I was taken aback when I saw the tweet from a journalist I began following last week, during the Churchwide Assembly: Reward offered in pastor’s “horrific” killing. (via CNN) #ELCA http://tinyurl.com/md6h6b Following the link, I read the gut-wrenching news of Pastor Carol Daniels’ murder, in her Oklahoma church, on Sunday morning. A murder on holy… Continue Reading
Monthly Archives: August 2009
Respect for bound conscience (#CWA09)
Our social statement calls us to respect the bound consciences of those who have prayerfully and faithfully come to conclusions different from our own. What might this look like in practice? Lutheran CORE would say: “Out of love for you, we will no longer oppose the changes you seek.” Goodsoil would say: “Out of love… Continue Reading
Strib doesn’t get sexuality statement (#CWA09)
The headline in today’s Minneapolis StarTribune reads: ELCA validates ‘chaste’ same-sex relationships. It goes on: The vote on recognizing gay relationships came down to the thinnest of margins. One vote. That was the margin Wednesday by which the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America churchwide assembly approved a social statement that, among other things, acknowledges the… Continue Reading
Assembly Reflections, Tuesday and Wednesday (#cwa09)
The Internets are restless – I noticed that one of the search queries that brought people to the St. John’s web site was “where is Bob Schaefer’s blog for August 19″ Confession: The Assembly is taking much more than I expected, both in terms of time and energy. I’d intended to post nightly wrap-ups like… Continue Reading
Assembly Wrap-Up, Monday (#cwa09)
Taking a few minutes during the opening of today’s session to share the main developments yesterday at the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly in Minneapolis. Key Business Monday’s work was housekeeping – establishing and approving the rules and agenda that will structure the Assembly’s work during the remainder of the week. Major Developments A number of… Continue Reading
Humor: Golden Phones
My aunt Nancy passes along this fine story, which has the ring of truth to it: A man in Topeka, Kansas decided to write a book about churches around the country. He started by flying to San Francisco and started working east from there. Going to a very large church, he began taking photographs and making notes. He spotted a… Continue Reading
Connecting the dots of my faith
It’s always a little stunning when two dots, just standing around, minding their own business, are abruptly connected with a line that’s so bold and strong that those dots are forever joined, partners in understanding. I had a moment like that tonight. I was reading a lecture by Dr. Edward H. Schroeder, a Lutheran pastor… Continue Reading
Let’s stack the deck a little higher, shall we?
As a pastor, I’ve come to expect certain things as part of the call process (or, for those of you not familiar with the churchy terminology, the hiring process). A background check is a given – churches need to do due diligence to protect themselves from lawsuits down the road. Our calling gives us access… Continue Reading
Clever name
Now if only I could come up with a clever name for my blog. I decided about a year ago I’d outgrown “Musings of a Young Pastor,” but I can’t say I know what I’ve grown into. So to speak. I’m sleepy, and not currently eloquent. Anyhow, if you’ve got a stroke of brilliance, do… Continue Reading
My poor, unloved blog!
It’s terrible – I’ve been sucked into the world of microblogging, and my honest-to-goodness, full-fledged, all-grown-up, big-boy’s blog has paid the price. My life has been coming in 140-character burst on Facebook and Twitter. I’ve been so neglectful of my blog that I haven’t even shared the news of my upcoming move to Pittsburgh! More… Continue Reading