The Lutheran

The Lutheran magazine belongs to the people of the ELCA in all our diversity. The magazine nurtures awareness of Christ's presence in our lives and the world, shares stories of God's people living their faith, connects us with the global Christian community, provides an open forum for discussion and challenges us to bring God's grace and care to all.

• A Place at the Table

  Forty-nine million people in America don’t know where their next meal is coming from. One in four American children is food insecure. This documentary, directed by Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush, puts faces on those facts and also profiles citizens and activist groups who are working to end hunger in America.

• Council recommends raising additional $69 million

  The ELCA Church Council recommended April 6 that the 2013 Churchwide Assembly approve a proposed 25th ELCA anniversary fundraising campaign and a proposed social statement on criminal justice. The assembly meets Aug. 12-17 in Pittsburgh.  The 25th anniversary campaign would expand 2014-2018 ELCA fundraising goals from $121 million to $190 million, growing support for new congregations, leadership, global mission and more. For campaign expenses, the council allocated $5 million in council-designated funds derived from a 2012 income overage. Council members voted unanimously to recommend the 2013 assembly adopt “The Church and Criminal Justice: Hearing the Cries,” a proposed criminal justice statement with implementing resolutions. They extended consideration of a proposed social statement on justice for women until the 2019 assembly. 

• Is Francis I our pope?

  At the close of our regular Thursday evening’s chancel choir rehearsal the director named those in the congregation who were ill or grieving for whom we should pray. Then she asked, “Is there any good news?” In response, a voice from the soprano section announced, “Well, we have a new pope.” Another soprano responded, “They have a pope. We don’t. We’re Lutheran.” Someone in the bass section spoke up saying, “At the highest theological levels, on the key subject of justification by faith, the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutherans have no essential differences.” Another bass whispered that this makes little difference since many folks at the parish level pay scant attention to such agreements. So do Lutherans have a new pope or not?  When someone counts Christians around the world, Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Protestants and others compose one body. Further, the pope resides among the Western church with its emphasis on the meaning of the cross. As for Lutherans, few non-Roman Catholics in the Western church, with the possible exception of Anglicans, follow the liturgical pattern of the mass more faithfully.

• Flashes of envy

  Do you ever wonder how to talk about certain difficult subjects? Sure you do. We all do. Nobody struggles to make conversation about the weather or the food on the dinner table. It’s the tough stuff that has us searching for words, and looking for a human sounding board to test out our ideas. This column series will surface a different topic every month for you to consider. Some of these subjects may be “hot-potato” issues that you find yourself dancing around delicately. Others could be very personal, evoking deep emotion. Whatever the topic, my goal is to help you think through some creative ways for how to talk about these sometimes volatile or puzzling issues. Being no sage myself, I hope to learn new perspectives along the way for better handling of these issues in my own life. If I mention the word envy, chances are good that you probably think you are relatively free of its afflictions: “Not me. I really do pretty well enjoying what I have and delighting in others.” Is that the honest truth? It’s hard to say because envy is one of those sins that we are least likely to own up to. Who in their right mind wants to admit they are even remotely mean, ungenerous or small-hearted?

• Hymns, travel, Trinity & more

  Observations and thoughts on the May issue: • Few things move the heart more than music. Witness tale after tale in our cover article “Favorite hymns” (page 20). Our “reader call” for stories involving favorite hymns met with such a deluge that section editor Elizabeth Hunter swore she’d never do that again: she nearly worked herself sick sifting through all the responses. • Sage advice from Paul Westermeyer, professor of sacred music at Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn., on diversity and two missteps to avoid: “The idolatry of only singing things from your congregation or only singing hymns from outside your community — destroying your communal identity …. We need both.” So, thanks to my worshiping congregation in Chicago for including the dynamic, delightful Tanzanian hymn “Christ Has Arisen, Alleluia” (Evangelical Lutheran Worship, 364) amid its classical fare on Easter Sunday. Sing it and see if it doesn’t soar in your top hymn pick list. • Settle in with Peter W. Marty’s new series, “Challenging conversations” (page 3). It follows his well-received “Elements of the Lord’s day” column. • Explore the grounds of our Christian faith found in Turkey (page 16). The travel piece introduces those unaware of its history, and underscores the current-day support of the indigenous Christian presence in the Mideast lest our faith be relegated to museums there. • Let’s talk about love, but not the Celine Dion kind. Author/pastor Frank Honeycutt explains that love isn’t a feeling but a way of life learned from others (page 14). And what school offers such an education? The church, of course. • Journey with two ELCA theologians into a discussion about the Trinity and gender (page 18). Like the prayer says of the Bible, I ask that you hear, read, mark, learn and inwardly digest what the authors have to say — and don’t say — on this topic. • It’s hard not to be proud of the students at St. Paul Lutheran School, Waverly, Iowa (page 27). They thought of others, not just themselves, despite the notoriety gained about their canceled tour of the White House. • What a difference 40 years makes. The cost of attending seminary has skyrocketed over that period (page 38). This is the first of three articles on seminary education. • The fallout of declining enrollment and escalating expenses played out recently at Luther Seminary, where a $4 million deficit led to a leadership change, early retirements and layoffs (page 44). There’s cold comfort to be found at Calvin College, a liberal arts institution of the Christian Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Mich. It recently announced it was $115 million in debt.