Pastoral Meanderings

Augustana XXV...  In defense of what has come to be called either closed or close communion, the Lutheran Reformers insisted in the August...

Peggy Noonan, always a great read, had a touching and well written tribute to Joan Rivers.  You should read it.  It does not matter what y...

Not without consequence for or a reflection of the religious history of Europe. . . Fascinating!

The liturgy long ago marked not only the seasons of piety but of life.  Through the rhythms of the church year, God's time was not sim...

On the eve of the 13th anniversary of 9-11, we heard our President rally us to the cause of degrading and destroying one more incarnation ...

The modern penchant for tolerance was not always seen as the virtue it is accorded today.  Lets fact it.  Most churches, even Lutheran, have...

You have set our iniquities before you,      our secret sins in the light of your presence.  Psalm 90:8 I continue to recommend the Psal...

Sermon preached for Pentecost 13, Proper 18A, on Sunday, September 7, 2014.     A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, right?  Th...

In his book The Nature and Destiny of Man (Vol. 1, p. 200) Reinhold Niebuhr wrote:  Religion is not simply, as is generally supposed, an ...

International Buy a Pastor a Beer Day!  Did you know that this coming Tuesday, September 9, is International Buy a Pastor a Beer Day? On t...

It is so often assumed that how the liturgy is conducted is an expression of a pastor's personal style and preference that it has beco...

It might seem odd but the liturgical experimentation in Greece is not all that different from the West.  In fact, it seems it might be quite...

Although it is not a perfect response to be sure, the movie called Desire of Everlasting Hills addresses those who are self-described as ga...

An undercover look into some of the Mosques of England. . .  you be the judge. . .   Dispatches - Undercover Mosque: The Return from Emi...

The shift from Extreme Unction to Unction, from Last Rites to the Anointing of the Sick, represented more than a mere change in emphasis. ...

From Russell Moore . . .  It is one of the most disturbing articles I’ve ever read. The current issue of Esquire magazine profiles th...

Sermon preached for Pentecost 12, Proper 17A, on Sunday, August 31, 2014.     I once had a discussion with a 97 yr old who complained a...

The panacea of our age is self-esteem.  It is the Trojan Horse of all things wonderful but it is literally poison to the soul and to any r...

There are always those Lutherans who complain about the liturgy, lectionary, and liturgical year as stifling the spontaneity of the moment...

Now this from Lucinda Borkett-Jones, China’s plan to nationalise Christian theology | Christian News on Christian Today : The Chinese g...