For a study guide see page 23.
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bubblegum doo-wop hit called “All About That Bass” has recently been an earworm to some radio listeners and to others a chance to sing loudly in the car with their local pop radio station. But for Lutherans, it’s all about something else—that grace.
Nearly 200 Lutherans responded to a reader call asking what drew them to the ELCA. Judging by their enthu- siasm, they may not be cradle Lutherans but they are Lutherans to the grave.
Grace and welcome are the recurring words that led them to the ELCA (or predecessor bodies). As Kaleb McCormick of Mount Moriah Lutheran, Anna, Ill., put it: “The friendliness of the congregation hooked me, that message of grace reeled me in.” Some identified the hook as liturgy or music, but for many the door to being Lutheran was opened by a person: a boyfriend, girlfriend, fiance or spouse, a pastor, best friend, co-worker or neighbor, their student or their own child, a church greeter—even a bank teller. For some, being asked to sing in the choir or play organ was all the invitation they needed. Others were introduced to the church through Bible camp, vacation Bible school, Sunday school or campus ministry. Jerry Wirtley landed at Christ the King Lutheran Church in Charlotte, N.C., because of a “Souper Bowl” party. He and his wife returned to the church the following week for a Valentine’s Day dance and then tried worship. “I stayed with the ELCA because we accept people where they are, and walk with them in a journey toward becom- ing disciples,” he said.
Like more than 15 respondents, Wirtley went from barely any church experience to being a pastor (St. John Lutheran, Little Suamico, Wis.). Jim Hazelwood went from no faith experience to being bishop of the New England Synod—it all started with his mother’s golfing partner giving her a Lutheran preschool recommendation for young Jim.
Several people cited female pastors, the 2009 ELCA sexuality decisions, or receiving an unconditional accep- tance for which they had yearned. Many found a progres- sive theology and an emphasis on justice work to their liking.
In a few cases, tragic life circumstances brought them to church.
The funeral of Teresa Fischer’s 12-year-old nephew was led by a Lutheran pastor, who opened the door for her to search for peace and hope, and encouraged her to get involved.
“I found a measure of comfort in the Lutheran liturgy, the rituals, the sameness of every week … and slowly started patching the crumbled foundation of my soul,” she said.
Fischer, a member of First Evangelical Lutheran Church, Beardstown, Ill., met her husband, a lifelong Lutheran, in Bible study, “and we raised two children in the Lutheran church that we love.”
Even Luther gets credit
Several people credited Martin Luther or the Book of Concord with their entry into the church. Others were just church shopping. Sue Anne Teal attended Trinity Lutheran Church in Stephens City, Va., simply to invite the new pastor to join the Rotary Club. But the liturgy in the Lutheran Book of Worship drew her in and kept her.
The Spirit, or “divine intervention,” had a role in many trips through the doors of an ELCA church—or maybe all of them.
As a young adult, Elayne Finkelstein, Greenville, S.C., was late for her own church one Sunday and looked up to see Trinity Lutheran. “So I scooted in, sat down and experienced the greatest heart awakening I’d ever had in church,” she said.
When she later told the pastor why she had first 18
A ‘catechismal’ proposal Cheryl Siegenthaler teases her husband that when they decided to marry he had “a marriage proposal in one hand and Martin Luther’s Small Catechism in the other.” While they dated, he explained Luther’s story and the doctrine of justification and grace. “For a single mom who felt she had committed far too many sins ever to be forgiven, the idea of such a gift as grace opened doors always thought closed, and I said yes to both husband and the Lutheran church,” Siegenthaler said. Three years short of retiring as a high school English teacher, she entered seminary. “It was harder for God to call me to ordained ministry than it had been for that young man to convince me to become a Lutheran 38 years ago,” said the pastor of Philadelphia Lutheran Church, Bellefontaine, Ohio. “But our children are grateful mom waited until they were adults to make them ‘preacher’s kids.’ ”
February 2015 17
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