Letters to the editor Bible quotes, columnist draw cheers Passages show scope of faith while Marty gets it right about worship ® JANUARY 2011


www.thelutheran.org $2.50


the January issue (page 3). I’ve always felt that to walk into the holy space of a religious sanctuary is to acknowledge two realities: First, that there is a center and, secondly, that center is not me. That distinction makes all the difference in the world come Monday morning. What a


A sampling of favorites 20 Plus study guide 26


Congregations’ sorrow, joy amid assembly fallout 14


As incivility increases, pastors not spared 16


Opportunity to grow in the ‘God gap’30


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I got out my Bible and read every passage and then the comments by the person submitting the passage.


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The January issue is one of your best ever. I read it cover to cover with renewed enthusiasm for our life as ELCA Christians. But I have to single out “One for you, one for me” (page 20) as one of the best articles I’ve ever read. I got out my Bible and read every passage and then the comments by the person sub- mitting the passage. I was amazed at the great mosaic that is the ELCA, and even more so the Lutheran World Federation and Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, that serve to remind us just how


wide is the scope of our Lutheran faith. Charles F. Freitag Broomfield, Colo.


Column got it right I want to commend as strongly as I’m able the column on worship by Peter Marty in


48 The Lutheran • www.thelutheran.org


Share it with others Since not all ELCA congregations have every-home subscriptions to The Lutheran, I encourage every reader to make photocopies of Marty’s piece to use at adult education forums, leave on the table in the narthex, or share with folks in the neighborhood. It’s a won- derful summary of what worship is all about for Lutheran Christians in this


“awe-deficient world.” The Rev. George E. Keck Harleysville, Pa.


Editor missed it


In January you identified (page 4) a 2011 goal of “orient(ing) articles to reflect the changes brought about by the actions of the 2009 Churchwide Assembly ….” It is a human tendency to frame life experi- ences in terms of before and after a trau- matic event. When we take this perspec- tive, we make the traumatic event more important than the gospel story of Jesus. We will always be a post-something world. Why not reclaim our identity


defined by God’s work among us? The Rev. James Brandis Niles, Ohio


Restrictions wanting Regarding the ELCA Church Coun- cil’s proposal to make it more diffi- cult for congregations to leave the


gift Marty is to the ELCA. The Rev. James T. Heinemeier Rockville, Md.


ELCA (January, page 8), imagine the public outrage and cries for federal leg- islation should Internet providers, cell phone and cable companies impose


such arduous measures. D.R. Wildey Round Grove Township, Minn.


No regrets


At Christmas Eve worship service, I saw gay couples visiting from out of town, sitting in pews with relatives, and being greeted by congregation members who hadn’t seen them for years or had never met them. Two years ago that wouldn’t have happened. The 2009 sexuality votes are what made the difference: those who had felt like outcasts now feel welcome. Still aglow with joy from what I wit- nessed and took part in on Christmas


Eve, I can’t find reason for regret. Randi Eldevik Stillwater, Okla.


Member by choice I venture to say that the ELCA would still be seeing a percentage of congregations leaving even if the 2009 Churchwide Assembly actions on sexuality had gone the other way, for I would have been a member that could not have stayed within their ranks. I need to be included among those who don’t discriminate, so I consciously choose to be a member of a church that welcomes female pastors,


as well as gay and lesbian clergy. Sharyn Tock Denver, Iowa


Unhealthy church In her article “Bullying the pastor” (Jan- uary, page 16), Julie Sevig accurately observed that “unhealthy congregations tolerate the most outrageous behavior.” The same is true of any expression of


The


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