Gottesblog

This is a shameless plug for an endeavor that some of our editors are involved in: Wittenberg Academy, the online Lutheran high school. Really it's more than a high school: we've got students of many levels. For example in Latin (which I teach) we run everything from Elementary Latin for grade schoolers up through Latin Readings and Latin for Adults. Father Beane and Father Braaten also teach for the school.

This is a very round about book review of James C. Russell's The Germanization of Early Medieval Christianity: A Sociohistorical Approach to Religious Transformation. (Oxford University Press, 1996. 272 pages. Find it used for more like $23 instead of the list price of $60).

...how about this: if it were economically feasible for you to walk away from the ministry and into another line of work tomorrow, would you go? These statistics indicate that among generic "American clergy" the number who would respond in the affirmative stands somewhere between 50 and 57 percent.

The following is from G.K. Chesterton's "The Little Birds That Won't Sing" in the collection of essays Tremendous Trifles. Compare Luther's "And then go joyfully to your work, singing..."

Fr. Eric Wismar has posted the entirety of Pro Ecclesia Lutherana, the journal of the Liturgical Society of St. James, online. Fr. Wismar's great-grandfather Father...well, Father Wismar (Adolph), was one of the founders of the society. From his introduction to the collection:

Transfiguration is traditionally celebrated in the West on August 6. In Sweden and other Nordic countries, the Lutherans continued this tradition. But many German Lutherans (Church Orders authored by Bugenhagen and Veit Dietrich: See Reid, The Lutheran Liturgy pp 485-86) moved the festival to the last Sunday before Pre-Lent. This is a good example of doing liturgical change the right way.

The Roman Church is in the news again with many large dioceses publishing their full records concerning clergy sexual abuse charges. It's all so sad. And yet it is refreshing that they are finally just putting the records out there: at least people will know the reasons why Father X was suddenly no longer a priest.

Everybody needs a hobby. Chuck, what are your hobbies? Evangelism? Chuckie....that's the Synodical sport.

Father Surburg has a very thoughtful piece on his switch from the three-year to the one-year lectionary. I'll add one more reason why the one-year lectionary might be worth a try in your congregation: the new bulletin covers for the one-lectionary that feature solid Christian artwork based on the Gospel for the day.