 The Bi-Monthly Newsletter of the Augsburg Lutheran District |
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Story:
A Future and a Hope |
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DISTRICT NEWS
The Augsburg Lutheran District is growing! Twelve churches have voted to join the Augsburg Lutheran District, and thirty ministers have been approved for addition to the Augsburg List of Clergy. Several churches will be voting to join our fellowship at their annual meetings in 2003. We praise God for his blessings and trust that the best is yet to come for us as His plans to give us a future with hope unfold.
MEMBER CHURCHES
Peace
Lutheran Church - Rev. James Hansen
330 Prestwick Avenue
Gulf Shores, AL 36542
Our
Savior's Lutheran Church - Rev. Walt Kukkonen
326 Leroy Street
Audubon, IA 50025
Elk
Horn Lutheran Church - Rev. Mike Williams
4313 Main Street
Elk Horn, IA 51531
Fellowship
Lutheran Church - Rev. John Sanders, Jr.
7904 Apple Valley Drive
Louisville, KY 40228
Sola
Scriptura Lutheran Church
411 Calumet
Flint, MI 48503
Living
Stones Lutheran Church
28808 Gilbert
Warren, MI 48092
Word
Of God Lutheran Church - Rev. Jeff Iverson
6124 69th Avenue N
Brooklyn Park, MN 55429
Resurrection
Community Church - Rev. Doug Vaughan
6155 Thurston Road
Springfield, OR 97478
Old
Zion Lutheran Church - Rev. Dr. Carl Heinrich A. Schmutzler
628 N. Broad Street
Philadelphia, PA 19130
Humboldt
Lutheran Church - Pastor Glenn Peterson
P. O. Box 137
Humboldt, SD 57035-0137
Hope
Lutheran Church - Rev. Cher Clay
340 Lutheran Street
Platteville, WI 53818
People
of the Promise - Rev. Tinka Bloedow
110 N 4th Street
River Falls, WI 54022
Elk Horn Lutheran Church, Elk Horn, IA, is hosting the Augsburg Joint Council meeting on January 5-6, 2003. There will be several major items of business on the agenda. Pastors who have applied to be added to the Augsburg List of Clergy will meet with our Ministry Committee for a colloquy before being approved by the Joint Council; the constitution task force will present revisions for recommendation to the member churches; and the convention task force will meet to continue planning for the 2003 convention hosted by Our Saviour's in Audubon, IA.
At 6:00 p.m. on January 5, 2003, the members of Elk Horn Lutheran Church are hosting a potluck dinner followed by worship, and an open forum and fellowship time to share the vision and mission of the Augsburg Lutheran District. Come and meet the members of our Joint Council, and join us in launching the Western Iowa Augsburg Cluster!
The Augsburg Lutheran District is starting a House of Studies with other confessional Lutherans. On January 7-8, 2003, representatives of the Augsburg Lutheran District and the Evangelical Lutheran Conference and Ministerium of North America (ELCM) will meet at the Chicago Theological Seminary, Chicago, IL, to discuss the formation of an accredited House of Studies which would be a center for theological education, pastoral training, and research. Our goal is to use existing universities and graduate schools as much as possible to educate and train pastors, offer continuing education for pastors, and provide theological training for laity.
Many thanks to Dr. James Galezewski, Rev. Gerald Nerenhausen, Dr. Oliver K. Olson, and Rev. Mark Jamison for arranging the meeting, and to the Chicago House of Theological Studies and Zion Lutheran Church, Oshkosh, WI, for hosting the two-day event.
But
how are men to call upon him in whom they have not believed? And how are
they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to
hear without a preacher? And how can men preach unless they are sent? As
it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach good
news!"
Romans 10:14-15
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Larry Gedde Installed at Abiding Savior Dr. Larry A. Gedde was installed as the senior pastor of Abiding Savior Lutheran Church in Mounds View, MN, on November 17, 2002. |
Dr. Sheldon Tostengard, a member of Abiding Savior, preached and the associate pastor installed Gedde as the senior pastor on behalf of the congregation. The installation topped off a gala weekend celebrating the calling of the members of this church to proclaim the radical message of justification by faith alone in Jesus Christ in all of its ministries. Dr. Oliver K. Olson and Lenae Rasmussen attended the installation and celebration. Abiding Savior is a member of the ELCA and the WordAlone Network.
Dr. Carl Heinrich A. Schmutzler, pastor of Old Zion Lutheran Church in Philadelphia, PA, has proposed that we expand our "church relations" to include an agreement of cooperation with the Evangelical Lutheran Conference and Ministerium of North America (ELCM). Dr. Schmutzler and Dr. Oliver K. Olson were guest speakers at the ELCM triennial convention this past September.
Two of our member churches, Sola Scriptura Lutheran Church in Flint, MI, and Word of God Lutheran Church in Brooklyn Park, MN, are members of the Augsburg Lutheran District, Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC), and the Evangelical Lutheran Conference and Ministerium of North America (ELCM).
A proposed "Bi-Lateral Agreement of Cooperation" between the Augsburg Lutheran District and the ELCM is being drafted by our Doctrine and Church Relations co-chairs for presentation at our January Joint Council meeting in Elk Horn, IA, and the House of Studies meeting in Chicago, IL. Some editing is sure to occur as a result of our discussion. Following these meetings, a proposed draft will be presented to all of our member churches for discussion. Upon acceptance by our member churches and the approval of the Joint Council, this agreement will be voted on at our national convention in Audubon, Iowa, July 20-23, 2003.
The Lutheran House of Studies will be the first joint project of the Augsburg Lutheran District and the ELCM. We hope that other confessional Lutherans will join us in this project and eventually form an accredited graduate school. We also hope that a broader coalition of Lutheran church bodies may eventually arise from this project.
Members of the Joint Council are sifting and editing our constitution and bylaws for their next meeting. A new Article 2.07. has been posted for discussion.
2.07. We believe, teach, and confess the gospel that we are justified by grace alone, that is, by faith alone through Christ alone as the heart and center of the Holy Scriptures, the ecumenical creeds and Lutheran confessional writings and as the sole criterion against which all teaching, practice, structure and polity must be measured. This gospel is the power of God for salvation (cf. Rom. 1:16-17) and creates and sustains a holy Christian people and priesthood of all believers for God's mission in the world.
The third convention of the Augsburg Lutheran District will assemble July 20-23, 2003, at Our Saviour's Lutheran Church in Audubon, Iowa.
A convention theme, schedule, and other plans for the convention will be adopted at our Joint Council meeting January 4-5, 2002, in Elk Horn, Iowa.
John Rasmussen Returns from Bosnia-Herzegovina
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John H. G. Rasmussen, served as the chaplain of the 1-25 Aviation Task Force deployed as part of NATO Stabilization Force-11 (SFOR-11) in Bosnia-Herzegovina, from March to September 2002. Rasmussen and his Chaplain Assistant, SPC Corey Ward, are shown returning safely to the 1-25 AVN (attack) hanger on Wheeler Army Air Field, Oahu, Hawaii. Congratulations on a job well done, faithful servants. |
Glory
to God in the highest,
and on earth peace, good will toward men.
May God's richest blessings be upon you this Advent season as you prepare for the coming of the Lord, and our best wishes for a blessed and joyful Christmas.
Your Friends in Christ, Mark Jamison and Lenae Rasmussen
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