DE TRINITATE
Headlines:
From the Senior
Leadership Council Retreat
Arbetsgemenskapen Kyrklig Förnyelse
Support for Our Seminarians
Michaelmas and Thanksgiving for Healing
Chapter News
From the Vicar
Masthead
From the Senior
Entertainers and rising politicians struggling for recognition tell us that there is no such thing as bad publicity. I'm not sure that's true for everyone. In the aftermath of the general retreat at Concordia Theological Seminary (CTS) in Fort Wayne, Ind., the Society of the Holy Trinity was the subject of discussion on several blogs — not all of it favorable. We were accused of putting CTS in a compromising situation and not respecting Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) sensitivities. We had our defenders as well as our detractors. But since the Senior has the responsibility of speaking for the whole Society, let me address some issues that came up and also fill in our newer members on the history of the Society's relationship with this seminary.
The decision to hold our general retreat at CTS did not come out of a vacuum. Conversation initiated by former senior Phillip M. Johnson and Louis Smith with a couple of CTS faculty members led to further cooperative ventures between CTS and STS, coupled with the thought that STS might establish a house of studies on the CTS campus. We participated in a joint colloquium on the ministry in Fort Wayne. CTS faculty members have addressed STS in general retreats and chapter retreats. STS members have been invited to speak at colloquia at CTS. Our dear departed vicar, Lou Smith, was honored at one of them, and Richard Niebanck, STS, was invited to read Lou's previously prepared lecture. It was natural that we would hold further conversations with the CTS administration about STS presence on the CTS campus. President Dean Wenthe made the offer that STS hold its general retreat on the CTS campus. We embraced the idea. I must underscore the fact that the administrative staff of CTS was very helpful in providing assistance in making arrangements for the 2007 general retreat. At the reception hosted by President Wenthe in absentia, the CTS faculty seemed genuinely warm in their welcome. CTS hospitality could not be beat — except for the issue of women in ordained ministry.
For its part, STS had agreed to respect LCMS sensitivities. This is why we complied with President Wenthe's request that we not have a woman pastor preach in Kramer Chapel. We moved all non-LCMS preachers to Sihler Auditorium. Thinking that celebrating a Eucharist in Kramer Chapel authorized by the presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) might be offensive, I welcomed the sponsorship of Calvary Lutheran Church (LCMS) in Phoenix, whose pastor, David Poedel, STS, was to be the preacher. Pr. Poedel invited all to the Lord's Table. We also used the new LCMS worship book, Lutheran Service Book, for the liturgies at the retreat.
The most serious repercussion of what was otherwise one of the best general retreats in our history was that Pr. Poedel was charged with "unionism." Fortunately, that issue has been resolved through the proper processes involving his district president.
As for the 2008 general retreat, we will return to St. Mary-of-the-Lake Seminary in Mundelein, Ill., October 14-16. The university provost, Fr. Tom Baima, is anxious to welcome us back and showed me a beautiful 800-seat auditorium with a well-maintained classic theater organ that we can use for services and/or a hymn festival. The university church is not used for any services other than those of the university, including nonuniversity-related Roman Catholic masses. It is kept open as a national shrine.
As for our relationship with CTS at Fort Wayne, the ball is now in their court. We obviously can't invite ourselves to their campus and events. I would hope, however, that opportunities for dialog would continue. I believe that CTS and STS can continue to enrich each other. As I said in my opening address, I do not believe it serves the Society's purposes as an inter-Lutheran ministerium to move into the denominational centers of any Lutheran church body. But as the leaders of CTS were gracious to us in their hospitality, so we should continue to be gracious in return.
In fact, I think in every situation we should be resolute in our convictions but gracious in our relationships. I think LCMS President Gerald Kieschnick was this way when he addressed the ELCA Churchwide Assembly in August. I mentioned in the last newsletter how gracious our women members were in dealing with the situation in Fort Wayne. One of them told the story of how one of our LCMS members, who does not believe the Church should ordain women, nevertheless offered her much wisdom for pastoral ministry in conversation. I would hope and expect that parish pastors who are members of STS would be resolute in their convictions in the exercise of pastoral ministry but gracious in dealing with members of their congregations who may not be ready for parish practice as envisioned in the Rule of our Society.
In spite of difficulties in inter-Lutheran fellowship presented by LCMS guidelines (at least LCMS has guidelines!), I have not heard one of our LCMS members say that the Society should not continue doing what it has been doing in chapter and general retreats according to our Rule, including celebrating the Lord's Supper. The Society is not a church. We do not sponsor the Eucharist on our own; we seek proper ecclesiastical sponsorship or authorization. Here, too, we must be resolute but gracious. According to our Rule, Holy Communion may be offered at our retreats. Receiving the Sacrament is a matter of personal response. Just as we don't force everyone to go to confession (or listen to sermons or sing hymns, for that matter), so we do not force everyone to receive Communion. There is a tradition of eucharistic fasting and practicing spiritual communion for reasons of personal or ecclesiastical discipline. Those who refrain from receiving Communion at retreats should be affirmed in their decision and their discipline respected.
Frank C. Senn, STS, Senior
Leadership Council Retreat
The annual STS Leadership Council Retreat will be held Tuesday-Thursday, January 29-31, 2008, at Camp Christopher on Seabrook Island, S.C. Once again Carl Voges, STS, will arrange transportation from the Charleston Airport to Seabrook Island. Deans should book their flights early, since air travel prices are increasing. Plan to arrive by Noon and send your flight number to Carl; plans to return on Thursday should be after Noon.
Deans are requested to bring to the retreat any concerns from their chapters, as well as a list of their chapter retreats for the year 2008 so that the Senior can arrange for Society visitors. Council members will spend some time reviewing documents intended to provide pastoral guidance on liturgical choices and pastoral care of gays and lesbians that Frank Senn and Larry Yoder, respectively, are drafting. These will hopefully be shared by e-mail before the retreat. The council will also engage in some planning for the October 2008 general retreat.
Arbetsgemenskapen Kyrklig Förnyelse
Bill Hampton, STS, our "desert father" in Mohave, Calif., responded to the last "From the Senior" column with this correction: "I believe it is a mistake to refer to the Kyrklig Förnyelse as a 'free synod.' This gives a totally wrong impression. This is a Church Renewal meeting and not a 'free synod' meeting. The people in this group are part of the very heart of the Church of Sweden. They are loyal priests, permanent deacons, theologians, and lay people." Yes, they are more a renewal society like STS than a free synod. And their annual meetings, like STS general retreats, are well worth attending. They include lectures, discussion, workshops, and excellent worship. STS pastors Frank Senn, Bill Hampton, and Steven Tibbetts have participated in the annual gathering.
Arbetsgemenskapen Kyrklig Förnyelse (aKF) may be translated as "working community for church renewal." Sometimes referred to in English as "the Swedish Church Union," it is the umbrella organization for the Lutheran high church movement in the Church of Sweden.
The organization's beginnings were originally inspired by the book Kyrklig Förnyelse [Churchly Renewal] by Fr. Gunnar Rosendal, and it already existed a long time before its official foundation on April 28, 1959. The annual assembly of aKF is in Uppsala, Sweden, in August. Theologically, the aKF is orthodox and in opposition to Folk Church ideology and the general theological liberalism in the Church of Sweden.
The aKF's sister organizations are the Church Union in the Church of England, Bønne-og arbeidsfellesskapet Kirkelig Fornyelse in Norway, and Arbeitsgemeinschaft kirchliche Emeuerung in der Evang.-Luth. Kirche in Bayern, Germany.
In our last newsletter we shared with you some information about the support we are trying to offer our seminarians. As part of that process we have established a "Seminarian Support Fund," which has been receiving some gifts from congregations and individuals. Because of this generosity, we have been able to allocate some of these funds to a variety of seminarians in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.
A total of $6,750 was allocated to 11 students in 6 different seminaries representing 8 different synods in all three church bodies noted above. Each gift was accompanied by a letter to the student pledging our support in prayer as well as the funds made available. While the support of these funds does not require the seminarians to commit to membership in the Society when they graduate, we hope that many of them will choose to be involved with us and our Society for the sake of their ministry in the Church. Many of these students were recommended to us by the chapter deans who knew of them or had supported them in other ways through chapter retreats and mentoring programs. If anyone knows of such students who could be seen as supporting the goals of the Society, please let your dean know so that they might be added to our list for future years.
The result of all this is a wonderful gift for these students and again is made possible by the generosity of some congregations and individuals. If you or your congregation would like to support this effort in the future, please send funds marked "Seminarian Support" to our Secretary, John Priest, who will deposit them under a separate line item. Meanwhile, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at pastorrooney@christlutheranyork.com.
Patrick J. Rooney, STS,
Chair, Seminarian Support Committee
Michaelmas and Thanksgiving for Healing
On Friday night, September 28, the Eve of St. Michael and All Angels, there was a eucharistic celebration with thanksgiving for the end of chemotherapy for our Senior, Frank Senn, at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Evanston, Ill. The idea for the celebration was Mary Senn's. The three Senn children were home to make music during the liturgy. The liturgy was followed by a champagne reception in the church's renovated fellowship hall. Because on that Friday, the Lutheran CORE had met in Lindenhurst, Ill., several Society pastors and their wives were able to attend the celebration: Keith Forni, Tom and Karen Knudsen, Steven Tibbetts, Mark and Diane Knappe, and David Wendel, representing four different chapters of the Society.
CALIFORNIA CHAPTER
Dean, Richard O. Johnson, california@societyholytrinity.org
The California Chapter will hold its Advent retreat December 3-4 at Christ the King Retreat Center in Citrus Heights, Calif. Presenter will be Peter Garrison, STS, who will lead a discussion of two books, When Our World Became Christian by Paul Veyne and Augustine and the Catechumenate by William Harmless. Bruce Lundberg, STS, will serve as chaplain; preachers will be James Pike, STS, and chapter dean, Richard Johnson, STS. For more information, contact the dean.
GREAT RIVERS CHAPTER
Dean, Timothy D. Hubert, greatrivers@societyholytrinity.org
The Great Rivers Chapter met in retreat October 15-16 at Toddhall Retreat Center, Columbia, Ill. Jim Lehmann, STS, was our presenter on healing in the Bible and healing in the Church, looking especially at the new Pastoral Care Companion from the Missouri Synod. Mel Blobaum, STS, was our chaplain. Eight of our nine members were in attendance.
The chapter will next meet for 40 hours before the forty days of Lent, February 3-5, 2008, at the Toddhall Retreat Center, Columbia. Our speakers will be the Rev. Dr. Jeffrey Gibbs and the Rev. Dr. Kent Burreson, both from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Mo. Dr. Gibbs will present on the Matthew 4 Temptation of Christ; Dr. Burreson will present on a topic from the Confessions, yet to be determined. Dean Tim Hubert, STS will present on the Salem witch trials and the process of vilifying someone who disagrees with us. One of Pr. Hubert's ancestors was an accuser during the Salem trials. Jim Lehmann, STS will be our chaplain.
IOWA CHAPTER
Dean, David A. Aanonson, pastor@ctklutheranic.org
We meet again on February 25-26, 2008, at American Martyrs Retreat House.
NORTHERN ILLINOIS CHAPTER
Dean, Keith L. Forni, northernillinois@societyholytrinity.org
The chapter co-sponsored an overnight retreat with the Wisconsin Chapter on November 12-13 at the DeKoven Center on the Lake Michigan shore at Racine, Wis. The Rev. Dr. Frank Senn, STS Senior, served as teaching theologian, presenting "Canonical Exegesis."
The Northern Illinois Chapter will gather for its annual early Advent Day Retreat on Friday, December 7 (Commemoration of St. Ambrose) at the Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. Luke, 1500 W. Belmont Avenue, in Chicago, Ill. A scriptural focus will continue, with discussion of Dr. Karl Donfried's book, Who Owns the Bible? The 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. retreat will include prayer offices, the Eucharist, and lunch. Registration is requested by December 3.
PASSAVANT CHAPTER
Dean, Kevin Anderson, pastoranderson@alltel.net
The Passavant Chapter of the Society will meet in retreat at St. Paul of the Cross Monastery on the south side of Pittsburgh, Pa., November 27-28. Joyce Dix-Weiers, STS, will be the chaplain; Fred Keller, STS, confessor; and Norm Nething, STS, will teach, dealing with the book Encountering God: The Legacy of Lutheran Book of Worship for the 21st Century, Ralph R. Van Loon, ed. We lost a member of our chapter with Paul Baglyos' move to the faculty of Wartburg Theological Seminary, but gained three who signed at the 2007 general retreat: Joyce Dix-Weiers, Brian Evans, and Bob Gago. There are also a number of seriously interested pastors in the Southwestern Pa. and Northwestern Pa. Synods, and so prospects are good. Soli Deo Gloria.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN CHAPTER
Dean, Brad Everett, rockymountain@societyholytrinity.org
Karl Barth's monograph Theological Existence Today was the focus of discussion and study when the Rocky Mountain Chapter met November 25-27 at the Providence Renewal Centre in Edmonton Alberta. As usual, the pre-Advent retreat was a blessing and time for personal preparation before the fullness of Advent and Christmas. We are trying to finalize details around our winter retreat, which used to be held immediately after our Synod Study Conference, until the dates were changed.
Our next retreats will be in Feb./March and then in May at the FCJ Retreat Centre in Calgary. Check the STS Web site for more details.
SANGRE DE CRISTO CHAPTER
Dean, David M. Wendel, pr-wendel@saintlukes-cs.org
The fall retreat of the Sangre de Cristo Chapter took place November 15-16 at the Franciscan Retreat Center, Colorado Springs, Colo. Members were in attendance from Colorado, Arizona, and Kansas. Discussion/reflection centered on the book by Henri Nouwen, The Living Reminder.
The spring 2008 retreat will be late April or May (date not yet firm) and will be at the Franciscan Retreat Center in Colorado Springs, with Senior Frank Senn offering a presentation on eucharistic prayer and its use within the Lutheran tradition, taking a comparative look at the prayers in Evangelical Lutheran Worship, the service book of the ELCA, and Lutheran Service Book, the service book of the LCMS. All who are interested should contact chapter dean David Wendel at pr-wendel@saintlukes-cs.org.
SUSQUEHANNA CHAPTER
Dean, Patrick J. Rooney, pastorrooney@christlutheranyork.com
The Susquehanna Chapter will meet at Precious Blood Spiritual Center on December 3 and 4. The Rev. Steven Middernacht, Cantor at First Lutheran Church in Carlisle, Pa., will be our teaching theologian on "Advent in Song and Ceremony." Further information may be obtained from the dean, pastorrooney@christlutheranyork.com.
TEXAS-GUADALUPE RIVER CHAPTER-IN-FORMATION
Contact, Ralph W. Reitmeyer, RWReit@aol.com
The Texas Chapter-in-Formation met for a 24-hour retreat October 22-24 at Cedarbrake Retreat Center near Belton, Tex. Ralph Reitmeyer, STS, gave a presentation on his studies on gender-specific aspects of Christian spirituality and Rites of Passage.
WISCONSIN CHAPTER
Dean, Mark W. Knappe, solideogloria1@mac.com
The Wisconsin Chapter enjoyed an excellent retreat with the Northern Illinois Chapter on November 12-13 at the Dekoven Center in Racine, Wis. One of the benefits of retreating with the Illinois folks is that the Senior comes along. Frank Senn gave a fine lecture on "Canonical Exegesis." The fellowship was rich and the worship renewing. There were 23 in attendance.
The next Wisconsin Chapter retreat will have us back at St. Norbert Abbey, De Pere, Wis., at a time yet to be determined. Members and nonmembers are always welcome to spend time in prayer and retreat with us.
From the Vicar
In our years together in the Society of the Holy Trinity, it is satisfying to notice how the Lord God's Life has been moving our conversations around. We used to spend a lot of time speaking of ourselves. The difficulties of ministry in a world that is impaled on itself and in Lutheran church bodies that have gotten "drifty" were recited over and over.
Mindful of the early Church's prayer — "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, have mercy on me, a sinner" — we are speaking less of ourselves and more of the Lord who has rescued us from the world, from the self, and from death. Through the wondrous workings of the Holy Spirit, we have been brought into the Church's unique template, the seven marks throbbing with the Life of the Holy Trinity.
The days of the Advent season are marked by an increasing darkness until we clear "The Day of Saint Thomas, Apostle." Such darkness, spewing from the realities of sin, Satan, and death, causes Lutheran church bodies to become "drifty" and the world to become impaled on itself. Such darkness can also obscure the Church's seven marks.
Consider if there was no Baptism — people would be forced back into the life of their births with no hope of being freed. What would happen if there were no Scriptures? Would we be rooting around only in the world's papers or newscasts or bloggers? Think of the absence of the Lord's Supper — people would be forced to eat the food served only by this world. What would occur if there was no forgiveness? Can we imagine the resentment, selfishness, and hatred boiling in each person's life and spilling over into relationships with others?
And how would we do without the Church's liturgies and prayer life? We already have an idea in the services created by the world (an American Indian prayer combined with 1 Corinthians 13 in a mountain meadow for a wedding always makes for a nice touch!). How would we do without the Church's ministry, persons prepared and ordained to proclaim, serve, and teach the Gospel? We already have an idea in those preachers generated by the world (the distortion of the Lord's Life and the self-serving is remarkable!). And how would we do without the Lord's Cross? We already have an idea in its absence from the world's life (we would be absolutely stuck within ourselves, exultating in our successes, passions, and adulations!).
Thankfully, the Church's seven marks, because they surge with the Lord's Life, cannot be fully obscured. Through the Cross they are the only realities that can pierce the world's darkness, illuminating it with the Light streaming from the Son's Crucifixion and Resurrection. Because of the Lord's Life these marks are the authentic template for the Church. Such a template causes us to speak less of ourselves and more of the Lord God who, in these Advent weeks, is preparing to slip His Son's Life into the world through the Incarnation.
During the Advent season it is a great time for our parishes to be fully immersed in the template of the Church's seven marks. There is a magnificent Light streaming from the Holy Trinity's Life that slices into the world's darkness and rescues those trapped by it. These four weeks give us many opportunities to reflect that Life in our conversations with the baptized whose lives are troubling them and whose lives are pressured by the demands of the world's life and ways. May the Lord God steadily break us down so we can be continually restored to His Life.
Carl A. Voges, STS, Vicar
DE TRINITATE
News and reflection from the Society of the Holy Trinity
Volume 10, Number 4, Advent 2007
Editor: Constance R. Seddon
Editorial office:
6239 Rosebury Ave., 1E, St. Louis, MO 63105
314-721-8262 / editor@societyholytrinity.org
To be placed on the De Trinitate mailing list or to report a change of address,
please contact the Secretary, below.
Senior: Pr. Frank C. Senn
Immanuel Lutheran Church, 616 Lake Street, Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 864-4464 / senior@societyholytrinity.org
Vicar: Pr. Carl A. Voges,
129 Pond Ridge Road, Columbia, SC 29223
(803) 788-6656 or (803) 269-6656 / vicar@societyholytrinity.org
Secretary: Pr. John E. Priest
Immanuel Lutheran Church, 17 High Street, Delhi, NY 13753
(607) 746-2098 / secretary@societyholytrinity.org
Bursar: Pr. Mark A. Hoffman
St. Paul Lutheran Church, 324 North Street, Millersburg, PA 17061
(717) 692-2141 / bursar@societyholytrinity.org
Copyright © 2007, 2008 Society of the Holy Trinity. All rights reserved.
Posted -- 2 December 2007
Updated -- 5 January 2008