–Canada’s restructuring process has continued in recent months, with Phase 2 of the two-year process consisting of a nation-wide sharing of the LCC National Survey results.

As of early June, more than 1,500 people have read the news story announcing the results via CanadianLutheran.ca, with more than 700 of these downloading the full 800-page survey results and comments. Approximately 1,000 people have read the Commission on Constitutional Matters and Structure’s (CCMS) summary document “Insights on the Survey for Discussion,” while more than 500 people have downloaded the CCMS’ detailed analysis. These numbers do not include, of course, those who have read the news via the physical copy of the magazine, nor those who have accessed the information via district and circuit discussions that have taken place across the country.

Representatives of the Commission on Constitutional Matters and Structure have met with Boards of Directors and circuit counsellors in all three districts, representatives of both seminaries, and Church Workers Conferences in the East District and ABC District. Circuit counsellors received training in presenting the survey results in their circuits.

The CCMS is reviewing the Interim Assessment prepared by the consultant, letters from the District Boards, and numerous reports from circuit gatherings in order to prepare for Phase 3: the development of

recommendations for restructuring. The CCMS and LCC’s Board of Directors plan to meet jointly on June 27, with the CCMS meeting privately for an additional two days. Their ultimate recommendations will be strongly influenced by the survey results and subsequent discussion and responses from the Districts and circuits. It is expected their recommendations will include several structural suggestions that will require more input from the members of Synod. The CCMS plans to share the recommendations in early July.

Phase 4 is the six-month Synod-wide discussion and response to the CCMS’ Recommendations. During this period from July to December, Commission re p re s e n t a t i ve s w i l l m e e t w i t h D i s t r i c t a n d seminary Boards of Directors, circuit counsellor and representatives of auxiliaries and Listed Service Organizations. Those district and circuit discussions will result in the final formulation of the proposed structure documented in a revised Handbook and further review and the 2017 Convention for a final decision.

For more information on the seven-step process for the restructuring of Lutheran Church–Canada, visit: www.canadianlutheran.ca/a-restructuring-roadmaplcc-seeks-structure-for-the-next-generation/.

To see results of the LCC National Survey and the CCMS’ analysis of that survey, visit www. canadianlutheran.ca/restructuring-update-surveyresults-released/.

THE CANADIAN LUTHERAN May/June 2016

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International News www.canadianlutheran.ca

Dialogue between Lutherans and Roman Catholics continues Neumann from a RomanC a t h o l i c p e r s p e c t i v e, and by Rev. Dr. C o l l ve r f ro m a Lutheran p e r s p e c t i v e.

It was noted that the terminology on sacrifice was used in a complex manner already in the 16th c e n t u r y, a n d ambiguously at times as well.

Additionally, changes in the understanding o f w h a t Roman Catholic and Lutheran delegates to the ILC-PCPCU meetings “sacrifice” in May 2016. m e a n s , GERMANY - On May 6-7, 2016 the occurred—especially in the RomanDialogue Group of the International Catholic camp—before the Second Lutheran Council (ILC) and the Vatican Council and beyond. The Pontifical Council for Promoting Dialogue Group also discussed Christian Unity (PCPCU) met for issues like “opus operatum,” the second time. The venue was the commemoration and representation Augustinian Monastery at Erfurt, of Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross, Germany. faith and the receiving of the As agreed upon at the first sacramental gift, the Eucharistic meeting, held in Oberursel, Prayer, and the connection between Germany in October 2015, the the celebration of the Lord’s Supper chief topic was the Sacrifice of the with the whole of the liturgy.

Mass. Presentations were given Fo r t h e n ex t m e e t i n g , t h e on Articles 24 of the Augsburg Dialogue Group established confession and its Apology by Dr. working groups to address: a)

how Lutheran liturgies addressed the concept of sacrifice and the sacrifice (of the Mass) from a Roman Catholic perspective,and how the concept has developed in Roman Catholic liturgies since the 16th century as seen from a Lutheran perspective, b) an evaluation of Lutheran-Roman Catholic dialogue on the theme of the Eucharist and the theology of the Lord’s Supper over the last half century, and c) a historical survey of developments and changes in the interpretation of the sacrificial dimension of the Lord’s Supper that affect how each side understands its own confession and that of its dialogue partner.

D e l e g a t e s o n t h e Ro m a n C a t h o l i c s i d e we re D r. J o s e f Freitag (Erfurt, Germany) Dr. Grant Kaplan (Mainz, Germany/ St. Louis, USA), Dr. Burkhard Neumann (Paderborn, Germany) and Fr. Dr. Augustinus Sander (Maria Laach, Germany). Delegates on the Lutheran side were Rev. Dr. Albert Collver III (St. Louis, USA), Dr. Werner Klän (Oberursel, Germany) Dr. John Stephenson (St. Catharines, Canada), Dr. Roland Ziegler (Ft. Wayne, USA).

Unable to attend the meeting were Lutheran delegate Dr. Gerson Linden (Sao Leopoldo, Brazil) and Roman Catholic delegate Dr. Wolfgang Thoenissen (Paderborn, Germany).

GARY R. SCHMIDT President

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THE CANADIAN LUTHERAN May/June 2016

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International News www.canadianlutheran.ca

Nordic churches discuss fellowship with English/German Lutherans FINLAND - Representatives of the Communion of Nordic Lutheran Dioceses began church fellowship talks with the Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church (SELK) of Germany and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in England (ELCE) during meetings April 13-14, 2016 in Helsinki, Finland. The Nordic Lutheran Dioceses officially formed in 2015, and is composed of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland, the Mission Province of Sweden, and the Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of Norway.

These three churches have attempted to operate within the confines of their respective national church bodies, but have increasingly come into conflict with them as the national churches have become increasingly liberal. The bishops and almost all clergy associated with the Dioceses have been defrocked by their national church bodies for their confessional stance.

Planning for these talks has taken three years and was first only envisioned to include the ELCE and the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland. But as discussions progressed, it was considered prudent to include the other two Nordic Dioceses as well as the SELK so that the scope and breadth of these talks could be increased.

The discussions were held at the Finnish Diocese’s Koinonia Centre in Helsinki. Meetings began with worship and discussion soon followed on the nature and identity of the Church. Each church body presented their constitution and spoke about how the Lutheran Confessions shape their selfunderstanding and ecclesiastical identities. Despite the influence of national and historic influences on the wording and structures of their constitutions, it was agreed that a clear and common understanding, founded upon the Lutheran Confessions, existed between the Nordic Missions Dioceses, the SELK, and the ELCE. The definition of

Participants at the April meeting between the SELK, the ELCE, and the Nordic Lutheran Dioceses.

“free” and “independent” churches were discussed and clarified, and the Nordic Dioceses made it clear that they were independent of all national church structures, governance, and practices.

The two day conference discussed twelve other topics as well, including the doctrine of Holy Scripture, the Holy Trinity, the person and work of the Son of God, the person and work of the holy Spirit, justification and sanctification, the end times, and ecumenical relations with other churches, both inside and outside Lutheranism. It was agreed these discussions were very helpful and that there was substantial agreement on these doctrines among all five churches.

The area that garnered most discussion was on the subject of the church and church structure. The Nordic Mission Dioceses and the SELK are episcopal, meaning they have bishops and a more centralised church structure. The ELCE, meanwhile, is more congregational and does not have a bishop. Dialogue here led to further discussions on the Office of the Holy Ministry. All participants agreed that while the particular form and structure of a church is important, what is ultimately important is how

that structure assists the church to proclaim the Gospel and administer the sacraments as she carries out Christ’s mission in the world.

THE CANADIAN LUTHERAN May/June 2016

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International News www.canadianlutheran.ca

French Lutherans elect new president

Officers of the Evangelical Lutheran Church–Synod of France are installed. Officers from left to right are: Andrianhery Rakotoniaina (Treasurer), Rev. Philippe Volff (Vice-President), Rev. Martin Jautzy (President), and Rev. David Maffett (Secretary). (Photo: Eric Préaud).

“President Martin Jautzy was elected president with a clear majority,” noted outgoing President Roger Jones. “Our church will greatly benefit from his pastoral qualities.”

“It was a great privilege for me to serve our Church the last four years,” President Jones continued, noting his ability to work only part-time in recent years following a serious stroke in 2014. He expressed thanks for the prayers of the international Lutheran community during his recovery.

“I thank you for your support and well-wishes which were a great encouragement. With God’s blessings, I am able to continue to serve.”

Also elected during the convention was Rev. David Maffett, who will serve the ELCSF as Secretary of the Synodical Board.

Rev. Philippe Volff and Andrianhery Rakotoniaina were reelected to serve as Vice-President and Treasurer of the synod respectively.

FRANCE - Representatives of the Evangelical Lutheran Church– Synod of France (Église Évangélique Luthérienne–Synode de France – EELSF) held their synodical convention May 6-8, 2016 in Châtenay-Malabry, during which the

church elected Rev. Martin Jautzy as their new President.

President Jautzy serves as pastor at Paroisse de Sion in Schilldersdor, Alsace. Prior to his election as synodical President, he served as a regional president.

Polish Lutherans reject female ordination

Opposition as Church of Norway approves same-sex marriage

POLAND - The Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Poland (ECACP) has rejected opening ordination to women, after a vote on the issue was defeated during the 2016 Spring Synod of the Church in Warsaw.

In total, 38 people voted in favour of the change and 26 voted against it, with four abstentions. According to the church’s bylaws, altering this aspect of church teaching in the Polish church would have required a 2/3 majority vote—a target missed by eight votes.

With approximately 60,000 members, the ECACP is Poland’s largest Protestant church. It is a member church of the LWF, though it also has ties to The Lutheran Church— Missouri Synod.

NORWAY - On April 11, 2016, the Bishops’ Conference of the Church of Norway (CN) moved to approve the marriage of same-sex couples, creating a liturgy to allow such weddings to take place in the church. The decision came in a 88-32 vote, but there are still many expressing their objection to the change in the church’s teaching on marriage.

Earlier votes on the subject of same-sex marriage had been rejected, most recently in 2014. The Church of Norway is the state church of Norway, and is a member of the LWF. It has allowed the ordination of practicing homosexuals since 2007, straining relations in the church. “[The newly-adopted teaching on marriage] is contrary to the Bible and gathered ecclesiastical and ecumenical

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THE CANADIAN LUTHERAN May/June 2016

tradition,” wrote Rev. Dag Øivind Østereng following the vote. “To abolish man/woman as the basic unit in marriage is contrary to God’s revealed will and natural law that can be discerned in creation itself. The Church has bowed herself before a gender ideology which is in direct violation of the Bible’s word and to what I as a pastor am committed.” Rev. Østereng is a prominent figure in the CN’s confessional wing, having been a member of the group Carissimi.

Rev. Østereng has subsequently announced his resignation from the CN. Just before the vote, 200 priests released a Declaration on the Ecclesial Situation expressing doubt about their continued participation in the Church of Norway if same-sex marriage were to be approved.

National News www.canadianlutheran.ca

Lutherans take home awards at 2016 Canadian Church Press Awards

CANADA - The 2016 Canadian C h u rc h P re s s ( C C P ) awa rd s ceremony was held April 29, 2016 in Toronto, and Lutheran Church– Canada (LCC) members received three awards.

Rev. Dr. Edward Kettner’s article “Martin Luther: Father of the Reformation” (The Canadian Lutheran - September/October 2015) received second place in the Biographical Profile – Magazine category. “This is a clear, beautifully structured, and elegantly written piece on the life and works of Martin

Luther,” the CCP judge wrote in his comments.

“Edward Kettner weaves facts about Luther’s scholarship, brushes with death, and his selfless life in an Augustinian order, as well as where he began to develop his belief in God’s forgiveness of sin in the blood of Christ. What particularly works in this article is the balance between descriptions of Luther’s life as a man and father, and his dedication to Christ.”

Also taking home an award was Mathew Block, editor of The Canadian Lutheran. Block received second place in the Letter from the Editor – Magazine category for his article “Lord, to Whom Shall We

Go?” (January/February 2015).

“This piece combines good writing with glimpses of the humanity and faith of the author,” said the judge.

“The writing leads the reader to the place where the editor makes his announcement. Keeps the reader’s interest all the way.”

Tapestry, the national magazine of Lutheran Women’s Missionary League–Canada (an auxiliary of LCC) also received an award. Dr. Leah Block’s article “Medicine for the Weak” (Winter 2015) received third place in the category of Personal Reflection/First Person Account – Circulation Under 10,000 category.

“A thoughtful and perceptive examination of the nature of communion and the idea behind the sacraments as medicine and healing,” the judge wrote. “The author displays a nice sense of mixing faith and medicine which has great potential for even more powerful writing.”

LCC chaplain’s new book tackles demons CANADA - Rev. Dr. (Maj.) Harold Ristau has published a new book entitled My First Exorcism: What the Devil Taught a Lutheran Pastor about Counter-Cultural Spirituality.

While written primarily for clergy, the book will also be of interest to laypeople. In it, Dr. Ristau discusses the nature of demonic activity, drawing on his personal experience with the ministry of exorcism. “His reflections offer a springboard intended to stimulate critical thinking, challenge metaphysical presuppositions, and inspire a belated conversation on a topic that has traditionally been avoided, not because of a lack of empirical evidence, but due to the fear that it incites inside of us,” the book notes. “Yet if the claims of the historic Church are true—that demons do in fact exist and seek our destruction—then an honest examination of the phenomenon, and its impact on the ways in which

we live and reason, is an essential endeavor for any practitioner of the ministry of deliverance.”

The book features a foreword by noted Australian theologian John W. Kleinig. “Ristau is to be commended for his sober, pragmatic approach to an issue that is all too often treated sensationally,” Dr. Kleinig writes. “By telling his story and sharing his personal reflections on its significance, Ristau encourages all pastors and faithful Christians to be vigilant against the devil in all his many guises and to resist him by their faith in Jesus.”

Royalties for sales of the book will go to Wounded Warriors Canada.

The book is published by Wipf and Stock, and you can read an excerpt on Amazon.

Dr. Ristau is a Lutheran Church– Canada chaplain with the Canadian Armed Forces. He is also the author of At Peace with War: A Chaplain’s

Meditations from Afghanistan and Understanding Martin Luther’s Demonological Rhetoric in His Treatise Against the Heavenly Prophets (1525).

THE CANADIAN LUTHERAN May/June 2016

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National News www.canadianlutheran.ca

Fort McMurray Wildfire: Pray and Give McMurray Wildfire Relief.”

- By calling C LW R a t 1.800.661.2597 (locally at 204.694.5602) to donate by credit card.

B y sending a cheque made payable to C LW R a n d Residents flee wildfire in Fort McMurray, Alberta. (Photo: DarrenRD. CC BYmailed to SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=48561288).

C LW R , 6 0 0 CANADA – Lutheran Church– 177 Lombard Avenue, Winnipeg, Canada (LCC) joined Canadian MB R3B 0W5. Please indicate that Lutheran World Relief (CLWR) you wish to contribute to “Fort in issuing an appeal for prayers McMurray Wildfire Relief.” and financial support for all “Psalm 46 talks about the faith who have suffered loss due to God’s people hold in times like the wildfires striking northern this,” explains Rev. Nolan Astley, Alberta, especially residents of LCC’s Interim Pastoral Leader for Fort McMurray. An estimated Alberta and British Columbia.

88,000 people were forced to “Even though the earth gives way flee the city in early May in the and the mountains fall into the heart face of a devastating fire. Entire of the sea and fires rage, the Lord neighbourhoods were decimated.

Almighty is with us. ‘There is a river “God’s Word teaches, ‘Rejoice whose streams make glad the city of with those who rejoice; weep God’ (Psalm 46:4). In times like this with those who weep’ (Romans as Christian people we are called to 12:15),” President Robert Bugbee of be that river, bringing God’s love Lutheran Church–Canada noted at and care to those who have been the time. “I’m asking the members deeply affected by this disaster.” of Synod’s family across the land The church is also working to enter into the sorrows of people to ensure continued pastoral in Fort McMurray, to name those support for those affected by the troubles in your prayers, and to wildfires in the weeks and months consider how you might be able to come. Fort McMurray is home to reinforce your prayers with to Trinity Lutheran Church, a LCC concrete, loving action. Our friends congregation currently without at Canadian Lutheran World Relief a pastor. “We are making plans are asking Lutherans across Canada to have pastors on location when to contribute toward an emergency the people return so that they can fund, and I want to encourage provide pastoral care to church our Lutheran Church-Canada members and to other residents of congregations to take part in it as the community,” noted ABC District the Lord enables you.”

President Glenn Schaeffer. “When You can support CLWR’s work: people return home many will be - By making a designated seeking prayer, spiritual care, and offering donation through any LCC counsel rooted in God’s Word. congregation.

We plan to be present in the days, - By giving online at “Fort weeks, and months ahead.”

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THE CANADIAN LUTHERAN May/June 2016

HAVE YOUR SAY! The Canadian L u t h e r a n welcomes letters to the editor on articles published in the magazine.

S e n d s u b m i s s i o n s to communications@ lutheranchurch.ca with “Letter to the editor” in the subject line.

Letters to the editor may also be sent in hard copy to the following address: The Canadian Lutheran c/o Lutheran Church– Canada 3074 Portage Avenue Winnipeg, MB R3K 0Y2

ADVERTISE HERE! The Canadian Lutheran sells advertising space to help offset the cost of printing and shipping the magazine to congregations and subscribers.

Classified space is sold at $0.45 per word, minimum 50 words ($22.50).

To purchase classified space, or to receive a rate card for other advertising opportunities with The Canadian Lutheran, please email pres_sec@ lutheranchurch.ca or call 1-800-588-4226.

ABC District News Alberta Alberta and and British British Columbia Columbia

Retreats bless district ministry wives ALBERTA/BRITISH COLUMBIA - “A relaxing time of fellowship and learning.” “It had a wonderful “family” feeling—all sisters in Christ.” These were some of the comments about the third annual retreats for ministry wives in the ABC District. In total, twenty-seven women of all ages and stages of life gathered for a time of renewal and refreshment at Camp Hope in Hope, B.C. from April 29May 1, and at the Canadian Lutheran Bible Institute (CLBI) in Camrose, Alberta, from May 13-15.

Maria Neitzel of Winnipeg helped the women learn how their relationships in their families of origin affect their relationships in their current families. There were tears, hugs, laughter, and reflection as the women worked through their thoughts about these relationships.

Pastor Harry Haberstock, the retreat chaplain from Creston, BC, led a beautiful worship service that included Holy Communion and an individual time of blessing for each woman.

The ministry wives left feeling blessed, and covered in the grace of God, who can bring something good out of something difficult!

Alberta Ministry Wives Retreat at Canadian Lutheran Bible Institute (Camrose, Alberta). Back row: Joyce Lobitz (Shepherd of the Valley, Canmore), Denise Hellwege (Edmonton), Pastor Harry Haberstock (chaplain, Creston BC), Tamara Avery and Becky Ziprick (Bethel, Sherwood Park), Maria Neitzel (facilitator, Winnipeg). Middle row: Janice Kraemer (Edmonton), Joyce Magnus (Redeemer, Kitimat BC), Nancy Fritsche (All Saints, Edmonton), Emerald Schoepp (Edmonton), Karen Kubke (St. John’s, Beachcorner), Sharon Marshall (Immanuel, Tomahawk).

Front row: Marion Timm (Concordia Seminary, Edmonton), Pat Howard (Christ, Markerville), Deanna Hautz (Hope, Port Coquitlam BC), Michelle Gamble (Grace, Drumheller).

ABC District seeking editor ALBERTA/BRITISH COLUMBIA – The Alberta-British Columbia District continues to seek an editor for the ABC District News section in The Canadian Lutheran. Those interested in volunteering for this unpaid position are invited to contact Janice Ruf, Senior Manager of District Services at jruf@lccabc.ca.

In the meantime, please send submissions for the ABC District News section to The Canadian Lutheran’s editor Mathew Block at communications@lutheranchurch.ca

B.C. Ministry Wives Retreat at Camp Hope (Hope, B.C.). Back row: Pastor Harry Haberstock (Creston), Cindy Lunderby (St. Paul’s, Chilliwack), Marilyn Maher (Abbotsford), Marilee Schelp (Surrey), Maria Neitzel (Winnipeg), Cris Govaski (St. Luke, Surrey), Ursula Rink (Bethlehem, Vancouver). Middle row: Ruth Miller (White Rock, White Rock), Nadie Mushumanski (Armstrong), Freda Reisdorf (Langley), Ruth Hilderman (Surrey), Deanna Hautz (Hope, Port Coquitlam). Front row: Ana Wilch (Zhang) (Trinity, Richmond), Donna Tufts (St. John’s, Vernon), Diane Vint (Abbotsford)

The May/June 2016 1 THE Canadian CANADIAN LLutheran UTHERAN May/June 2016 17

ABC District News Alberta Alberta and and British British Columbia Columbia

Reflections from the Interim Pastoral Leader

Are you filled with the Holy Spirit?

Like me, you may have some Christian friends who talk a great deal about being filled with the Holy Spirit. Though they do not mean to sound arrogant, they often come across as if they think themselves to be a cut above the ordinary Christian. They speak with confidence about their faith, they can pray easily even in a crowd, and they very much want everyone to share the same indwelling of the Spirit that animates their lives.

If you have encountered people like that, do not despair! You are just as filled with the Holy Spirit as they are, even if you may not feel it or are not able to exude the same level of confidence about your faith as they do.

The Holy Spirit comes not to focus us upon our own abilities or our own faithfulness, but instead to fill us with Christ. The work of the Holy Spirit is simply to thrill us with Christ, to infect us with an enthusiasm for all that Christ can do for people and for world to change things, to renew institutions and to salvage lives. The Holy Spirit is all about Christ. That same centrality of Christ has united all great church leaders from the Gospel writers two thousand years ago to this day. More than anything else they cared that Jesus Christ be preached and believed. That is exactly what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit! As St. Paul reminded the Corinthians, “What we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord” (2 Corinthians 4:5).

And again: “For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles” (1 Corinthians 1:22-23).

Years ago folks came to me to complain about my preaching. I was eager to hear what they had to say. “Pastor, we don’t really like your sermons,” they said. “I don’t like most of them either,’ was my first response, “They are not often as good as they could be, what is your concern?” “Well,” one of them said, “your sermons are always about

2 The Canadian Lutheran May/June 2016 18 THE CANADIAN LUTHERAN May/June 2016

Jesus. When are you going to preach about more practical things, like money management and family relationships, like they do at the community church we’ve been attending these past few weeks.

That church seems to be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

For a moment or two I was not sure what to say. Reflecting back on that now I have come to see such desires are nothing less than a manifestation of the antichrist. In its own way the desire to focus our preaching and teaching on felt needs or topics we want to hear about is denying Christ. That which denies Christ, no matter how well intended it might be, is antichrist (1 John 2:22).

Remember Ed McMahon? As Ed was to Johnny Carson, so the Holy Spirit is to Christ. The relationship is one of deference, a shyness not of self-centeredness, but of other-centeredness. The Holy Spirit always points us to Christ. “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for He will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that He will take what is mine and declare it to you” (John 16:12-15).

The work of the Holy Spirit is the honoring of Jesus Christ. We are not necessarily in the presence of the Holy Spirit when there is a great deal of talk about the Holy Spirit. But when we are honoring Jesus Christ by hearing His Word, coming to His table and living in the baptism He gives us, we can be sure we are in the presence of the Holy Spirit—indeed, we are filled with the Holy Spirit!

As we begin this Pentecost season in the church, be assured, in Christ alone you are filled with the Spirit.

Rev. Nolan Astley

ABC District News News ABC District Alberta and and British British Columbia Columbia Alberta

Quilting for those in need VERNON, B.C. – The Mission Quilters of St. John’s Lutheran Evangelical Church (Vernon, B.C.) completed more than 100 quilts which they have shipped to Canadian Lutheran World Relief’s headquarters in Winnipeg.

The quilters then turned their attention to the victims of the Fort MacMurray wildfire, at the suggestion of Nadie Mushumanskis.

From May 9-10, ladies and friends came to quilt together, finishing twelve quilts, with many more to be completed.

Submitted by Rosemarie Schwabe, Co-ordinator.

Love Life conference videos online

Some of the quilters, left to right: Nadie Mushumanski, Donna Smith, Bev Ashbough. Ruth Buchanan, Linda Berhardt, Elaine Brew, Lorna Rosnau, Shirley Myrfield.

Mission service make for a busy winter

Dr. Simon Sheh speaks at the 2015 Love Life Conference.

ONLINE - Videos from the 2015 Love Life Conference are now available online.

The theme for the 2015 conference was “Fix Your Eyes: Remorse and Confusion in a Sexualized World,” Dr. Simon Sheh, Mark Elvin, and Jennifer Hazin served as presenters for the event, speaking respectively on “It Doesn’t Have to Be this Way: A Message on Facing Shame,” “Biblical View of Sexuality vs.

Cultural Attitudes and Narratives,” and “eXposed: The Naked Truth about Porn.” The event took place

CRANBROOK, B.C. - The Mt Zion ladies were busy over the winter months with mission projects.Six boxes containing 32 quilts, six baby quilts, 37 knitted baby vests, 10 knitted baby sets and seven little girl dresses were shipped to CLWR in Winnipeg for distribution.

On April 6 seven ladies met for morning coffee and quilt tying. All our mission projects were blessed and dedicated on Sunday, April 10. Submitted by Marilyn Flemming. (l to r): Linda Riffle, Sharon Beloin, Lil McKay, Sharon Fantuz, Patti Pascusso, Marilyn Flemming, Irene Kaun (photographer)

October 31, 2015 at Concordia University of Edmonton.

Find video from the conference here: https://www.youtube.com/ channel/UCXjeb7p7FEynGcAUtg8Bhw. You can find videos from the 2015 conference as well as earlier

years at: http://lovelife.lccabc.ca/ previous-conferences.html.

The Love Life conference is an annual event sponsored by Lutherans for Life–Canada and the Alberta– British Columbia District.

The May/June2016 201619 3 THE Canadian CANADIAN LLutheran UTHERAN May/June

ABC ABC District News Alberta and and British British Columbia Columbia Alberta

Kootenay Zone rallies in Creston CRESTON, B.C. the upcoming LWMLC - The Lutheran district convention, in Women’s Missionary Abbotsford, B.C .in League– Canada’s July.

Kootenay Zone met at The snacks and Redeemer Lutheran meals, provided by Church, April 30, the Ladies in Creston 2016, for their fall were also enjoyed by rally. Participating all. The afternoon in the Service of event concluded with a Holy Communion “Springtime Devotion” were pastors Rev. and singing “Till We Douglas Stapleton Meet Again.”

(Redeemer Lutheran T h e Ko o t e n a y Church, Creston, Zone’s next Rally will B.C.) and Rev. David take place October Morton (Mount Zion 1, 2016 at Mt. Zion Lutheran Church, Lutheran Church in Cranbrook B.C.) Rev. Douglas Stapleton and Rev. David Morton participate in the Kootenay Zone Cranbrook, B.C. Dieter Steinruck LWMLC rally. served as organist for the event. The theme was “Apart importance of reading, praying, From Me, You Can Do Nothing.” meditation and contemplation.

Klara Gross, local LWMLC society Pauline Huth, LWMLC President president, welcomed twenty-two for Alberta-British Columbia, and people to the event. A Bible study her husband, Robert, participated entitled “Step by Step Through in the event, presenting on the Today’s Scriptures” was led by mission of Martin and Joan Weber the pastors. “Make this time an of Lutheran Bible Translators in offering to God, commending to Canada (who serve in Cameroon).

Him all your worries, obligations Pauline and Robert spoke about their and hassles of the day (they will still experience in Cameroon, where they be there when you finish, or they spent a month in 2011-2012. will have been resolved through In other business, Elizabeth your prayer),” they encouraged.

D o m ke wa s re - e l e c t e d Z o n e “Remember that the Bible was President. Pauline Huth also written for us but not to us. God discussed the preliminary stages of Pauline and Robert Huth at the Kootenay chose to reveal his Word to ancient restructuring which are taking place Zone rally. people. Sacred Scripture was written in the Lutheran Women’s Missionary Visit the ABC District website at for you.” Participants discussed the League–Canada. She also discussed www.lccabc.ca

District Creditors meeting update ONLINE – Minutes from the May 14, 2016 District Creditors meeting have been posted online by the Monitor. The meeting was adjourned until June 10, 2016. The Amended Final Notice regarding the adjourned District Creditors meeting and the Monitor’s nineteenth report have all been posted on the Deloitte website.

Minutes from the June 10, 2016

meeting are scheduled to be posted online by June 20, 2016.

For more information, see the website of the court appointed monitor Deloitte here: http://www. insolvencies.deloitte.ca/en-ca/Pages/ lutheran_church_canada_the_ alberta_british_columbia_district_ et_al.aspx?searchpage=SearchInsolvencies.aspx.

4 The Canadian Lutheran May/June 2016 20 THE CANADIAN LUTHERAN May/June 2016

Send news, photos, articles and announcements six weeks prior to publication month. communications@ lutheranchurch.ca

Next deadline: July 15, 2016

Central District District News Central News

Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Manitoba, NW NW Ontario Ontario Elaine Elaine Stanfel, Stanfel, editor editor

Food for the hungry

Water, water everywhere

WINNIPEG - For years, members of Lutheran Church of the Redeemer have followed a tradition of collecting a special Christmas offering designated for a particular cause.

In 2014, the congregation created more than 30 simple food hampers in black Safeway bags which were delivered to feed needy mouths at a local Manitoba Low Income housing unit. In 2015, upon contact made by Rev. Todd Hoeffs, one public school received four 20-lb turkeys for their own school hamper program delivered to needy families by their principal.

A total of four other hampers were also prepared: one for a need located in the Redeemer community; one for sister church, Oromo Christian Mission, which worships in Redeemer’s sanctuary Sunday afternoons; and two for needy families attending a school across the street from the parish. The hampers were arranged through leadership of two of congregation members, with the donations of dollars as well as specific food items from the congregation. The goal was to offer good, nutritious food to families in size from 3 to 6 people, with simple Christmas gifts and personal items which help make the Christmas season enjoyable. In good Lutheran style, Portals of Prayer devotionals and church information were also inserted into the hampers.

S i n c e t h i s p ro j e c t wa s s o successful and involved most of the congregation in one way or another, this might be a annual outreach program as Redeemer gets better acquainted with members of the community and their needs.

WINKLER, Man. - During the weekend of April 29 to May 1, the young adult group from Trinity Lutheran Church hosted a Young Adults Weekend on the theme of “Water, Water, Everywhere— Diving into Baptism.”

The group enjoyed a movie, bowling, card and board games, food, and fellowship, along with studying Baptism and its ongoing benefits in the life of a Christian, from the Scriptures and the Catechism.

Rev. Todd Hoeffs

A Christmas food and gift hamper.

While small in number—nine participants in total—those who came genuinely enjoyed their time and learned more about the wonderful gifts God gives us in Baptism! Participants expressed thanks to the young adults group at Trinity for organizing and hosting this weekend event, and to Pastor Alex Klages for leading the Bible study sessions on Baptism throughout the weekend.

Trinity YA group

Young adults meet for fellowship and study.

“Stuff” happens at spring renewal PLUMAS, Man. - The Wheatland Zone Spring Lutheran Women’s Missionary League–Canada Renewal was held April 23 at Zion Lutheran Church. The opening devotion by host pastor Rev. James Vosper centered on the theme for the renewal: “How Great is the Love of the Father” (1 John 3:3). Following Bible study, a delicious lunch was served by the Plumas ladies with contributions from the Neepawa ladies (salads), and from Brandon some wonderful desserts.

The business meeting followed.

Disappointment was expressed by the assembly as Rev. Al Borchardt’s resignation as Zone Pastoral Counsellor was regretfully accepted.

After the meeting was adjourned, the ladies all got busy stuffing bears and cats which were knitted or crocheted by those in attendance as well as members and friends of all the congregations in the zone. from a report submitted by Jean Borchardt

Participants pose with some of the 48 quilts which were made by the Plumas ladies, and the stuffed animals, which will be sent to Lutheran World Relief.

The May/June 201621 1 THE Canadian CANADIAN LLutheran UTHERAN May/June 2016

Central District News News

Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Manitoba, NW NW Ontario Ontario Elaine Elaine Stanfel, Stanfel, editor editor

Ponderings from the vice-president

Good News to proclaim! his past month, the government of Canada passed bill C-384, a bill which allows Canadians the legal right to kill themselves.

Interestingly, as this bill now stands before the Senate, people on both sides of the issue remain upset. Those in support of physician-assisted suicide are upset because they feel the bill does not go far enough; those opposed continue to argue any legalization on the issue is immoral.

These are, of course, gross oversimplifications of the many concerns people hold on both sides, but as Christians who hear the Good Shepherd we have a Good Word to proclaim in the midst of these discussions.

You see, when all is said and done, what lies at the heart of the debate are people’s fears.

Fear of suffering, fear of death, fear of not being in control—fears which are amplified in the absence of hearing, knowing, or trusting the Words of the Good Shepherd.

Now, I don’t know anyone who would rationally want to suffer or intentionally go through the hardships of a debilitating disease, but the Good Shepherd reminds us it is not our decision to end our life or the life of another—a life which He Himself redeemed with His own death and resurrection.

Psalm 23 teaches us something ver y interesting about the Good Shepherd, and that is He does not remove us, nor take us around the valley of the shadow of death, but He leads us through it.

In the same way the Father used the suffering and death of His Son Jesus Christ to bring us forgiveness, life, and salvation. He can,

T

2 The 2016 22 THECanadian CANADIAN Lutheran LUTHERAN May/June May/June 2016

will, and does work through our sufferings, as we confess what the Good Shepherd has done for us, in this valley of tears and joys called life.

In the days leading up to the passing of bill C-384 Josh Paterson of the BC Civil Liberties Association said in an interview with CTV he was worried that if this bill does not pass, “people would have to take their lives in an unsafe way!” The last time I checked taking one’s life is never safe.

Dear baptized friends, this is our moment to speak up and confess to our neighbours and those going through these tremendous battles of suffering the Good News God’s baptized children take for granted every day. To speak up and say there is no safe way to end your life... but there is a safe way to die. And that is to die in Christ, to die in the Good Shepherd, to trust His baptismal gift of death and resurrection as the only safe way through death. As He leads us through this valley of the shadow of death, He will grant the grace to accept our afflictions—all the way into life everlasting.

Upon the cross Jesus became sin for us. His death is our death. And the open, empty tomb is a testimony that death has lost its sting; the grave has been vanquished.

This is the only Good News we are given to proclaim. It is the only news that will open the ears of those sheep who are not hearing the Good Shepherd’s voice, the voice which promises that nothing in this life—not disease, nor pain, nor suffering—can snatch you out of His hand.

Rev. Arron Gust

Central District News News

Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Manitoba, NW NW Ontario Ontario Elaine Elaine Stanfel, Stanfel, editor editor

Warming hearts and raising funds in Saskatoon SASKATOON - On Saturday, April 23, some 98 people gathered at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church to make this year’s Warming Hearts banquet a rousing success. Before dinner was served, all enjoyed the music of Amy Timm and her band, Grandmother’s Chesterfield, while checking out the items up for bid, or having crazy pictures taken in the youth’s photo booth.

A turkey dinner with all the trimmings was on the menu for the evening—always a favourite. After dinner things got a bit wild with the first dessert auction in St Paul’s history. Gary Morris took up position as auctioneer and each table chipped in together to bid on the dessert they most wanted. From Apricot Smooch to Skor Trifle, there was something for everyone. The biggest bidding war was for Natalie Keith’s Caramel Macchiato Cheesecake which was finally purchased by Devin Zirk and his table for $175! While the desserts were consumed, the diners were serenaded by Chad and Denise Timm.

After dessert was finished there

The wait staff at the Warming Hearts dinner will head off to Colorado in July.

was time for one last check on the silent auction items before the winning bids were announced. All kinds of treasures found new homes.

The final total raised was $2,243 which will be supplemented by a generous matching grant from Faith Life Financial. A donation of $1,000 will go to LAMP and the remaining funds will help the youth get to Colorado this summer for the Higher

Things youth gathering.

The organizers thank the myriad of people who pulled together to make Warming Hearts happen this year, including those who donated auction items (desserts and silent auction). It takes a massive amount of time and planning, but it’s a lot of fun too. from a report by Nadine Wagner in The Spirit newsletter

Congregation shows thanks to local police

Celebrating a special birthday

REGINA - On March 28, 2016, sworn and civilian members of the Regina Police Services (RPS) were treated to a delicious meal by members of Mount Olive Lutheran Church, which is the home congregation of one the RPS Chaplains, Rev. D.J. Kim. Food was served in a comeand-go style from 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. (a twelve hour shift, just like officers and comm centre employees work) giving many of the workers an opportunity for a break. “ S p e c i a l t h a n k s t o o u r Inspector Ortman with three Regina Police volunteers and to our local police Services Chaplains (Rev. D.J. Kim is second from the right), and Rev. Ted Giese. for everything they do for us in (photo credit: Regina Police Service) our community,” commented Rev. Ted Giese. “It was great to with notes from LCC Lutherans and Regina support Rev. D.J. Kim in his work Police Services Facebook pages with them!”

ROBLIN, Man. - Rev. Paul J. Borchardt (emeritus) celebrated his 85th birthday April 25 with the help of his brother and sister-inlaw, Rev. Al (emeritus) and Jean Borchardt.

On behalf of the ladies of St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Marie Mohr presented Rev. Borchardt with a beautiful scarlet red quilt which was a group effort by the ladies of the church, who provided the material, and Marie, who did the quilting.

The May/June 201623 3 THE Canadian CANADIAN LLutheran UTHERAN May/June 2016

Central District District News Central News

Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Manitoba, NW NW Ontario Ontario Elaine Elaine Stanfel, Stanfel, editor editor

Winter projects provide comfort and care to many CUPAR AND SOUTHEY, Sask.

- The LWMLC/Quilting Group of St. Paul, Cupar kept busy during the winter making more than half a dozen blankets for two clothing give-aways in Regina. The group also finished three baby blankets that member Barb Demyen started to make for her first grandchild before she passed away.

The ladies also worked on “twiddle muffs” which are the latest craft rage to hit Cupar. A group from the community knit muffs for the local nursing home residents with different designs and sensory items, like beads, lace and cotton balls. The group can share the pattern with anyone looking for a project to make for shut-ins or challenged.

Bottoms for babies

The ladies of Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Southey were also busy making quilts over the winter. The YWCA of Regina received two quilts; one box of quilts was delivered to the Isabel Johnson Shelter, and another to My Aunt’s Place (women’s transition shelters in Regina). Quilts made over the winter by the ladies of Emmanuel, Southey.

The Shayil House (another Regina women’s shelter, the agencies were grateful for the for addictions) received nine quilts donations. Also, a couple of blankets as well as backpacks and suitcases, were given to a recent refugee family which were also collected. All of who moved to Regina.

Both of the women’s groups expressed thanks to all the working hands which helped make these blankets for God’s people, as well as those who donated the materials and delivered them.

Diane Dennis

A close-up of the twiddle muffs. The crafter can design whatever they wish, adding sensory details such as beads or buttons (or nuts/washers for men), lace, etc.

Making layettes for a hospital in Panama.

OXBOW, Sask. - Twenty-five mini layettes (100 diapers made from recycled tee-shirts, 25 receiving blankets, 50 pins) made and assembled with love by the women of St. Peter Lutheran Church Oxbow, Saskatchewan were delivered to the Hospital Aquilino Tejeira, in the city of Penenome, Panama on April 1, 2016. Our contact person, Helen Pierson, a Canadian ex-pat resident of Coronado, Panama, arranged for the delivery of the donations.

All are carefully recorded and

will be given by requisition to those in the direst need. There are 400 babies born at this hospital each month, 20% of the babies will be born into abject poverty. Infant mortality rate is approximately 20.8 deaths per 1000 live births. Canada’s infant mortality rate is less than 5.

Prior to this event, Marilyn Schultz and her daughter-in-law Sherry were able to visit the hospital and tour the maternity wards. For more details visit https://lwmlcnews. wordpress.com/2016/04/

4 The 2016 24 THECanadian CANADIAN Lutheran LUTHERAN May/June May/June 2016

Visit the Central District website at www.lcccentral.ca Send news, photos, articles and announcements six weeks prior to publication month.

Elaine Stanfel, district editor, 509 Airport Road, Pembroke, ON K8A6W7 613-687-6620 elaine.stanfel@gmail.com

Next deadline July 15, 2016

East District News News East District

Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia Ilene Fortin, editor Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia Ilene Fortin, editor

District leaders gather for inspiration, learning and support KITCHENER, Ont. - The first-ever Leaders’ Workshop attracted more than 100 participants from across the district. The one-day workshop held April 23 at Bethel Lutheran Church offered a broad selection of eight different workshops, plus a plenary session featuring four separate topics. In addition to current office holders, congregation members with potential for holding office in the future were encouraged to attend.

The workshop theme “Zealous, Fervent Servants—Having Hope and Joy in Trying Times,” is based on Romans 12:5-12 where St. Paul reminds us of the variety of gifts that our Lord gives to His people and how He calls us to put those gifts to use in His service. Opening and closing worship was developed to follow this Scriptural theme and prayer was encouraged throughout the day.

Individual workshops led by a variety of lay people and church workers from across the district were held for chairmen, elders, financial officers, trustees, mission/ evangelism committee members, church secretaries, archivists and church historians, and youth leaders and counsellors. Participants voiced such comments as “really worth the trip” and “enjoyed sharing ideas.” Thoughtful comments about improvements for the next workshop and even about how often the workshop should be held will be passed along to organizers of the next workshop which, following up on participant feedback, has been set for the spring of 2018. As President Zabel wrote in the latest issue of the EDen Report, “We should realize our obligation to help others reach the mountaintop of Christian living.”

At the request of some participants, the session leaders were asked for materials that could be made available to a wider audience.

To view visit www.lcceast.ca/ bulletin-board/leaders-workshop.

One of the workshop sessions.

Luncheon raises funds for Cancer Society CLIFFORD, Ont. - Ladies of Lutheran Women’s Missionary League-Canada (LWMLC) of St. John’s Lutheran Church, Clifford, Ontario, and their helpers hosted another terrific Daffodil Luncheon on April 13 at the local community centre.

A large crowd dined on chicken noodle, cream of broccoli, cream of potato, and beef vegetable soups, and enjoyed a selection of egg salad, ham and cheese, and salmon sandwiches.

Cupcakes and cake added a finishing touch to the meal.

Helen Braun and Joan Buhrow offered cakes, cupcakes, cinnamon buns, peanut brittle, and preserves

for sale on the bake table. Every quilt, bird house, knitted sweater, crocheted dish cloth, jar of pickled eggs, and maple syrup found an eager bidder in the silent auction.

The placemats highlighted the Canadian Cancer Society with “Use your cancer-fighting powers.

Volunteer.” Ten tear-off sections noted the Canadian Cancer Society phone number and website address.

Proceeds of this luncheon went to benefit the Harriston Minto Cancer Society and mission projects of St. John’s LWMLC. This event was co-sponsored by FaithLife Financial Chapter 74030.

Rev. Jody Rinas and the ladies of the St. John’s LWMLC hosted a Daffodil Luncheon April 13. Back, left to right: Marion Pfeffer, Ruth Koeslag, Eleanor Litt, Henny Derbecker, Myrtle Demerling, Jan Fisher, June Noble, Faye Seip, Pastor Rinas, Anita Hebblethwaite, Janet Huth, Velma Binkley, Dale Stanley. Front, left to right: Helen Braun, Joan Buhrow, Fay Demerling, Leone Foerter, Ethel Weber. At the piano in back: Anthony Rinas.

THECanadian CANADIANLutheran LUTHERAN May/June May/June 2016 The 2016 25 1

East East District News

Ontario, Ontario, Quebec, Quebec, New New Brunswick, Brunswick, Nova Nova Scotia Scotia Ilene Ilene Fortin, Fortin, editor editor

From the president

Confessing the mystery of God Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58). lmost everybody likes a good mystery, but few of us are comfortable with an unsolved mystery. We get itchy! We want to figure it out and resolve it. During the week of Pentecost and prior to Trinity Sunday, my wife, Judy, and I had an opportunity to travel to Greenwood, Indiana and spend some time with my parents. My mother is an avid reader and some of the books that she enjoys reading are mystery romance novels. We always return home with a number of these books, as she passes them on to my wife. Even I must confess, in finding one of these books on an end table in our living room, I pick it up, read a few pages, and then I’m hooked. I find myself intrigued by the mystery and need to find out how it is going to be resolved or how it is going to end. Of course, when my children and grandchildren come over I never admit to them that once in a while I, too, read these books.

A

When we returned home from our visit with my parents, the next Sunday was Trinity Sunday. On the Festival of the Holy Trinity, we also enter a realm of mystery. We celebrate and worship God, whose ways are beyond human understanding and whose nature is beyond the grasp of our small minds. “Can you fathom the mysteries of God?” Scripture asks, “Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?” (Job 11:7).

One of the great Bible scholars of history is St. Augustine. One legend has him strolling the beach one morning, his mind teeming with theological questions, trying to understand the Scriptures that he had read over again and again. But he couldn’t seem to find the logic that would make it all fit together.

Absentmindedly, he stopped to watch a little child playing on the beach. The child had dug a hole in the sand and now he was running back and forth with a seashell, taking water from the ocean and hurrying to pour water into the hole he had dug. St. Augustine walked over to the child and asked what he was doing.

The child explained that he was trying to pour the ocean into the hole that he had made in the sand. With

sudden insight St. Augustine realized that this is just what he had been doing—foolishly trying to empty the mystery of God into his small mind!

How many times do the mysteries of God also confront us, and we cannot explain them in rational terms. An example of this was presented in the Old Testament Lesson appointed and read this past Trinity Sunday. In this Scripture lesson recorded for us in Proverbs, chapter 8 we were confronted with “wisdom” being personified as the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ. How can we logically explain how our Lord Jesus existed even before the beginning of time as we know it? How can our God be one God, yet three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? Like St. Augustine we, too, must confront the mysteries of God with a simple childlike trust. We should not be so concerned that at all times we have a complete logical understanding about all the things of God lest we make our God too small, wrap Him up into a neat little package, and eventually not permit Him to be God at all!

We rejoice that we are not asked to understand, but only believe, in the same way a child in Sunday school believes and may say from the bottom of his or her heart, “Jesus loves me; this I know!” We rejoice that we are not asked to explain but only to proclaim, so that all the world may know Jesus’ name—from the smallest to greatest—and to know and believe that Jesus saves sinners, of whom I am one! We do not pretend to be wise. We do not understand even one of the mysteries of our God. We do not need to! Christ is our Wisdom.

All thanks to Him, and all glory to God I know my faith is founded, On Jesus Christ my God and Lord; And this my faith confessing, Unmoved I stand on His sure Word.

Our reason cannot fathom the truth of God profound; Who trusts in human wisdom relies on shifting ground.

God’s Word is all-sufficient, it makes divinely sure, And trusting in its wisdom, My faith shall rest secure.

(LSB #587) Rev. Paul Zabel

2 The May/June2016 2016 26 THECanadian CANADIAN Lutheran LUTHERAN May/June

East District News News East District

Ontario, Ontario, Quebec, Quebec, New New Brunswick, Brunswick, Nova Nova Scotia Scotia Ilene Ilene Fortin, Fortin, editor editor

At the right time!

MONTREAL, Que. - A hymnal— one copy of one book—has led to cross-continent support of a new independent Lutheran francophone church body in the République démocratique du Congo.

A year ago an email popped up in Montreal asking how to obtain a Lutheran Church–Canada French hymnal: Liturgies et Cantiques luthériens. It had been sent by an Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada pastor planning to return to his homeland to head a new francophone Lutheran Church. After receiving the first copy, he ordered another, which was sent with several copies of various issues of Bonne Nouvelle (Good News) magazine.

At that point, de l’Ascension, Montreal, also became the bridge between that pastor and Lutherans in Africa (LIA), an LCMS-related organization that promotes confessional teaching among African Lutheran churches, including some twenty—mostly recently established—francophone church bodies scattered throughout Africa.

For several years LIA has been distributing and promoting Liturgies et Cantiques luthériens in African churches through hymnal distribution and liturgical workshops.

The pastor from the Congo was also put into contact with Lutheran Hour Ministries–Canada to receive copies of LHM–Canada’s recently-produced French language P ro j e c t C o n n e c t booklets, which led to a request for LHM broadcasts in Congo.

Nine or so m o n t h s we n t by when that same pastor wrote he was L i t u r g i e s coming to Canada to fill a container with medical equipment and Lutheran educational material. A note included a word of thanks for the LIA contact, saying LIA was planning a workshop with the new African church.

A d e c a d e a g o G o o d N ew s magazine provided thousands of French magazines for Montreal to distribute throughout the Frenchspeaking world as circumstances allowed. That indeed has happened— e s p e c i a l l y t o Q u e b e c, H a i t i , Cameroon and Madagascar—but high transportation costs had limited large shipments overseas. Now

et

Cantiques

luthérienes

there was free shipping through the container project and a new church that desperately needed French Lutheran materials, which are a rare item anywhere in the world. The pastor came to Montreal and left with more hymnals, hundreds of issues of Good News magazine as well as an adult instruction book (the only one ever printed anywhere in French) that had been printed 30plus years ago in thousands of copies hoping they would be used at some opportune moment in the future.

For everything, there is a season.

Rev. Dr. David Somers

Summary report to the congregations and members of LCC, East District from the Department for Outreach meeting of May 30, 2016 STRATHROY, Ont. - The East District’s Department for Outreach “road trip” this May took members to beautiful Grace Lutheran Church on the outskirts of Strathroy. The joint pastors of Grace, Rev. James Scholz and Rev. Oscar Castillo, reported on the various activities, joys, and challenges of the congregation.

Reports were also received from the Board of Directors Liaison and Mission Encourager about his many activities. The District’s Mission Encourager, Rev. Ron Mohr, also brought members up to date on

the various assisted ministries and missionaries in the district.

The meeting included discussions on the following topics: • The end of the three-year term on the Department for three members and a recommendation to the East District Board for their reappointment.

• The work in God’s Kingdom that continues in Moncton.

• The 2016 debt reduction grant to Concordia, Fonthill was approved by the Board of Directors.

• Articles from our department for future editions of The Canadian Lutheran.

The Evangelism committee discussed the possibility of “piggy backing” EvangelFest and the 2018 Church Worker’s Conference.

Questions or comments may be directed to the Mission Encourager, Rev. Ron Mohr (rmohr@lcceast.ca) or the chairman of the Department for Outreach, Paul Otterman (ottermanp@hotmail.com).

Submitted by Rev. Paul Otterman, Chairman, Department for Outreach

THECanadian CANADIANLutheran LUTHERAN May/June May/June 2016 The 2016 27 3

East East District News

Ontario, Ontario, Quebec, Quebec, New New Brunswick, Brunswick, Nova Nova Scotia Scotia Ilene Ilene Fortin, Fortin, editor editor

East District website—where to find it…

KITCHENER, Ont. - The past couple of months have seen some additions and changes to the East District website (www.lcceast.ca). Most changes have been in the Resources/ Download Centre which was divided into four types of resources (Board of Directors, Congregational, Financial, and General) to make it easier to find specific items.

Board of Directors resources include items such as summaries of board meetings, annual master budgets, audited financial statements, District Policy & Procedures Manual, District Strategic Plan, handbooks, and more.

New Partner to Partner program introduced St. Paul says in Philippians 1:3-5 “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you… making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.”

KITCHENER, Ont. - You may already be familiar with the District’s Partner to Partner program which has been around for many years.

The old program encouraged congregations to partner with other congregations. The recently redesigned program encourages congregations and individuals to participate in a more self-directed way. More information is available at www.lcceast.ca/bulletin-board/ partner-to-partner.

Download the Partner to Partner brochure to read descriptions of the 18 district-assisted ministries in need of your support. You are invited to engage in a partnership in the Gospel through your donation.

Ministries are grouped into three categories: Remote, Cross Cultural, or Congregations in Transition. Your participation in the Partner to Partner project will help you, as a member of the body of Christ in the East District, experience being what the Philippian Christians were for St. Paul: partners in the Gospel, believing the Good News of salvation in Christ Jesus and seeking to extend that Gospel to others.

You can make your one-time or monthly donation by downloading the donation card at the district webpage listed above or by donating o n l i n e t h ro u g h CanadaHelps (available from the bottom of any page on the district website).

For us who believe through the Gospel message proclaimed to us, partnership in the Gospel involves our walking together in service to our Saviour and in the mission He has invited us to engage in with Him.

4 The May/June2016 2016 28 THECanadian CANADIAN Lutheran LUTHERAN May/June

Look to the C o n g re g a t i o n a l download page for resources more specific to congregational life such as bulletin inserts and free recordkeeping software.

Financial resources include various applications for financial assistance, congregational loans, bursaries and student loans. Compensation Guidelines are also located here.

T h e l a s t c a t e g o r y, G e n e r a l Resources, is where to find such items as Morning Service Booklets and non-English resources.

Visit the East District website at www.lcceastdistrict.ca

Send news, photos, articles and announcements six weeks prior to publication month.

Ilene Fortin, district editor East District Office 275 Lawrence Avenue, Kitchener, Ontario N2M 1Y3 E-mail: ilene@lcceast.ca Fax: 519-578-3369

Next deadline: July 15, 2016

Mission Update Missionary completes studies, will return to Ukraine

Rev. Oleksiy Navrotskyy and his family.

EDMONTON - Concordia Lutheran Seminary (Edmonton) presented a Master of Divinity degree to Rev. Oleksiy Navrotskyy during their Sacred Convocation ceremony on May 30, 2016. Rev. Navrotskyy is a missionary for Lutheran Church– Canada (LCC) in Ukraine, where he serves with the Synod of Evangelical Lutheran Churches in Ukraine (SELCU).

“What a blessing it has been to have you and your family as part of our community,” noted CLS Professor Jonathan Kraemer on behalf of the seminary. “God has given you the courage to come from Ukraine to a foreign country to study in another language, to broaden your experience, and to be prepared for further service to the church back home. I pray the Lord would bless you so that Christ would be glorified in the ministry He has given you, and that through you His church in Ukraine would be blessed.”

The program at CLS was uniquely tailored for Rev. Navrotskyy from among the seminary’s offerings, accommodating his ministry experience in SELCU and previous education at LCC’s Concordia

Seminary in Odessa, Ukraine. He began studies at the Edmonton seminary in September 2014. He will continue with independent studies at CLS until the end of June, following which he and his family will return to Ukraine.

Rev. Navrotskyy’s studies at CLS were funded through LCC’s Foreign Student Fund. “I thank God for the financial commitment which made it possible for Rev. Navrotskyy to complete his studies at CLS,” said Rev. Dr. Leonardo Neitzel, LCC’s Executive for Missions and Social Ministry. “I want to say special thanks to those circuits and congregations which put special efforts towards supporting the Foreign Mission Fund.”

The return to Ukraine will mark new beginnings for the Navrotskyy family: Oleksiy has accepted a call to the city of Nikolaev, where he will begin intensive work reorganizing the two local congregations, as well as supporting new mission stations recently started in the city. LCC has signed a Missionary Loaning Protocol document with SELCU regarding Rev. Navrotskyy’s mission work, which is fully subsidized by LCC. The move to

Nikolaev will bring Rev. Navrotskyy much closer to LCC’s seminary and SELCU headquarters in Odessa.

“I thank God for Oleksiy’s having accepted the call to Nikolaev,” said Dr. Leonardo Neitzel. “I am also thankful to SELCU for placing a new pastor— Rev. Sergey Bevz—to continue the very promising mission work in Dnepropetrovski.”

LCC has long supported missions in Ukraine, with a particular focus on theological education. That work is supported through the generous donations of LCC members across the country. A Ukraine Mission Fest held in Winnipeg and hosted by the Red River Circuit in late April featured Rev. Dr. Wilhelm Torgerson, rector of the Ukraine seminary, and a special appearance by Rev. Navrotskyy via Skype. In total, $7,300 was raised at the event for LCC’s mission work in Ukraine.

For information on LCC’s missions, visit www.lutheranchurch. ca. You can support LCC’s missions through online giving, or by sending donations by mail: Lutheran Church–Canada 3074 Portage Avenue Winnipeg, MB R3K 0Y2

THE CANADIAN LUTHERAN May/June 2016

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Education Report First calls for seminary graduates

Vicarage placements

CLTS = Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary (St. Catharines, Ontario) CLS = Concordia Lutheran Seminary (Edmonton)

Keith Hoveland (CLS)

Zion Lutheran (Golden Spike, Alberta) Keith Hoveland was born in 1966 in Prince George, B.C. and grew up in Grande Prairie, Alberta.

He moved to Edmonton at the age of 18 where he attended NAIT to become an architectural technologist. After 25 years in the industry Keith went back to school to get the necessary university credits to allow him to apply for the Masters of Divinity program at CLS. Keith and his wife Carole were married in September of 1991 and have two daughters, Krista, age 20 and Erika, age 18. Keith served his vicarage in Valleyview, Alberta under Rev. Don Schiemann.

Kirk Bradford (CLTS) to Family of God Lutheran (LCMS) (Detroit, Michigan)

Scott Brayall (CL S) to Redeemer Lutheran (Didsbury, Alberta)

Milton Lam (CLTS)

Christ Lutheran (Timmons, Ontario) Milton Lam was born in Hong Kong, China, and grew up in Joliette, Quebec. He graduated from McGill University in 2009 and received his Bachelor of Arts and Science in World Religions and Psychology. He is fluent in Cantonese, English, and French. He is an only child. Milton entered the seminary in 2011 and served his fieldwork at Resurrection Lutheran Church, Ontario.

He served his vicarage under the supervision of Rev. Alex Klages at Trinity Lutheran Church (Winkler, Manitoba), and Zion Lutheran Church (Morden, Manitoba).

Kai Buck (CL S) to Our Saviour Lutheran (Dryden, Ontario)

Kurt Schultz (CLTS)

Placement Pending Kurt Daniel Schultz was baptized and confirmed at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Buffalo, New York. The youngest of five children born to Dan and Jean, Kurt served as Deacon at Family of Christ Lutheran Church (Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania) prior to seminary. He served as fieldworker at St. Mark Lutheran Church in North Tonawanda, and as summer vicar in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island; Goderich, Ontario; and Pioneer Camp & Retreat Center in Angola, New York.

His vicarage was at Trinity and Zion Lutheran Churches (Winkler and Morden, Manitoba) under Rev. Alex Klages.

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THE CANADIAN LUTHERAN May/June 2016

Andrew MacDonald (CLS) to Trinity Evangelical Lutheran (Winkler, Manitoba)

Will Rose (CL S) to Good Shepherd Lutheran (Valleyview, Alberta)

Education Report Seminaries present special awards CANADA - Lutheran Church– Canada’s two seminaries presented special awards to members of the church during their annual convocation ceremonies.

During the May 26 Convocation ceremony, Concordia Lutheran Seminary (CLS) in Edmonton presented Perpetua Alfazema with the honourary Faith in Life award.

Perpetua Alfazema was born in Mozambique but had to flee during the civil war to find refuge in Canada. In 1995, she and her husband returned to his home community of Kapasseni, only to find the village in ruins. When her husband, Rev. Joseph Alfazema, was ordained in 2006, he and Perpetua answered God’s call to return to Mozambique, founding six Lutheran churches and many social ministries.

Through this work they founded the Kapasseni Project. Perpetua studied to become a nurse and a social worker, founding the non-profit organization Kuwangisana to help people living with HIV/AIDS, chronic diseases, work with orphans and vulnerable children, and to address poverty.

A dedicated missionary, Perpetua Alfazema remains Executive Director of the Kuwangisana organization.

“When I received [the] email and read that I had been chosen as the recipient of the ‘Faith in Life’ award, I was shocked,” Alfazema says. “I could not believe it! Then I started crying with joy and felt so encouraged. Indeed, this is good news not only for me, but for my family in Edmonton, our supporters, and the team here at Kuwangisana and various communities we serve. Even though they will not be there physically to witness me receive the award, I am sure they will be there spiritually and in prayers.”

“Dr. Gimbel’s message came in at a time when I, personally, had been feeling helpless, hopeless and desperate as we are facing many challenges here in Mozambique,” she continued. “We are experiencing food shortages and a drought. People are dying of hunger.”

Concordia Lutheran Theological

Perpetua Alfazema.

CLTS President Thomas Winger (left) poses with Stephen Klinck.

Seminary (CLTS) in St. Catharines, Ontario held its annual call service on May 28, 2016, at which time the seminary presented two special awards.

Stephen Klinck (managing director of Lutheran Hour Ministries-Canada) was awarded the Delta Chi (Servant of Christ) award, the seminary’s highest honour. Klinck joined the staff of Lutheran Laymen’s League of Canada (Lutheran Hour Ministries – Canada) in 1986 and has served as its Managing Director since 1996. For four years prior to that, he worked with Lutheran Bible Translators of Canada.

He has served in a number of leadership positions at his local congregation, including currently as Financial Secretary, and as a member of mission teams to Nicaragua. He has served the wider church as a representative for LCC on the Lutheran Council in Canada and currently as a member of LCC’s Committee for Communication and Technology.

In the East District he has served as member of the Handbook Committee and as local arrangement chairman for district convention. He has also served as a member of the Board of Directors for Lutheran Bible Translators of Canada.

“Through these opportunities God has graciously allowed me to meet many of His saints from across Canada and around the world,” Klinck said.

“I am happy to have had a small part in sharing and helping others to share the Good News of Jesus and His love.”

At the same event, CLTS also recognized Dr. David Goicoechea with the Friend of the Seminary Award.

Dr. Goicoechea is a retired professor of philosophy at Brock University.

With the award, CLTS recognizes Dr. Goicoechea’s instrumental role in building connections between the seminary and the philosophy department of the university.

Deacon receives first placement

Deacon K aitlin Sc hmitz, who graduated from Concordia University College of Alberta in 2014, received her first placement during Concordia Lutheran Seminary’s (Edmonton) Sacred Convocation Service. Deacon Schmitz was placed to Faith Lutheran Church in Grand Prairie, Alberta.

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Education Report CLTS releases translation in honour of Reformation anniversary ST. CATHARINES, Ontario Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary has announced the publication of the first English translation of a significant sixteenth century Lutheran document.

The Wittenberg Reformation (1545) was written by Philip Melanchthon at the behest of Elector John Frederick, in response to a request from Emperor Charles V that each estate should give an account of reformation in their territory.

It was signed by Martin Luther and the other major Reformation leaders in Wittenberg, and serves as a commentary on the Augsburg Confession, explaining how it was to be put into practice. It appears here for the first time in English translation, by Rev. Dr. John R. Stephenson.

The translation is accompanied by “The Household of God: Observations on ‘Church’ in the New Testament

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and the City of Ephesus,” by Rev. Dr. Thomas M. Winger. This exegetical essay was presented to Lutheran Church–Canada’s (LCC) East District Pastors Conference in April 2016.

“Both writings are offered as a modest contribution to 500 th anniversary festivities of the Lutheran Reformation,” an announcement of the book’s publication notes. “They are also timely as LCC enters into a restructuring process to be completed in the Reformation anniversary year. While God has not ordained a particular church structure, the Holy Scriptures and our Lutheran heritage have much to teach us as we put theology into practice.” 2017 marks the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.

The book is available at the seminary bookstore for local customers ($11.95), as well as online via print-on-demand publishing ($9.95 + shipping) at www.lulu. com/shop/john-r-stephenson-and-

THE CANADIAN LUTHERAN May/June 2016

thomas-m-winger/the-wittenbergreformation-1545/paperback/ product-22711931.html.

Spring 2016 Empowered by God’s own mission to save the world, the mission of Concordia Lutheran Mission Society, is to enlist the prayers, gifts, and energies of God’s people in Lutheran Church–Canada to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ wherever God provides opportunity.

Youth in Canada and Central America to connect under same theme foundation for my commitment to national youth gathering and “Train up a child in the way he participate and contribute to the the youth will be encouraged should go; even when he is old he Lutheran Church–Canada as an to pray for their brothers and will not depart from it” (Proverbs adult—I see my congregation as sisters in Christ at home and 22:6). abroad. Likewise in In my sixteenth Nicaraguan youth September during their year I embarked on a gathering, the Lutheran year-long exchange youth in Nicaragua will to a foreign country. be connected to their I left my family, counterparts in Canada. friends, school and While the church home and took on in Nicaragua faces the the life of a Japanese same challenges that student. Research Canadian congregations demonstrates that our brains continue to develop until our 21st year and then around that time we part of my family. have fully formed our foundation This July the of beliefs, and are ready to make youth of Canada’s our own judgments, but until then LCC congregations we are still growing, developing will gather in St. and integrating what we have Catherines Ontario for learned. The summer before I left the seventh national for Japan I had the opportunity LCC youth gathering to attend the first national LCC Costa Rican youth to hear about God’s youth gathering in Thunder Bay gift of Living Water.

Ontario, where I received an Since 2008 the youth of do—as LCC Mission Executive infusion of Christian kinship, and Nicaragua’s ILSN (Iglesia Dr. Leonardo Neitzel describes it: the assurance there were other Luterana Sínodo de Nicaragua) “children are coming in the front people like me. have also been gathering with the door, and leaving out the back.”

Fast forward a few years and it support of Canadian volunteers Thankfully the Lord has placed is clear to anyone who knows me and many congregations from dedicated and committed pastors that a year abroad had a significant across Canada and this year they and deaconesses in Nicaragua impact on my willingness to take will meet up in October and study who are passionate to do the risks; my taste in decorating, the the same Living Water theme. work He has set out before them. foods I prefer and my ability to During the Canadian national They are bringing children to deal with ambiguity. I also believe gathering, there will be opportunity church, they are teaching them the time I spent in fellowship with to learn about the Nicaraguan about the Lutheran Church of other Lutherans as a youth laid the

Nicaragua, and its affiliation with Lutheran Church–Canada.

Children are being fed the Living Water, and are growing up to become deaconesses and pastors.

Similarly, the youth in Ukraine are hungry to hear the Word and CLMS projects continue to help with outreach to university students, and youth in various communities. Despite political challenges in the country, the Lutheran seminary in Odessa continues to attract students from across Eastern Europe who desire to become pastors.

Your support of CLMS projects can help youth all over the world to hear the word in those crucial years where their opinions, values and life decisions are being formed. Pray for our youth in Canada, Central America, Thailand, and Ukraine that they may know they are redeemed children in need of God’s Grace, and forgiveness.

Connect with us in a youthful way via facebook and see how your donations and prayers are supporting Lutheran young people around the world. 9 <www.facebook.com/Concordia LutheranMissionSocietyCLMS>

I N S I D E: 2 0 1 6 M I S S I O N P R O J E C T S THE CANADIAN LUTHERAN May/June 2016

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Every dollar you donate to a specific project goes directly to that project!

2 0 1 6 M I S S I O N P R O J E CT S

CANADA

COSTA RICA

NICARAGUA

1601 – Canada’s South Asian Radio Ministry – $8,000 Support the on-air team based in Mississauga and the GTA reaching out with the Good News into the South Asian community of Toronto through the air-waves.

1603 – Costa Rica Cartago Mission and Missionary Support – $25,000 Missionary stipends, housing, transportation and resources to keep the children’s Christian education and feeding programs going strong in 2016.

1602 – Canada Foreign Student Fund – $10,000 Support for Rev. Oleksiy Navrotskyy as he finishes his studies at the Concordia Lutheran Seminary in Edmonton.

1604 – Education and Women’s outreach – $6,500 Make it possible for deaconess Betty Solorzano to reach out with the Gospel to the women and children of Cartago.

1605 – Nicaragua Children’s Christian Education – $7,800 ILSN deaconesses assist children with their homework, help them with math and literacy and teach and mentor them in God’s Word through Bible stories and Luther’s Small Catechism. $130 per child supplies 60 children a year with uniforms, shoes, school supplies, snacks/ lunch and learning resources.

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THE CANADIAN LUTHERAN May/June 2016

1606 – Nicaragua Deaconess Support – $8,000 $20 per month for each of the 37 deaconesses will help

them with the cost of living and transportation to the location of each calling.

1607 – Nicaragua Vacation Bible School Programs – $12,850 Make it possible for VBS curriculum, crafts and snacks to be available for 2,175 children across 31 church and mission locations.

1608 – Feeding the Children of Nicaragua with Bread and the Bread of Life – $6,000 Provide Christian education and nutrition for the children

continued next page

Every dollar you donate to a specific project goes directly to that project!

2 0 1 6 M I S S I O N P R O J E CT S of Somotillo, El Bonete and Granada. $1.30 or $2.30 (depending on the region) per child per week will feed one of 50 children for a year.

1609 – Mission Support for Pastor and Deaconess Morales – $10,000 Continue the fruitful mission activities and worship services in Sebaco while Pastor Hector Morales and his wife Deaconess Christina eagerly await the church construction project at their location.

1610 – Assistance for Worship and Outreach factilities in Rivas, Nicaragua – $6,400 Help Pastor Roque continue the Rivas mission focus on families and their children by enabling them to meet and worship together. Rent in Rivas is $540 per month.

1611 – Nutrition for body and soul – the children of Rancheria, Nicaragua – $4,725 Provide humanitarian care and a connection to the Gospel in one of the poorest regions of Nicaragua. One

hundred children receive bread and the Bread of Life twice a week for a whole year for only $47.25 per child.

1612 – La Pita, Nicaragua Feeding Program for Children, Youth, the Elderly, and Expectant Mothers – $2,090 $30 each provides holistic care for 72 people once a week. This focused program provides child and family health education and a substantial meal for the elderly, pregnant women, youth and children.

THAILAND 1613 – Teaching, Preaching and Outreach in Thailand – support Missionary Chujit – $6,500 Support the faithful work of Pastor Suchart Chujit in Thai Muang, Trung Maphrao and Khok Kloi Thailand. He needs help with utilities, transportation, communication and materials for the congregations and preaching stations he serves.

UKRAINE 1614 – Ukraine Seminary Program – $20,000 Support the new students in their theological education at the seminary class of Concordia Theological Seminary in Odessa preparing for the church and mission 1615 – Ukraine Prison Ministry – Nikolaev – $1,300 This sustained and supportive work builds faith with the inmates and nurtures men once they are released and become members of Lutheran congregations.

1616 – Ukraine Bible Study Outreach in Zorya – $2,800 Your support will allow this already strong Bible study outreach to expand with the use of media to keep up with the many youth joining in and looking for guidance and discussion about current topics.

1617 – Ukraine Student Outreach, Novaja – $850 Just over $70 a month allows bible study leaders under

pastoral leadership, a unique opportunity to reach out to students and connect important life topics with what the Word has to say.

1618 – LCC Missionary Navrotskyy mission and outreach in Nikolaev, Ukraine – $12,000 Help Rev Navrotskyy (see photo above) spring into action as an active missionary in the Ukraine city of Nikolaev. Funds will provide for the basics of housing, utilities and living expenses for his family so he can put his Canadian training and education to work.

For more information on all of these projects, see the CLMS website at www. concordiamissions.org If you are unsure of which project you wish to support, you may choose to give “Wherever Needed Most.” In addition to your financial gift, prayer support for these ministries is requested.

THE CANADIAN LUTHERAN May/June 2016

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Concordia Lutheran Mission Society (CLMS) An Auxiliary of Lutheran Church–Canada

Recognizing a mission advocate

Fred at the Lutheran seminary in Ukraine.

IN RS

MISSION l. 1:5 Phi

PARTNE

Not everyone has the ability, means or nerve to embark on a mission adventure, and many people contribute to missions at home and abroad through prayer and gift-giving. Concordia Lutheran Mission Society has over the last few years recognized those whom we like to call mission advocates for their service to missions in this way.

There are many of our projects that have been initiated, started, supported and impacted by short-term mission teams especially in Central America and Ukraine.

Here you see an LCC member who travelled to Ukraine in order to offer his time and talent in the building of the Lutheran seminary. Recently you may have heard about the fire in the seminary building, but be assured that the fire was quickly contained and the damage was not extensive. The structure was solidly built by the hands of many volunteers and supported by CLMS donor contributions throughout the years. The seminary continues to welcome the young pastors in training who travel there to take their instruction and continue in His service. 9

CLMS

LUTHERAN

EGLISE

CHURCH-CANADA LUTHERIENNE du CANADA

Response Form Become a “partner in mission.” Kindly indicate below how we may direct your donation and return this form along with your cheque to Concordia Lutheran Mission Society Inc., P.O. Box 455, Water Valley, AB T0M 2E0.

Project number _____________

$ ____________

Operational costs

$ ____________

Project number _____________

$ ____________

Total gift

$ ____________

Wherever needed

$ ____________

“In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.” Philippians 1:4-5 Please provide the following information so we may forward a charitable receipt to you and to keep you informed on current mission projects via our mailings. If you fill in the form as “Mr. & Mrs.” you will receive two ballots for mail-in elections. In this case both first names are helpful.

Mr., Mrs., Ms. , Rev.

First name(s)

Last name

Address City

Prov.

Email The following information is optional:

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Home Phone

THE CANADIAN LUTHERAN May/June 2016

Country

Postal Code

In Review

by Ted Giese

C

aptain America: Civil War, is Marvel Studio’s third film featuring Captain America (not including his appearances in films like Avengers Assemble and Avengers: Age of Ultron, and a couple of small cameos in other films). As a result, S t e v e Ro g e r s / Captain America, along with many of the other recurring characters, have received enough screen time to start developing into robust and complex characters. The current film provides fertile ground for this growing maturity in a genre not always equated with depth of character development.

At its heart this movie is about control and re s p o n s i b i l i t y.

Acting primarily as a sequel to Captain America: The Winter Soldier, it picks up following the concluding events of Avengers: Age of Ultron. In that film, the battle of Sokovia saved humanity from the artificial intelligence Ultron (originally built and conceived by Tony Stark) and an eastern European city was destroyed.

The result of the devastation sees 117 countries propose a document called the Sokovia Accords which they ask the Avengers to sign. The request causes a split in the group’s

solidarity. After showing them footage of the devastating aftermath of their world-saving heroics, Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross says to the Avengers, “In the past four years you’ve operated with unlimited power and no supervision. That’s an arrangement the governments of the

world can no longer tolerate…. The Sokovia Accords… states that the Avengers shall no longer be a private organization. Instead, they’ll operate under the supervision of the United Nations Panel only ‘when’ and ‘if’ that Panel deems it necessary.”

Steve Rogers refuses to sign the document while Tony Stark supports and signs it. This creates a civil war within the Avengers and the various super heroes pick sides, some following Rogers and others following Stark.

Meanwhile, in the background an opportunistic villain named Zemo patiently conspires to pit t h e Av e n g e r s against each other using as leverage Bucky Barnes/the Winter Soldier—a childhood friend of Rogers. Barnes, who had fought in WWII with Rogers and was presumed dead in Captain America: The First Avenger, was revealed to be a mind-controlled super soldier in Captain America: Winter Soldier.

Desperate to hold on to the remaining bits and pieces of his past, Rogers tries to redeem Barnes, believing the man he once knew still hides somewhere within the man who carried out lethal acts of espionage as an agent of the villainous organization Hydra.

Knowing that Rogers’ love for his friend could be pitted against Stark’s rage upon the revelation that one of the Winter Soldier’s Hydra missions directly impacted Stark’s family, Zemo sets the stage for an epic and very personal confrontation between Captain America and Iron Man. The nature

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of this confrontation means the film ends with no clear winner and the complexity of the story presents a film where a clear-cut hero is hard to find. On the one hand, there are the Avengers who follow the Sokovia Accords believing the world is best served if they put themselves in the hands of a governing authority. On the other hand there are the Avengers who operate in secret because they believe, as Rogers says, “I know we’re not perfect, but the safest hands are still our own.”

Interestingly, Rogers is trying to save Stark and the rest of the Avengers from the potential of becoming the very thing his friend Bucky Barnes had become: an instrument of the agendas of others.

What if that U.N. panel becomes compromised?

What if they compel the Avengers to act unjustly or force them not to act at all because of politics? What then? What if t h e Av e n g e r s become an instrument of evil instead of a force for justice?

Christian viewers will want to consider a short exchange between Barnes and Rogers where Rogers acknowledges the effects of the mind control over Barnes’ actions as Hydra’s Winter Soldier. Captain America says something like, “Those things you did, it wasn’t your fault, it wasn’t you who did those things,” to which Barnes replies, “I know. But I still did them.” Barnes acknowledges he still has responsibility for his actions, that ultimately he is accountable.

This is reminiscent of how St. Paul describes his personal relationship with sin in Romans when he writes: “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no

longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh.

For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.

Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me” (7:15-20).

Barnes is a repentant character who wants to be rid of his past actions as an assassin and agent of Hydra but he also knows he doesn’t deserve to be let off the hook.

Lutheran viewers would do well to remember the familiar words, “I a poor, miserable sinner, confess to You all my sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended You and justly deserved Your punishment

films—Peter Parker/Spider-Man and T’Challa/Black Panther—were spoton, adding some of the film’s most memorable and enjoyable moments.

Also, the return of Scott Lang/AntMan provided additional comic relief.

All of this is balanced with a number of genuine action movie sequences.

Anthony and Joe Russo, who also directed Captain America: Winter Solider, give their audience some real heart-pounding action which will be too intense for younger and/or more sensitive viewers.

With an increasing number of super hero movies released each year by both Marvel Studios and now DC Entertainment (Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice), it is encouraging to see screenwriters and film makers addressing some of the more complex ideas kicking around in their comic book source material. As these films build on each other, the theme of responsibility is emerging in a way that makes them more than just a showcase for splashy explosions and ingenious special effects.

While it might be hard for some viewers to keep up with the evergrowing cast of characters and subplots, Marvel has been working hard to avoid painting itself into a continuity corner. When it comes to managing a large ensemble cast of characters Captain America: Civil War is not as successful as Joss Whedon’s Avengers Assemble and Avengers: Age of Ultron. Nevertheless, it still provides a satisfying film that fits well into Marvel’s growing meta narrative.

Roger’s attitude towards his friend is one of grace and forgiveness when the rest of the world wants condemnation. He puts his life on the line to save the life of his friend.

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now and forever. But I am heartily sorry for them and sincerely repent of them.”

Nothing would be more satisfying than hearing Rogers say to Barnes, “Bucky, Jesus died for those sins; He died for all of your sins; you are forgiven.” The audience doesn’t get that moment, of course. But generally speaking, Roger’s attitude towards his friend is one of grace and forgiveness when the rest of the world wants condemnation and retribution. Rogers is willing to put his life on the line to save the life of his friend and ultimately to save the lives of all the Avengers.

Is it all serious? No. There are plenty of light-hearted moments and pure comic book fun. The introduction of two characters who have not previously appeared in Marvel Studio

THE CANADIAN LUTHERAN May/June 2016

Rev. Ted Giese is associate pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church (Regina, Saskatchewan). He is a contributor to Reformation Rush Hour on KFUO AM Radio, The Canadian Lutheran, and the LCMS Reporter, as well as movie reviewer for the “Issues, Etc.” radio program.

Saints of the Reformation

Ursula von Münsterberg

by Leah Block

I

t was early October, the year of our Lord 1528. The evening was fine, but the light breeze carried with it a hint of the frost to come. The rising quarter moon cast a silver sheen over the stone walls of the old convent. In the distance, an owl hooted. Nothing stirred within the convent walls, save perhaps the quietly whispered prayers of someone observing a lonely midnight vigil.

Three women let themselves quietly out of a side door. Their long heavy cloaks and hoods disguised them, but as they moved an observer might have been able to catch a glimpse of nuns’ clothing brushing the cobbles.

They carried small packs of provisions.

Just before they disappeared into the shadows of the trees, the leader of the trio looked back at the quiet walls for the last time. This convent had been the only home she had known since childhood. Was she excited? Terrified?

Was she grieved that her commitment to Christ necessitated a flight by night?

Many would guess this committed Reformer to be Katie von Bora, former nun and future wife of Martin Luther.

In actual fact the leader of this small group was the Lady Ursula von Münsterberg, grand-daughter of the King of Bohemia. She had lived at the Convent of Mary Magdelene the Penitent in Freiberg since the death of her parents when she was a very young girl. And on October 6, 1528, at the age of 38, she fled that life forever.

The seeds of the Reformation had been planted some years previously, when a few Lutheran books had been smuggled into the convent. Later, two Lutheran chaplains were assigned to the sisters, apparently at the request of Ursula and with the help of her cousin Heinrich, who had embraced Luther’s theology himself.

Contrary to the fears of her cousins George and Heinrich, the Dukes of Saxony, Ursula’s flight was not a rash

decision spurred by heady thoughts of joining the reformers, nor was it a foolhardy opportunity to escape the discomforts of monastic life. Rather, Ursula’s escape from the convent was the culmination of at least two years of “deliberation and suffering.” In a letter to her cousins, Ursula wrote, “I do not want to conceal my feelings and deliberations from your graces, and therefore I have written this work with my own hand, out of my own heart, and without the help, advice or contribution of any other person on earth…. Through this [work], your graces will discover that this has not happened out of thoughtlessness, but because I am accountable to the judgment of God for my soul, and am sure that neither your graces nor any other creature on earth can excuse me before God.” Ursula’s thoughtful letter, originally a private missive to family, presented a well-reasoned treatise summarizing the major points of Lutheran theology. Through it all the golden threads of sola fide, sola gratia, sola scriptura are evident—salvation by faith through grace alone, with God’s Word as the ultimate authority.

“We are married to Christ and to seek to be saved by another is adultery.

The three monastic vows are the work of men’s hands,” Ursula wrote.

“These [that is, the rules, statutes, and constitutions of monastic life] are indeed a road which bypasses God, which is strongly forbidden in the First Commandment.”

The letter went on to become an influential tract. Martin Luther himself provided an afterword commending Ursula’s work. The tract was widely circulated to help further the message of the Reformation, especially to nuns who were uncertain of their salvation.

As for Ursula herself, she and the two young nuns who accompanied her sought refuge with the Luther family

No images of Ursula von Münsterberg are known to exist. This painting, by Lucas Cranach the Elder, represents Mary Magdalene. Ursula was a member of a monastic community called the Order of Mary Magdalene the Penitent.

in Wittenberg for a time. Her later life remains largely unknown, and it’s believed she died only six years later. The date and place of her death are unknown, and unmarked. There are no paintings of her. Most people have never heard of her. She died in obscurity, poor, and estranged from much of her high-born family.

Ursula von Münsterberg reminds us that the message of the Gospel applies to every one of us, whether man or woman, young or old, wealthy or poor. She also reminds us of the important role women have always played in bringing truth to light—at the time of Christ, during the Reformation, and in our own day, by proclaiming the Good News of Christ. May the faithful witness of Ursula encourage us in our daily ministry as well, even if it should cost us our earthly all.

Dr. Leah Block is a physician and member of Lutheran Church–Canada living in Swan River, Manitoba.

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Classified

Classified

Classified

60th Anniversary Announcement The congregation of Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church, Surrey, B. C. invites all former members and friends to an afternoon of Praise, Worship and Fellowship in celebration of 60 years of service to our Lord. Celebration Service at 3:00 p.m., October 16, 2016, to be followed by a light supper.

LCC President Rev. Robert Bugbee, guest preacher. Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church, 7086 – 124th Street, Surrey, B.C. V3W 3W8. T 604-5944033 F 604-594-4071. E-mail: office@ faithlutheran.ca. Website: www. faithlutheran.ca. All correspondence to be sent to the attention of the Anniversary Committee.

(cont.) at 2:30 p.m. Dinner and Program at 6:00 p.m. If you wish to join us please contact Kaeli at 780-960-8312 or Joy at 780-963-5084.

Camp Koinonia on Lake Isle in central Alberta may just be the perfect location for your family reunion, wedding, retreat or VBS! Our heated Pavilion is available throughout the year for use by the week, the weekend, or the day. Campsites adjacent to the Pavilion and closer to the lake may be rented as well. Members of a Lutheran church are invited to consider joining our unique lake community by taking out a renewable license to use one of our lake lots. An affordable and family-oriented Christian camp that features playgrounds, a sports court, and outdoor chapel, and Sunday worship throughout the camp season, we may be just what you’ve been looking for. For more information, please visit www.lakeislelutherancamp. com or contact us today at 780-7272477 or LCA.Camp@outlook.com.

Pe a c e E va n g e l i c a l L u t h e ra n Church of Spruce Grove, Alberta invites you to rejoice with us as we celebrate our 100th Anniversary on October 2, 2016. Celebration Worship Service

Outreach and Media-minded?

Are you interested in reaching out with the Gospel through media?

Lutheran Laymen’s League of Canada (LLLC), an auxiliar y of Lutheran Church-Canada that uses media to reach out with the Gospel, is seeking nominations to its Board of Directors.

If you, or someone you know has leadership and communication skills that can help guide a major Lutheran outreach organization in Canada that uses video, radio, social media, and printed materials to reach out with the Good News of the Gospel, we want to know about it. All the details, including a nomination form, are at www.lll.ca/elections. Deadline for nominations is July 6, 2016.

“God keeps every promise he makes. He is like a shield for all who seek his protection.” - Proverbs 30:5 A message from

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Great the glory theHis Lord!

Thank theisLord and of Sing Praise

Foothills Lutheran Church, Calgary, will celebrate their 50th Anniversary on the weekend of April 1-2, 2017.

We we l c o m e fo r m e r m e m b e r s , guests, staffers, and friends to join us for Saturday evening banquet (ticket needed), Sunday morning worship, and the Sunday afternoon celebration worship. Please contact Foothills for more details: 3104 - 34 Ave. NW, Calgary, AB T2L 2A3 Ph. 403/284-1342 E-Mail: office@foothillslutheran.com.

Transitions Rev. Robert Marshall to Immanuel Lutheran Church, Tomahawk, Alberta.

Installation: May 29, 2016.

Rev. Dan Moeller, Zion Lutheran Church, Yorkton, Saskatchewan to to Holy Trinity Lutheran Church/Hope Lutheran Church, Inglis/Grandview, Manitoba. Installation: July 3, 2016.

Announcements Rev. Tim Graff of Ponoka, Alberta has submitted an application to the Pastoral Colloquy Program of Lutheran Church–Canada. Communications regarding this application should be submitted in writing within four weeks to the Rev. Tom Kruesel, Chairman, LCC Colloquy Committee, c/o 201 Birch St., Campbell River, BC, V9W 2S6 or lcc_colloquy@gmail.com.

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THE CANADIAN LUTHERAN May/June 2016

Daily Bible Reading

“Let the Word of Christ dwell in you...”

T

his time around, we complete a series of New Testament books we began at the end of last issue’s readings: the epistles of St. Paul. In these books, the Apostle clearly explains the Good News of the Gospel, and calls Christians to live new lives in light of their salvation. We have “put on the new self,” St. Paul writes (Colossians 3:10)—a process that means, among other things, learning to “let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly” (3:16). God uses the Word to transform us ever more into His image.

Find earlier readings in previous issues of The Canadian Lutheran, o r d ow n l o a d t h e m a t w w w. canadianlutheran.ca/biblereading/.

“Let the man who would hear God speak read Holy Scripture.”

- Martin Luther

WEEK 87  Mon  Tues  Wed  Thurs  Fri  Sat

Rm 7:1–25 Rm 8:1–39 Rm 9:1–11:36 Rm 12:1–21 Rm 13:1–14:23 Rm 15:1–16:27

WEEK 91  Mon  Tues  Wed  Thurs  Fri  Sat

Gal 3:1–29 Gal 4:1–31 Gal 5:1–6:18 Eph 1:1–23 Eph 2:1–22 Eph 3:1–21

WEEK 95  Mon  Tues  Wed  Thurs  Fri  Sat

1Tm 3:1–16 1Tm 4:1–16 1Tm 5:1–25 1Tm 6:1–21 2Tm 1:1–18 2Tm 2:1–26

WEEK 88  Mon  Tues  Wed  Thurs  Fri  Sat

1Co 1:1–2:16 1Co 3:1–4:21 1Co 5:1–6:20 1Co 7:1–40 1Co 8:1–9:27 1Co 10:1–33

WEEK 92  Mon  Tues  Wed  Thurs  Fri  Sat

Eph 4:1–32 Eph 5:1–6:24 Php 1:1–30 Php 2:1–30 Php 3:1–4:1 Php 4:2–23

WEEK 96  Mon  Tues  Wed  Thurs  Fri  Sat

2Tm 3:1–4:22 Ti 1:1–16 Ti 2:1–15 Ti 3:1–15 Phm 1–25 Heb 1:1–14

WEEK 89  Mon  Tues  Wed  Thurs  Fri  Sat

1Co 11:1–12:31 1Co 13:1–14:40 1Co 15:1–58 1Co 16:1–24 2Co 1:1–2:17 2Co 3:1–4:18

WEEK 93  Mon  Tues  Wed  Thurs  Fri  Sat

Col 1:1–29 Col 2:1–23 Col 3:1–4:18 1Th 1:1–10 1Th 2:1–20 1Th 3:1–13

WEEK 97  Mon  Tues  Wed  Thurs  Fri  Sat

Heb 2:1–18 Heb 3:1–19 Heb 4:1–16 Heb 5:1–14 Heb 6:1–20 Heb 7:1–28

WEEK 90  Mon  Tues  Wed  Thurs  Fri  Sat

2Co 5:1–21 2Co 6:1–7:16 2Co 8:1–9:15 2Co 10:1–11:33 2Co 12:1–13:14 Gal 1:1–2:21

WEEK 94  Mon  Tues  Wed  Thurs  Fri  Sat

1Th 4:1–18 1Th 5:1–28 2Th 1:1–12 2Th 2:1–3:18 1Tm 1:1–20 1Tm 2:1–15

WEEK 98  Mon  Tues  Wed  Thurs  Fri  Sat

Heb 8:1–13 Heb 9:1–28 Heb 10:1–18 Heb 10:19–39 Heb 11:1–40 Heb 12:1–29

Readings for the above plan are from the Lutheran Study Bible © 2006 Concordia Publishing House. Used with permission. To purchase this resource or other Bible reading resources, please visit CPH at www.cph.org.

THE CANADIAN LUTHERAN May/June 2016

41

Presidential Perspective

Save Us From Self President Robert Bugbee

“M

y life. My death. My choice.” It was an internet comment posted recently following a news story on the topic of physician-assisted suicide. I don’t know who wrote it, but the author figured this was a trump-card he could throw on the pile to silence people who don’t agree with him on that issue. After all, who could disagree that I alone should make ultimate decisions on things that clearly belong to me… like my life and my death?

It’s a little silly to imagine things are that simple. After all, my life isn’t something I earned in the first place.

It came to me as a gift. Even people who don’t believe in God didn’t create themselves. Parents, loved ones, and a world around them all had a part in bestowing life, protecting it, and helping them to live theirs. Laws and social customs make clear that you cannot just do absolutely whatever you want with your life, your words and actions along the way. Try to be too radical about doing whatever you wish with your life, and there will be pushback. Things you figure you have every right to do frequently affect other people, their well-being, and even their pocketbooks when they have to clean up after some of the choices you decided were totally yours to make.

A crisis like the fires in Fort McMurray is a clear threat. The Zika virus or a terrorist attack would be, too.

Everyone would instantly recognize, “We’ve got to respond… now!” But there is a different sort of danger among us. It is widespread. It is real.

And we’re all affected by it. Because it is gradual and subtle, however, it flies

42

“under the radar,” so to speak, and doesn’t grab headlines.

I’m talking about the self-absorbed mindset one meets all around us. It is not only a problem in Canada, but throughout western societies where people have wealth and more options than elsewhere. The symptoms are everywhere. You see them on news networks, where an endless stream of individuals and groups air grievances against somebody, because their rights are not being properly recognized.

You hear their echoes in the constant demands being made on governments and relentless criticism of what they are failing to accomplish, while one hears rather little appreciation for the many things they do right. It leads me to wonder whether such blessings are being taken for granted or at least minimized because, after all, I am “owed” these things. One sees it in the struggle of some service organizations, parent-teacher leagues, and other agencies hard-pressed to find people to volunteer, while voices can be quick to complain if the same groups are not furnishing a service or benefit I figure I’ve got coming to me.

Because God’s people live in the real world, it’s no surprise that we meet this self-centeredness within the church, too. There are wonderful exceptions, but many church families struggle to enlist helpers to do important work, while in some of those places there is no shortage of voices demanding or complaining that “I’m not receiving what I should.”

When he explains the First Article of the Apostles’ Creed, Martin Luther writes, “I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears and

THE CANADIAN LUTHERAN May/June 2016

all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them” (Lutheran Service Book, page 322). In the Second Article, he reminds that Jesus “has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death and from the power of the devil… that I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him” (LSB, page 323).

Pull all that together. My life is given me as a gift. My mental and physical strengths are, too. My standing as God’s child is also an undeserved gift from Jesus. He has a claim on my words and actions, so that they offer grateful service to Him and to people He places all around me.

It is not likely that you will undo the self-absorbed mindset in the world around you any time soon. It’s wise, however, to pinpoint it as a distinct temptation aimed directly at you as much as anyone, to repent of it when it grips you, and to wrestle with it in the power of God’s Holy Spirit. “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). When God gets His chance to do this work on you, it sets you apart from the run-of-the-mill out there that always stress “my right” over my duty and “what is owed me” over how I might give myself to others.

The self-absorbed mindset, though it sounds like a “slam dunk” argument on the internet, is tearing much of our world apart.

How we praise the Lord Christ for freeing us to walk a better way! How we trust Him to use it to bring some healing in the corner where you live and give your witness!

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