Lutherans in the News

This weekend I had the most amazing experience. I'm writing from Germany, where I was with Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and president of the Lutheran World Federation. We were in Wittenberg, the town where Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the doors of the Castle Church in 1517. His theses questioned biblical interpretations and practices of the Catholic Church. What followed was the Lutheran or Protestant Reformation.

The purpose of our trip was for the bishop to participate in a series of events Sept. 20-21 that initiated the "Luther Decade." Local civic and church leaders are planning several events and activities over the next 10 years leading to 2017, the 500th anniversary of Luther's posting of the 95 Theses.

We went to the Castle Church, where Bishop Hanson preached Sept. 21, and we saw the most famous doors in the world. No doubt they were made of wood back then. Today they have been replaced by two large metal doors inscribed with the 95 Theses.

The night Bishop Hanson preached, we were invited to dinner with representatives of the Evangelical Church in Germany. I was seated next to the mayor of Wittenberg, Eckhard Naumann. He is the only mayor that Wittenberg has had since the former East German government collapsed in 1989. Naumann is an optimistic, upbeat person, who has an enormous opportunity to improve Wittenberg's prominence and its economic situation during the Luther Decade.

During our conversation, he said the city must plan meaningful activities and events to attract visitors, tourists and pilgrims. He said that seeing the doors wasn't really enough. I told him I would love to come back to Wittenberg someday, but for this weekend, seeing the Castle Church and the doors was plenty. I told him that for all of my life, since I was a child, I've heard the Reformation story of a German monk who defied church authorities by writing and posting his 95 Theses on a church door. The result was Luther's excommunication, the Reformation of the church, and the roots of Lutheranism. I told him it was a special moment for me to stand outside the church and to see the doors. I thought about all of those stories I heard when I was young and continue to hear today. For this weekend, I needed nothing else, I said to the mayor. In fact, I think for many Lutherans, just seeing where it all began would be very special.

We'll all be hearing a lot about the Luther Decade during the next several years. Check out the details on the Web at http://www.wittenberg.de and http://www.luther2017.de

Lutheran Disaster Response, a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, has been busy in the past few weeks, responding to or preparing for a series of tropical storms and hurricanes. This ministry of the churches has a network of disaster coordinators already in place throughout the United States, primarily through Lutheran social ministry organizations and local church synods or districts. This week, staff was working with coordinators on the ground in Louisiana, following Hurricane Gustav, and preparing for Hurricane Ike, which was headed for southeast Texas. The people associated with this ministry are professionals, who deserve our support, through prayer and finances.

ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson also asked the ELCA to keep sisters and brothers in the Gulf Coast region in our thoughts and prayers. In a message to the ELCA Aug. 12, he wrote:

"I call on you to respond in the midst of danger and loss. While some are preparing for storms yet to come, others are fleeing from storms, and still others are rebuilding in the aftermath of disasters. I ask you to respond with your prayers, your generous gifts of time and money, your volunteer hours and skills, the open doors of your homes and churches, and your commitment to a sustaining presence for the long haul.

These expressions of our faith remind us that we are called by name and are bound together by our baptisms into community with those who suffer. Thank you for your generous and sustaining response in the midst of the disasters."

This week, 28 bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) met in Washington, D.C. to learn about the church's advocacy and to visit members of Congress. This is an annual gathering. It's a good chance for our bishops to become more engaged in advocacy in their regular ongoing work. What was really impressive is that the ELCA Washington Office staff had arranged more than 50 Capitol Hill meetings for the bishops, either with congressional staff from their districts or with members of Congress themselves. These personal connections are important for the church in our work related to such topics as farm and food issues, the environment, serving impoverished people, health care, immigration, HIV and AIDS, the Middle East, etc.

It was a privilege for me to address the ELCA bishops at this meeting about branding, communication and media relations.