November 2012 Letters

Editorial decisions

I was much saddened with the content of the September 2012 issue of The Lutheran Witness! It was certainly all important information to communicate but not at the expense of not including a monthly Bible study. This is the second time I believe this year that the Bible study has been usurped by other content. Some of us actually count on and use that Bible study in the parish setting. I would kindly ask that our commitment to the study of God’s Word be a priority in future editorial decisions. Thank You!

Rev. Christopher Schaar
Pasadena, Calif.

Valuing money

Responding to Jerald C. Wulf’s article “How Can I Go?” I quote, “Perhaps this is because money represents the way in which we perceive out personal value within society.” Money is certainly not the way I perceive myself or others. It is not the way my husband and I encourage our children to think of themselves. We think of value in terms of faith, integrity, kindness. In fact, the fruit of the Spirit determines value in rich and poor alike. Money is the last thing to be considered.

Jennifer Sanderson

A fantastic edition

Thank you for a fantastic edition of The Lutheran Witness. “The State of the Synod” issue is by far the best issue that I have seen in my years as a pastor in the LCMS. The level of transparency is what our church needs. After I announced this new issue to my church and encouraged them to take a copy we quickly ran out. I have received so many complements for this issue I am amazed. My laypeople are very engaged in the work of the church and find it very refreshing to receive this kind of info. It has also caused some of my people to ask if we can give a special offering to the work of the Synod.

Rev. Dr. Jamison J. Hardy
Eastern Region Vice President, English District
McMurray, Pa.

Accessible

I just wanted to thank you for making The Lutheran Witness more Lisa-accessible! I’m playing with the newest version online and am learning to use it more effectively with voice-recognition software. (I’m still waiting till voice-recognition works like it does on Star Trek!)

Lisa Stapp
Spring, Texas

Seasons of life

I think it is wonderful that you included [in the September issue] a picture of the deaconess, as a mother, including her child in a professional setting. Being able to use one’s God-given gifts throughout the various seasons of life is a blessing. Thank you for including the picture, praise to her supervisors for seeing the value of her joint calling and kudos to her for boldly including her baby!

Rebeka Cook

Introspection

I was very disappointed by President Harrison’s column “Courage: Fear That Has Been Baptized” in the September 2012 Lutheran Witness. He puts the blame for the decline of the LCMS on outside forces, and there seems to be little introspection on things we may be doing wrong.

I grew up at about the same time as President Harrison. I went to a LCMS grade school and junior high, graduated from Concordia Seward and taught in a Lutheran school. I love the LCMS, but we have dropped the ball. President Harrison points out that from the time he graduated from high school until today, we have had over 50 percent decline in the number of youth in our congregations. It is because, with a few shining exceptions, we as individuals, congregations and the national church body have been unable and/or unwilling to reach out to the non-European-descent population of our country.

Phil Droege
Silver Spring, Md.

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