Lutheran Revival = Oxymoron?
Pastor’s Ponderings for July:
This last weekend in June, Immanuel Lutheran Church, St. James Lutheran Church, Joliet Lutheran Church and Messiah Lutheran Church, are sponsoring and participating in a first in the Montana Synod - a Lutheran Church Revival. If this sounds like an oxymoron, it may be because this is indeed a very rare occurrence in these parts. The revival is not so rare, but a Lutheran revival is. In Baltimore, the church Susan was called to serve as a deacon - Peace Lutheran Church - did have revival services outside on their lawn. Their revival is a witness to the suburban community of the confessing and professing faith of the congregation of Peace Lutheran Church of Glen Burnie.
This is no different here for us in Carbon and Stillwater Counties of Montana. We gather together and confess our faith, renew our Lutheran heritage and spirituality, and profess to this area of south central Montana our Christian convictions as Lutherans. At this revival we will not try to become Baptist or Pentecostals - but rather we witness to our being Lutheran. On Saturday we have a baptism with a remembrance of baptism offered to all. On Sunday we offer Holy Communion with healing prayer and prayers for the world. The services will offer both Word and Sacrament; the form of the service is the fourfold structure of Gathering, the Word, the Meal, and Sending that we are all familiar. If any Lutheran were to stop in for this service they would feel right at home. The only difference is that the service will be outside along Hwy 212 just north of Red Lodge. It is a public witness of our faith in Jesus Christ. It is a public testimony of our convictions, of our faith, and of our Love of God.
I hope many are able to come and participate. It is good for us to get out and engage in expressions of our faith in different venues of worship. This cross pollination offers us a refreshing way to renew our faith, to expand upon how we offer worship at Immanuel, to engage us in a renewed sense of our call to mission and ministry. Come and see what is possible; come and see, come and experience a renewal of our Lutheran spiritual heritage, come and participate in worship and praise God, come and share the love and call of Jesus Christ to and for us.
This last weekend in June, Immanuel Lutheran Church, St. James Lutheran Church, Joliet Lutheran Church and Messiah Lutheran Church, are sponsoring and participating in a first in the Montana Synod - a Lutheran Church Revival. If this sounds like an oxymoron, it may be because this is indeed a very rare occurrence in these parts. The revival is not so rare, but a Lutheran revival is. In Baltimore, the church Susan was called to serve as a deacon - Peace Lutheran Church - did have revival services outside on their lawn. Their revival is a witness to the suburban community of the confessing and professing faith of the congregation of Peace Lutheran Church of Glen Burnie.
This is no different here for us in Carbon and Stillwater Counties of Montana. We gather together and confess our faith, renew our Lutheran heritage and spirituality, and profess to this area of south central Montana our Christian convictions as Lutherans. At this revival we will not try to become Baptist or Pentecostals - but rather we witness to our being Lutheran. On Saturday we have a baptism with a remembrance of baptism offered to all. On Sunday we offer Holy Communion with healing prayer and prayers for the world. The services will offer both Word and Sacrament; the form of the service is the fourfold structure of Gathering, the Word, the Meal, and Sending that we are all familiar. If any Lutheran were to stop in for this service they would feel right at home. The only difference is that the service will be outside along Hwy 212 just north of Red Lodge. It is a public witness of our faith in Jesus Christ. It is a public testimony of our convictions, of our faith, and of our Love of God.
I hope many are able to come and participate. It is good for us to get out and engage in expressions of our faith in different venues of worship. This cross pollination offers us a refreshing way to renew our faith, to expand upon how we offer worship at Immanuel, to engage us in a renewed sense of our call to mission and ministry. Come and see what is possible; come and see, come and experience a renewal of our Lutheran spiritual heritage, come and participate in worship and praise God, come and share the love and call of Jesus Christ to and for us.
posted by RevLev at 10:15 AM
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