How grateful I am to The Lutheran Witness and to Jonathan Watt for raising the issue of funeral planning for Lutherans (September 2007 issue). I would simply suggest adding Sacrament to Word. The new Lutheran Service Book puts the two together in a remarkable way in the new Funeral Service. What a way to
Gene Edward Veith, is most certainly to be commended for so much in his Sept. 07 LW article, “Only One Road to Heaven?” But he most certainly contradicts himself when he states, “The very concept of “heaven”. . ., is a distinctly Christian belief. Supplemented with the belief in the resurrection of the body, the
In human terms, 500 years is a long time. The world in which Luther lived half a millennium ago seems distant and hazy when we compare it to the life we lead today.
magazine, is for laypeople, while Reporter, our monthly newspaper, is for professional church workers and congregational lay leaders. This principle has served us well
by Rodney Rathmann Regularly we interact with friends, neighbors, and relatives who are living unfulfilling and rebellious lives outside of God’s grace, with little or no understanding of God’s love and forgiveness in Christ Jesus. Such was the condition of the woman Jesus met one day at a Samaritan well (John 4:1–40). As with that
After reading the June/July 2007 Lutheran Witness, I am moved to write regarding the “Family Counselor” letter. A pastor was concerned for a family of adoption who struggles with behavior challenges and hence has limited church attendance. We could be that family. We are one of those families. We have lovely children who, when not
It’s the Thought that CountsAfter misbehaving and generally making a nuisance of himself all afternoon, young Jason was finally sent to his room for a time-out session. After the session ended, he emerged from his room and informed his mom that he had thought the situation over. “Then I prayed,” he added. “Fine,” said Mom,
I enjoyed reading the article “In The Shadow of Death,” however, I think you left out an important segment of the Ministry to the Armed Forces—Chaplains Assistants. If assigned to a Chaplain, Chaplain Assistants have the job of protecting the Chaplain along with many other duties. As the military is forever suffering a shortage of
From my perspective, the article “Reclaiming the Church’s Young in a Culture of Change” by John W. Oberdeck (June/July 2007) did a great job of diagnosing youth today, but I consider it weak in affirming the power we have available for any and every problem that the devil throws at the church. I have been
I am generally very pleased with The Lutheran Witness and believe it to be a fine periodical that deserves greater circulation. I do, however, have one comment to make about the August issue and its convention coverage. Surely there were pictures of the convention that would better reflect what it means for the Church to gather
The letter from Mr. Pierce regarding the article “Is God Green?” in the August 2007 Lutheran Witness asked an important question: “Just how green can we be and still remain Christians?” Christians who are concerned about the condition of creation need to exercise some caution, lest they succumb to ideas which, even if they seem
Regarding the letter from Mr. Roth published in the August issue of the Witness, I need to ask a couple of questions: What does Mr. Roth include in his use of the term stewardship? And, what are the “manifold benefits” to which he refers—are they primarily monetary? I agree that financial stewardship—by individuals, congregations, districts,