Newsletter

February 1, 2005.

From the Dean

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Parishioners of mine recently returned from vacation during which they worshipped at another ELCA
church. Having grown accustomed to very reverent, dignified, and beautiful services, they were appalled
to see the pastor, the lay worship assistant, and several members of the congregation
casually sipping coffee from a nearby convenience store during worship. I, too, was appalled when I heard
about this. And yet, this kind of sloppy irreverent behavior is tragically not an isolated incident.
I believe there is a serious crisis in our Lutheran congregations. In many of our congregations, God
is simply no longer the focus-- we are! And if causally sipping our coffee during the service makes us
feel comfortable, welcomed, "right at home"- then that's what really matters.

I founded this venerable society because I love the Lutheran liturgy and I am truly concerned for its future in our Lutheran congregations. Attacks on the liturgy are being made from many different angles. Some view the historic liturgy as an obstacle to evangelization, others want to rid the liturgy of everything "male" and "patriarchal"- even the Triune name of God. Some are waging war on the hymnody of the Church, desiring
to replace it with more "upbeat" contempory praise music. Through the promotion of good liturgical praxis, this society seeks to challenge these un-catholic positions and guard
the great treasure of the Church's liturgy from those who would replace it or
corrupt it. We believe that the traditional liturgy, far from being an obstacle to
evangelization is a gift from God through which He gathers, sustains, and nurtures
His people in the the Christian faith. We long to see worship practices that
reflect our unwavering belief that Jesus Christ our Lord is truly present in,
with, and under the bread and wine of the Holy Mass.
May God prosper the work of this society for our benefit
and the benefit of all His Church. Amen.

Your servant in Christ,
Pastor Jack Whritenour