A Message From

Pastor Paul

I wanted to share two news items from the November issue of the Lutheran.

Item 1 - A recent survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life showed that atheists and agnostics knew more about religious beliefs than people who professed belief in a religion.  I wonder why.  Please let me know what you think may be the reasons.

Item 2 - November 22, 2010, is the 40^th anniversary of the ordination of Elizabeth A. Platz, the first woman ordained a Lutheran pastor in the United States.  She still serves as campus pastor at the University of Maryland Memorial Chapel where she was ordained in 1970.  She was ordained in the Lutheran Church of America, one of the three predecessor church bodies that merged to form the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

I remember my excitement at the time of Elizabeth's ordination.  In those days, there were very few ordained women.  In 1975, I invited the Rev. Sue Hedahl to preach and preside at the Eucharist at Luther Hall, the campus ministry center at the St. Paul Campus of the University of Minnesota where I served as campus pastor.  Sue had been recently ordained and worked on the staff of a large Lutheran congregation near campus.  Standing beside Sue at the altar as she spoke the words of institution, all of us - my student congregation and me - were most touched by the significance of the event. Today Sue is professor of preaching at Gettysburg Seminary.

A lock-in is scheduled for the Junior and Senior High youth (grades 6 to12) on Friday, December 3, at 7 PM.   The lock-in will go until 8 AM Saturday.  All youth who wish to attend should sign up during church school or contact Angie Roux at aroux@ctkvestal.org or 624-0305 by December 1.  Permission slips and signups for food and drink donations will also be available the next two Sundays or by request.   

Ask the Pastor

Pastor Paul answers your questions

Pastor Paul, is the Lutheran position on the Holy Spirit different from other main stream churches?

My understanding is that Christian churches in the United States and Canada fall into three main groups on the doctrine of the Holy Spirit; ecumenical dialogs between the groups have not been too successful in reaching mutual acceptance of one another's positions.

1. If we disregard some speculative theories, mainline churches that hold an understanding of the Holy Spirit that dates back to the earliest centuries of Christianity are Lutherans, Roman Catholics, Orthodox, Disciples of Christ, Episcopal, Methodist, Presbyterian, Reformed, and United Church of Christ.  These churches are identified by their acceptance of infant baptism and baptism without immersion.  All but the Disciples of Christ practice infant baptism and baptism without immersion, yet they accept infant baptism and baptism without immersion valid.  These churches all hold that the Holy Spirit is present in some way in Baptism.

2.  Baptists and other descendants from the sixteenth century radical reformation do not accept infant baptism and baptism without immersion as valid.  Thus they baptize only adults and only by immersion.  They emphasize that baptism is an act by the person being baptized rather than an action by the Holy Spirit.

3. Pentecostals and Charismatics are also groups that have developed in the last 500 years.  They distinguish between water baptism and baptism in the Spirit.  Baptism in the Spirit is more important than water baptism.  Various behaviors such as speaking in tongues are required evidence of baptism in the Spirit.

In some churches, these three groups overlap; in every church, you will find individuals whose personal beliefs differ from the church's official position.