Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Pope Looks into Nuns' Habits:
Sisters Urge Resistance




Nuns in the U.S. Are Facing Scrutiny by the Vatican
James Estrin/The New York Times

Mother Mary Clare Millea has been appointed by the Vatican to study the activities of some orders of nuns in the United States.

By LAURIE GOODSTEIN
Published: July 1, 2009

The Vatican is quietly conducting two sweeping investigations of American nuns, a development that has startled and dismayed nuns who fear they are the targets of a doctrinal inquisition.
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Jim Wilson/The New York Times

Sister Sandra M. Schneiders has urged fellow nuns not to participate in the study that is being conducted by the Vatican.

Nuns were the often-unsung workers who helped build the Roman Catholic Church in this country, planting schools and hospitals and keeping parishes humming. But for the last three decades, their numbers have been declining — to 60,000 today from 180,000 in 1965.

While some nuns say they are grateful that the Vatican is finally paying attention to their dwindling communities, many fear that the real motivation is to reel in American nuns who have reinterpreted their calling for the modern world.

In the last four decades since the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, many American nuns stopped wearing religious habits, left convents to live independently and went into new lines of work: academia and other professions, social and political advocacy and grass-roots organizations that serve the poor or promote spirituality. A few nuns have also been active in organizations that advocate changes in the church like ordaining women and married men as priests.




Over our dead bodies.


Retired?
Farewell, Fairview
Church and Change Betrayed You




James Aderman, a founder of Church and Chicanery, has retired from the ministry, rather suddenly, in fact. He was at Fairview, Milwaukee, part of a Church Growth consortium.

He was a frequent contributor to The Northwestern Lutheran FIC.

Some data:


  1. his congregation is dying, down maybe 50% from when he got there 20 years ago.
  2. a large group of members did an "investigation" on his ministry, found him arrogant, out of touch, not doing his job.
  3. they gave him the boot and he resigned, then changed it to a retirement.
  4. another good sized group didn't like that he quit and withdrew their support.
  5. last week all the teacher's Calls at the school were "terminated" and the school closed.
  6. there is some justifiable concern about the church even surviving at all now.


Fairview welcomed me and my family into its family in 1987. Fairview has been home ever since. A place of acceptance, of love, of growth, of joy.

God's forgiveness in Jesus is treasured here. That's what makes Fairview a positive place - even when we face challenges.

It's that treasure that we seek to share with our community. What God has done for us, he has done for everyone. We'd like as many people as possible to know about that. To join God's family. To treasure God's forgiveness.

So we view ourselves as a family of disciple makers. Christians who live out their thankfulness for forgiveness in Jesus as we nurture each other and as we invite and welcome still more into our family.

Thank you for visiting our web site.

Pastor Jim Aderman

About Pastor Aderman: A Snapshot

Family
Married since 1972
Three daughters (an attorney, a social worker, a nurse)

Leadership (Past and Present)
Pastor, Trinity Lutheran, Englewood, FL
Member, Board for Parish Services, South Atlantic District
Director of Development, Wisconsin Lutheran College, Milwaukee
Chairman, WELS Lutherans for Life-metro-Milwaukee
Pastor, Siloah Lutheran Church, Milwaukee
Member and chairman, Board of Directors, Wisconsin Lutheran High School
Pastor, Fairview Lutheran Church, Milwaukee
Founding member and vice chairman, Board of Directors, Calvary Academy, Milwaukee
Coordinator, WELS Southeastern Wisconsin District, Adult Discipleship Commission
Member and vice chairman, Church and Change
Chairman, Urban Pastors' Conference, Milwaukee
Circuit Pastor, Barnabas Circuit, Milwaukee

Author
Face the Facts, Northwestern Publishing House
Elijah, Northwestern Publishing House
Esther, Northwestern Publishing House
Editor, YouTHINK
Founding editor-in-chief, LivingBold (LivingBold.net)
Contributing editor, Forward in Christ magazine
Author for Partners magazine, WELS Leadership magazine, Forward in Christ magazine

Education
Bachelor of Arts, Northwestern College
Master of Divinity, Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary
Master of Journalism, Marquette University
Certificate of Website Design, University of Wisconsin-School of Continuing Education
Master of Practical Theology, Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary (in progress)


------------------- P O S I T I O N - E L I M I N A T E D -------------------
Anderson, Mrs Sandra L Palos - Palos Heights IL 06/30/2009
Kerr, Mrs Lisa A Fairview - Milwaukee WI 06/30/2009
Proeber, Mr Kenneth A Fairview - Milwaukee WI 06/30/2009
Sawall, Mr Robert L Fairview - Milwaukee WI 06/30/2009
Strand, Mrs Dawn C Fairview - Milwaukee WI 06/30/2009
Wheeler, Miss Ellen K Fairview - Milwaukee WI 06/30/2009

----------------------- C A L L - T E R M I N A T E D ----------------------
Butler, Mr Harmon R Jr Trinity - El Paso TX 06/20/2009


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WELS CMOs are 85% of what they pledged as the economy worsens.

Correction - The CMO performance at the end of May was just above 93%, not 85%. The economy is worsening - another 500,000 jobs were lost in June.

Schwan is lowering its gift by a very large margin.

The WELS budget will be far smaller than the disaster scenario already projected. So Plans A, B, and C were far too optimistic.


Line Up at the Trough



Let's recycle the Schwaermer funds.


Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Ignorance Explained":

Possible Grant Opportunity for Growthers et al.:

The Kern Family Foundation recently (01-06-2009) released $500,000 grants to the following seminaries:

Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, CA; Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary - Charlotte, NC Campus; Assemblies of God Theological Seminary, Springfield, MO; Nazarene Theological Seminary, Kansas City, MO; and Multnomah Biblical Seminary, Portland, OR.

http://www.kffdn.org/

Given that three staff members have ties to WLC (former president - Kriewall; former director and Parish Assistance consultant - Rahn; and alumni - Bode), your chances are good.

Happy grant writing!


Lutherans Against Liturgical Karaoke



Latte Lutheran Church, WELS. The ELS has one too. Doubtless the Little Sect's Doctrinal Board is investigating and finding many cloudy, incomplete, and insufficient areas of Scripture about this topic.


Lutherans Against Liturgical Karaoke

Description:
An underground movement against projection screens and plasma tvs used instead of print in Lutheran Divine Services.
Contact Info
Office:
http://www.reformationtoday.net/id6.html
Recent News
POINTS OF ARGUMENTATION AGAINST LITURGICAL KARAOKE SCREENS

(Some are serious, some are rhetorical, some are satire – use the gift of discernment).

1. They place an artificial distance between the worshiper and the Word

2. They are a visual distraction to the art and architecture of the cross and the altar

3. Luther said the church is a mouth-house, not a quill house (cf. Romans 10:17)

4. They enable easy departure from the historic liturgy

5. They give the impression that modern technology is necessary for the conduct of the liturgy. You are up the creek if the power goes out.

6. They enable the enlivened image of the beast to be worshiped world-wide by people who deny that Christ has come in the flesh

7. They communicate an atmosphere not of the sanctuary but of the living room, ball park, rock concert and the karaoke bar.

8. They are used to project images that are inappropriate and even un-Christian, simply for the sake of entertainment or schmaltz.

9. They take the hymnal out of the peoples' hands.

10. The require electricity to run. Computers are used to project the material. All of this contributes to greenhouse gases and global warming. Unnecessary use of electricity… [If you believe in "global warming."] Hymnals and bulletins are biodegradable.

11. They require proper copyright cataloging and related expenses and labor and thus time.

12. They make it seem as if faith comes by seeing not hearing (Romans 10:17).

13. They can take up space for other important things – flags, banners, altar, cross, pulpit, etc.

14. After demonizing the Television, why are churches so willingly to welcome them into the sanctuary? One more cultural capitulation to the expectations of the old Adam.

15. The Church got along fine without them for 2000 years

16. Even more proof-reading and staff required – waste of valuable staff hours on unnecessary format – more people involved in doing rather than on simply receiving the gospel gifts. Really bad typos can occur. Made up liturgies and hymns do not reflect the faith of the church catholic but the creative imagination of one person or committee or "worship team." Praise services are a one-way street of sacrifice - a protestant version of the sacrifice of the mass

17. They lend themselves to more of a Gnostic “virtual reality” (docetic) understanding rather than an incarnational perspective.

18. They were first promoted by churches of the revivalist tradition that do not emphasize the effectiveness of the Word of God nor the real presence of Christ’s body and blood in the sacrament and thus their use does not arise from a natural, organic Lutheran understanding of theology or liturgical practice.

***

GJ - See The Finkelsteinery for reasons to keep the historic liturgy. Also, see The Church From Scratch, The CORE, Latte Lutheran, Victory of the Movie Screen, and many other living--albeit bad--examples.

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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Lutherans Against Liturgical Karaoke":

FYI, the pastor of the ELS contribution to Church and Chicanery is a graduate of the WELS seminary.

***

GJ - Nathan Krause used to prop his Triglotta on his desk every day in class and sleep on it, resting his chin on top. I remember that well. The Little Sect said - "Just the man we need for a Church and Change position!"


Some Answers To Kieschnick Are Obvious



UOJ = Enthusiasm, and Satan drives through the gates in a haywagon.

Lutherans Against Those Who Abolish Augsburg and Apology XXIV

Description:
A network of those protesting against the recension of Article XXIV of the Augsburg Confession by the Missouri Synod and other Lutheran Church bodies in North America (or beyond if they want to join).

This group stands steadfast in confessing Augsburg Confession and Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Article XXIV despite the toleration and promotion of so-called "contemporary" and "alternative" and "blended" worship practices borrowed from Reformed, Arminian, revivalistic, charismatic, and other non-Lutheran, non-liturgical sources, which bespeak a different confession, a different theology, and undermine the Lutheran Confessions.

AC, Article XXIV: Of the Mass.

1] Falsely are our churches accused of abolishing the Mass; for the Mass is retained among 2] us, and celebrated with the highest reverence. Nearly all the usual ceremonies are also preserved, save that the parts sung in Latin are interspersed here and there with German hymns, which have been added 3] to teach the people. For ceremonies are needed to this end alone that the unlearned 4] be taught [what they need to know of Christ]. And not only has Paul commanded to use in the church a language understood by the people 1 Cor. 14:2-9, but it has also been so ordained by man's law. 5] The people are accustomed to partake of the Sacrament together, if any be fit for it, and this also increases the reverence and devotion of public 6] worship. For none are admitted 7] except they be first examined. The people are also advised concerning the dignity and use of the Sacrament, how great consolation it brings anxious consciences, that they may learn to believe God, and to expect and ask of Him all that is good. 8] [In this connection they are also instructed regarding other and false teachings on the Sacrament.] This worship pleases God; such use of the Sacrament nourishes true devotion 9] toward God. It does not, therefore, appear that the Mass is more devoutly celebrated among our adversaries than among us.

Apology, Article XXIV (XII): Of the Mass.

At the outset we must again make the preliminary statement that we 1] do not abolish the Mass, but religiously maintain and defend it. For among us masses are celebrated every Lord's Day and on the other festivals, in which the Sacrament is offered to those who wish to use it, after they have been examined and absolved. And the usual public ceremonies are observed, the series of lessons, of prayers, vestments, and other like things.

...78] The adversaries also refer us to philology. From the names of the Mass they derive arguments which do not require a long discussion. For even though the Mass be called a sacrifice, it does not follow that it must confer grace ex opere operato, or, when applied on behalf of others, merit for them the remission of sins, etc. 79] Leitourgiva, they say, signifies a sacrifice, and the Greeks call the Mass, liturgy. Why do they here omit the old appellation synaxis, which shows that the Mass was formerly the communion of many? But let us speak of the word liturgy. This word does not properly signify a, sacrifice, but rather the public ministry, and agrees aptly with our belief, namely, that one minister who consecrates tenders the body and blood of the Lord to the rest of the people, just as one minister who preaches tenders the Gospel to the people, as Paul says, 1 Cor. 4:1: Let a man so account of us as of the ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God, i.e., of the Gospel and the Sacraments. And 2 Cor. 5:20: We are ambassadors for Christ, as 81] though God did beseech you by us; we pray you in Christ's stead, Be ye reconciled to God. Thus the term leitourgiva agrees aptly with the ministry.


Hebrews 12:

22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, 23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, 24 to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.

25 See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, 26 whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” 27 Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. 29 For our God is a consuming fire.
Contact Info
Office:
http://www.reformationtoday.net/id6.html


Kieschnick Invokes Roman Catholic Understanding of the Scriptures



A new icon for real, relevant, relational churches - Elvis.


From Norman Teigen's blog:

Tuesday, June 30, 2009
President Kieschnick of the LC-MS said this:
"...we in the LCMS are not in agreement, citing four of them:

"The administration of the Sacrament of Holy Communion, mainly the question of who should be invited or allowed to commune at the altar of our Lord in LCMS congregations.

"The service of women, mainly the question of in what roles and capacities Scripture allows or commends the participation and involvement of women in the church.
"Questions about proper forms of worship, mainly how much uniformity is necessary in the worship life of LCMS congregations, how much and what kind of diversity in forms of worship is acceptable.

"Inter-Christian relationships, mainly the question of how to remain a biblical, confessional, evangelical, Christian, Lutheran church body boldly confessing the truth in love, relating to other Christians and Christian churches while honoring our covenants of love to avoid unionism and syncretism."

Finally, I note, "In the years ahead our Synod will need to continue to work under Holy Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions to achieve similar solidarity in these matters. Where Scripture speaks plainly and clearly to the question at hand, the matter is resolved. Where Scripture does not speak plainly, clearly, or at all to the question at hand, it behooves us as a group of rational, reasonable, Christian people to come to a godly and common-sense conclusion regarding how to proceed with mutual respect and non-offensive conduct."

[this seems like a very open and honest thing to say: NT]

***

GJ -Nothing becomes a pope more than papal statements, and Pope Kieschnick is one of the most effective. Even his victims like him.

He didn't want to wander into the zone of the Formula of Concord, where mentioning the adiaphora would have condemned him. Missouri is just as busy aping the Reformed as WELS is, but they also have a growing body of Roman and Eastern Orthodox clones, who are like popcorn kernels in hot oil. All of the sudden they POP--or pope--and become the priests they always were, in the words of Neuhaus. Meanwhile their friends cheer them on, hoping they too will POP or pope in the future.

Kieschnick is attacking the clarity of the Scriptures in this pious palaver. The Scriptures are quite clear about all doctrinal matters. When Rome lost to the Lutherans during the initial Reformation debates, they switched from using the Scriptures to attacking the clarity and sufficiency of the Scriptures, as Chemnitz noted in Examination.

If the Scriptures are not clear or sufficient, as Rome claims, then we need a pope to issue solemn declarations which oppose or supplant the Word.

Pope Kieschnick revealed his doctrinal apostasy when he was elected SP. He revealed, as if just told by the Holy Spirit, that Christ is the only way to heaven. Then he added, "Unless there are other ways we have not been told." Nevertheless, Cascione and Otten blessed him and wished him well.

[Kieschnick was quoted in Christian News, when he was just elected, and that was probably from a Missouri news release.]

Ambiguity is a great tool for popes. The conservatives took his statement one way. The apostates rejoiced in his adroit negation of the initial statement. Saying two things at once means Kieschnick does not believe either one.

The doctrinal boards of each synod should be dubbed the Apostasy Boards. They carefully examine the Scriptures and do the opposite.