September Note

From Pastor Ryan

Get ready for October!
This coming October, we are going to be celebrating what it means to be Lutheran. We will look at our rich history, learn more about what we believe, and celebrate how SOTP is an important part of shaping the Lutheran church going forward.

Our Lutheran heritage will be explored and celebrated each weekend through worship, presentations, a movie, a dinner celebration, and even a party at Sew Hop’d! Events include, Lutheranism 101 with Pastor Bill, a screening of the movie Luther, a book study, a dinner with Rev. Rev. Dr. Martin Lohrmann from Wartburg Seminary, and the party at Sew Hop’d will feature a German band!

If you ever check out the ELCA website (elca.org) and read the sections on what we believe, you’ll find that the most influential documents for our church, outside of Scripture, are found in the Book of Concord. It is a hefty book that contains many documents from the Protestant Reformation that are critical to our faith. It looks overwhelming, but the Reformers who wrote the documents (Martin Luther, Philip Melanchthon, and others) wrote in ways that remain very readable for us, even today. Even so, it can be intimidating to pick up such a formidable text and try to read it. Fortunately for us, one of my seminary professors, Dr. Lohrmann, wrote a book called The Book of Harmony that serves as a companion to the Book of Concord. (Concord means harmony). It is fun read, and it gives us a great overview of our faith without having to mine the depths of other theological writings.

I brought this book to the attention of our other worship leaders, and all agreed we should incorporate it into our October plans. We will cover chapters 1, 2, 4, and 5 throughout the month. We are encouraging our 7s groups to adopt a discussion of the book as their plan for the fall. We are also looking for others who would like to form small groups to engage with the book. If you’re interested in getting such a group together, please reach out to Donna Kelly or me. By the time Dr. Lohrmann is with us on October 26 and 27, we will be more than ready to hear his remarks and engage him in great discussion about matters of the Lutheran faith. Pastor Mark is securing many copies of the book. You can contact either one of us if you’d like to purchase one.

We chose chapters 1, 2, 4, and 5 out of the seven total chapters because they cover topics relevant to where we see SOTP now and moving into the future. These chapters model the theme of the month; understanding where we come from while we discern how our faith moves into a flexible future focused on mission.

We will encounter a broad overview of the Book of Concord and explore themes from the early Lutheran Reformation We will learn about the Augsburg Confession (the cornerstone document that outlines our core beliefs) and see how it grounds our church in a shared faith, and gives us the kind of foundation that allows us to be flexible in how we serve others and worship in ways that are relevant for today’s culture. Lastly, we will dig into the Apology of the Augsburg Confession (a document Philip Melanchthon wrote to defend the Augsburg Confession against attacks from the Roman Catholic Pope and those loyal to him). Through the Apology, Melanchthon reinforces the relationship between faith, love, and good works (the church finds its life and mission not in its own strength or purity, but in the self-giving love of Christ – Book of Harmony, p. 87).

All this promises to fulfill an exciting, spiritual, energizing, and educational month. I hope this little teaser has given you some idea of what to expect and piqued your desire to take in as many of these events and opportunities as will fit your schedule! Please look for a more detailed schedule, slides, and registrations as we get closer to October! I look forward to seeing you as we celebrate who we are and where God is calling us to go!

Peace,

Pastor Ryan

Email Pastor Ryan:  pastorryan@sotpmail.com