About Us

Unabashedly traditionalist, confessional, high church, and evangelical-catholic, we are a society of pastors
and lay people who are devoted to preserving and promoting the Lutheran liturgical tradition. We believe
that it was the intention of Martin Luther and the other 16th Century Lutheran Reformers to retain the
Mass of the Catholic Church in the West with all its musical and ceremonial splendor, removing only
those un-evangelical accretions which crept in during the late Middle Ages. Their goal was to allow the Mass to
set forth more clearly the Gospel and to increase congregational participation, not to eliminate the Mass
and replace it with some sectarian invention of their own. The unfortunate phenomenon of infrequent celebration of the
Lord's Supper among Lutherans (once a month, four times a year, etc.) was a result of unfortunate historical
circumstances, and was completely foreign to the liturgical vision of the Lutheran Reformers. The Lutheran
Confessions envision regular celebrations of the Mass on every Sunday and on Feast Days. The use of much
traditional ceremonial was retained, including the lectionary, eucharistic vestments, incense, the elevation
(with the ringing of bells), candles, chant, and many other things which our heavily protestantized clergy and laity
would consider "too Catholic." They retained these customs and usages out of a profound sense that
they truly belonged to the Catholic Church, and were not merely a schismatic sect. They defended the
presence of Christ in the Holy Supper rigorously, and insisted on Christ's real and objective presence in the Eucharist
in oppostition to the symbolic and receptionist understanding of the Zwinglians, and later, the Calvinists. Their worship
was splendid and beautiful reflecting their uncompromising belief that Jesus is truly present in, with, and under
the bread and wine of the Mass. We long for such devotion in the Lutheran churches of our own time and place.

We exist 1.to support one another in working to restore catholic ceremonial
and usages to our parish worship services, 2. to support one another in resisting
the sectarian innovations of "the church growth" movement, 3. to preserve the
historic Lutheran liturgy from the ravages of "political correctness," 4. to foster
good and faithful practices among our members, 5. to provide educational opportunites,
retreats, etc. for pastors and laity devoted to the Church's historic worship, and 6. to remind the Lutheran Church of her great liturgical heritage. If this organization
sounds like it's for you, contact our Dean, the Rev. Jack Whritenour
(Trinity Lutheran Church, ELCA, Shelton, CT) at pastorwhritenour@sbcglobal.net.