News
LCMS president apologizes T
he president of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod in mid-
February apologized for his role in the “debacle” that led him to pub- licly reprimand a pastor in Newtown, Conn., for praying at an interfaith service following the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. In the initial incident, the denomi-
nation’s president, Matthew C. Har- rison, requested an apology from Rob Morris of Newtown’s Christ the King Lutheran Church for partici- pating in the vigil that followed the Dec. 14 shootings. Morris’ role broke denominational rules against joint worship with other religions. Morris did apologize—not for his participation but for offend- ing members of the St. Louis-based denomination. The president’s request, however,
sparked a blaze of criticism from within and outside the denomination. Critics charged he was intolerant and
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insensitive to the town’s grieving residents. “In retrospect, I … see that I could’ve done things differently,” Harrison said in a video posted on the denomination’s blog Feb. 10. In an accompanying letter, he apologized for the “embarrass- ment due to the media coverage” that came with the controversy. He asked for forgiveness and patience from LCMS members. “As president of the Lutheran
Church–Missouri Synod, I take responsibility for this debacle,” he said. “I handled it poorly, multiplying the challenges. I increased the pain of a hurting community.” The controversy is the second high-profile reprimand after a New York pastor was suspended for participating in an interfaith service after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Protestants raise volunteers Students at Protestant high schools are more likely to volunteer as adults than those who attended other insti- tutions. A study by Jonathan Hill and Kevin de Dulk, professors at Cal- vin College, Grand Rapids, Mich., found that 83 percent of graduates of Protestant high schools volunteer as adults, compared to those from Roman Catholic (55 percent), public (48 percent), homeschool (23 per- cent) and secular private (10 percent) institutions. Students at Roman Cath- olic institutions were most likely (87 percent) to volunteer while enrolled in high school, and homeschool- ers were least likely (63 percent volunteered).
Ireland apologizes
Prime Minister Enda Kenny apolo- gized Feb. 19 for Ireland turning a blind eye to women imprisoned in “Magdalene Laundries,” Roman Catholic-run workhouses—the last of which closed in 1996. Incarcer- ated for being “fallen” women, most were not prostitutes, simply impov- erished, homeless or from dysfunc- tional families. More than 10,000 young women spent months or years without education doing menial labor for the church’s profit. Kenny said Ireland owes compensation to the women and will offer aid to about 1,000 survivors still living, as well as a national memorial.
COURTESY OF ELCA MALARIA CAMPAIGN/ALLEN BUTTE
Call the exterminators Lord of Life Lutheran Church spent the season of Lent eliminating a swarm of 500
pipe-cleaner mosquitoes at its two campuses in Clifton and Fairfax, Va. Members donated $10, the cost of a mosquito net, to remove each of the insects, raising $5,000 for the ELCA Malaria Campaign (
www.elca.org/malaria).
10 The Lutheran •
www.thelutheran.org
Betting on the new pope By this time, you likely know the name of the new pope. But leading up to the conclave in early March, speculation on the new pontiff turned into a betting game. Just hours after Pope Benedict XVI announced his resignation, Irish bookmaker Paddy Power announced odds. It’s illegal to place bets on the pope in the U.S.— even in Nevada—because it’s con- 12
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