Letters to the editor
‘Shrinking church’ not an inevitability Interns, skipping church, shootings, youth coverage bring responses
JANUARY 2013 •
www.thelutheran.org • $2.50 ® The shrinking church Story 22, study guide 29 y guide 28
Mission rebuild 16 Interns learn ropes 30 Diverse households 32 Holden hits the road 38
mix of conservative politics with reli- gion. Many who seek to connect with our loving God in a spirit of tolerance and compassion equate evangelical with being pushy, narrow-minded, hypocritical, anti-science and biblical literalism. Liberal followers of Christ need to reclaim the word evangelical in
the media and in public opinion. Brenda Bielke Boise, Idaho
Interns bring a lot
The shrinking and closing of congre- gations isn’t inevitable (January, page 22). Lutherans suffer from an over- dependency on seminary trained, pro- fessional, paid clergy and an amazing lack of imagination and creativity in finding ways to provide competent spiritual leadership. In Britain, there are numerous examples of collabora- tive ministry models we could learn from. My prayer is that we learn from what others who really believe in the priesthood of all believers have been
doing for more than three decades. The Rev. Richard O. Hill Coram, N.Y.
Reclaim ‘evangelical’
As I read “The shrinking church” I thought about my return to church after a 20-year hiatus. I was happy to dis- cover that the ELCA is more accepting of diversity and liberal thinking than the Lutheran denomination I was raised in. But I only discovered that because my parents had joined the ELCA some years before. I had a negative view of the word “evangelical” thanks to the
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www.thelutheran.org
I appreciated the article on seminary interns (January, page 30). A grow- ing number of seminarians are second career folks with families who can’t relocate for various reasons. I com- muted to Pacific Lutheran Theologi- cal Seminary for seven years and also served as an intern in a congregation, receiving a stipend of $200 a month. We must begin to see these “excep- tions” as the new norm and receive with gratitude the blessings these cir- cumstances offer. My internship con- gregation could have never had the unique and rewarding experience of an intern had my seminary and synod not
been open to creative ideas. The Rev. Trudy L. Franzen El Dorado Hills, Calif.
Article spot on David Hansen’s article “Why don’t people come to church?” (December, page 34) should be required read- ing from the pulpit of every church in the country. All one has to do is look at how Christians behaved during the recent political campaign to come to the conclusion that “if that’s what Christianity is, I don’t want any part of it.” How many pastors had the courage to address that behavior from the pul-
pit? My guess is very, very few. Bob Cooper Millersville, Pa.
Prove in action
I have to agree that church is more about how we treat one another than about programs. If genuine love is shown to one another there would be more people in church. I was ill for more than a month and someone from my congregation visited me every weekday while my husband was at work. They came because they cared enough to welcome me into the fold. The experience demonstrated the ELCA tagline “God’s work. Our hands.” What a powerful motivation to
want to go to church. Cathy Foelske Dekalb, Ill.
Concern over guns I’m a retired pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, and we have much stricter gun control here than in the U.S. As I watched the lat- est gun tragedy in your country and felt the pain of so many people, I want to ask your church two questions. Will we be provided with guns when we get to heaven to keep us safe from treachery? And is the U.S. statement “In God We Trust” really believed, or is it “In Guns
We Trust”? The Rev. Donald W. Johnson North Vancouver, B.C., Canada
‘Lame’ coverage This note is long overdue. My grand- daughter participated in the ELCA Youth Gathering in New Orleans (Sep- tember, page 14). More than 33,000 attended and The Lutheran gave it three pages. How pathetic. You give individ-
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