Ballet Magnificat! tells the story of the Israelites’ deliverance from bondage in Egypt through dance in their production of “Deliver Us!†It also offers a “glimpse of another deliverer: Jesus Christ.â€
The performance is 7 p.m. Oct. 10 at Bethel Church, 2702 30th Ave. S. in Fargo. Tickets are $10. Children 5 and under are admitted free.
For more information, call (701) 232-4476.
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Daniel J. Lehmann
In the current issue of “The Lutheran,” an ELCA publication, its editor Daniel Lehmann writes:
“Page 8 of this issue contains a 203-word article (“Another Lutheran body formed“) on the founding of another Lutheran denomination. No more, no less.
The North American Lutheran Church came about in response to the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly decisions on sexuality…
“What we have here is a classic case of schism — a formal division or separation in the Christian church …
“So now the NALC becomes, in the eyes of this magazine, one more Lutheran denomination. Just as the staff follows major events in the life of the LCMS, the same will be true with the NALC. The Lutheran won’t give it any special coverage just because of its heritage. This group, like Elvis, has left the building.”
Read the full editorial: http://www.thelutheran.com/article/article.cfm?article_id=9348
Pastor Dave Motta leads prayers
The 40 Days for Life anti-abortion campaign began yesterday (Wednesday). The North Dakota part of that campaign includes a 40-day, non-stop prayer vigil at the Red River Women’s Clinic in Fargo. Here’s an expert from the Forum’s story on the first day of the protest:
“JL Beers serves burgers and brews next door.
“Cars roll past it down First Avenue North.
“And everyday life swirls around the Red River Women’s Clinic in downtown Fargo as if unaware of the profound ideological collision happening on the sidewalk.
“As they do most days of the year, protesters gathered outside North Dakota’s only abortion facility on Wednesday. But the morning’s collection of about 100 people marked the first in a 40-day, nonstop prayer vigil that is part of the international 40 Days for Life campaign against abortion.”
Read the full story: http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/292163/
Mark Hanson, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, held a town hall question-and-answer forum today (Sunday). On-demand video and transcripts from the event will be posted on the ELCA website Wednesday, Sept. 22.
Visit www.elca.org/townhall
If you missed the previous forum with Hanson on March 7, it’s still online at the above URL.
I’ll post a reminder after Sunday’s forum hits the web.
Thanks for reading…
“Three pastors from the Twin Cities who are lesbians in committed relationships were embraced Saturday as Evangelical Lutheran Church in America pastors. The Reverends Anita Hill, Ruth Frost and Phyllis Zillhart were inducted during a service presided over by St. Paul Bishop Peter Rogness at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church of the Redeemer,” the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports.
In 2009, the ELCA voted at its biannual Churchwide Assembly to allow individuals in committed same-gender relationships to serve in the clergy. Hundreds of congregations in the ELCA have explored the possibility of exiting the denominations in the wake of the assembly. The ELCA has at more than 10,0o0 congregations.
Read the full story: http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/faith/103204234.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUac8HEaDiaMDCinchO7DUs
Read the ELCA press release: http://www.elca.org/Who-We-Are/Our-Three-Expressions/Churchwide-Organization/Communication-Services/News/Releases.aspx?a=4638
Defense Secretary Robert Gates
The Pentagon’s press secretary says that Secretary of Defense Robert Gates called Florida pastor Terry Jones and “urged the Pastor not to proceed with it,” NPR reports.
Press secretary Geoff Morrell released the following in a statement: “Secretary Gates reached out to Pastor Jones this afternoon. They had a very brief phone conversation during which the Secretary expressed his grave concern that going forward with the Quran burning would put at risk the lives of our forces around the world, especially those in Iraq and Afghanistan, and he urged the Pastor not to proceed with it.”
Jones was spearheading a protest in which copies of the Quran, Islam’s holiest text, would have been burned on Sept. 11. He has since canceled that protest.
See the full NPR post: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2010/09/09/129760129/terry-jones-got-call-from-defense-secretary-gates?ft=1&f=103943429&sc=tw&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
Here’s a story on The Forum’s website if you want to know more about the Quran-burning controversial in general and today’s news: http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/290567/
Hawley (Minn.) Lutheran Church, a congregation of more than 1,100 baptized members, could take the first step Sept. 19 toward breaking with its denomination.
The congregation has scheduled a “special meeting†that day to vote on whether to leave the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Congregation President Clayton Lilleby confirmed the meeting via e-mail Tuesday.
To leave the ELCA, a congregation must pass two votes separated by at least 90 days.
Read more: http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/290327/publisher_ID/1/
Talk about it: http://topics.areavoices.com/2010/09/07/hawley-church-schedules-vote-on-leaving-elca/
From www.religionnews.com
From a Religion News Service interview with Thomas Blackshere:
Colorado Springs artist Thomas Blackshear, who typically specializes in African-American themed art, was commissioned to paint the image for the Mother Teresa commemorative stamp.
Q: How do you portray Mother Teresa, the larger-than-life Nobel Peace Prize-winning humanitarian, in a tiny postage stamp?
A: It’s all about finding the right graphic image. The postal service decided to go with a smiling image that has been seen everywhere. This portrays her as a happy person who loved life.
Q: How was the image chosen and created?
A: The postal service sent me a number of photos, and I created pencil drawings based on three of these photos. One drawing showed her as somewhat somber. Another one was more pensive. After the smiling image was chosen, I created the final 5×7 image by using water colors. I kept building up the layers over three or four days until I got the look I wanted.
Read the full story: http://www.religionnews.com/index.php?/tenminutes/10_minutes_with_thomas_blackshear/
From www.growinfaith.org
Faith Lutheran Church, 127 2nd Ave. E. in West Fargo, will celebrate its 75th anniversary with a number of activities Sept. 11 and 12.
Among the events:
Call (701) 282-3309 for more information.
from www.christianitytoday.com
From a Christianity Today cover story:
“Welcome to the world of hipster Christianity. It’s a world where things like the Left Behind book and film series, Jesus fish bumper stickers, and door-to-door evangelism are relevant only as a source of irony or nostalgia. It’s a world where Braveheart youth-pastor analogies are anathema, where everyone agrees that they wish Pat Robertson “weren’t one of us” and shares a collective distaste for the art of Thomas Kinkade.”
Read the story: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/september/9.24.html
