Without question, the most exciting Reformation Daze thus far. Here's a synopsis.
The annual German Mass was well attended on Sunday night by students and townspeople. One visitor came from Cumberland, MD, roughly 75 miles away. Using the hymns and liturgical forms indicated by Luther for his 1526 mass in the vernacular, attendees lifted their voices in zealous singing, undaunted by the Reformation error rhythms and modal melodies.
LSM Kiosk
The Lutheran Student Movement staffed a kiosk in the MountainLair.
The regularly scheduled Theology on Tap was held at the Brew Pub (West Virginia Brewing Company) at 7:30 PM. The appointed theme was "Semper ecclesia reformanda est." The intent was to ask: "What needs to be reformed in the life of the church? And how do we do it?" But, as often happens, we found ourselves discussing something not so clearly related. It was not long, however, that the problem of theological education in the parish arose. What is the reformation challenge for today? If the conversation at the table is any indication, it is a call for sound and passionate teaching in the parish.
LSM Kiosk in the MountainLair, Day 2.
Brot
und Bier
Good food, good drink, and good conversation! Dr. Andras Mate-Toth delivered a short paper and then invited us into conversation on the problem of global ethics. The mixed assembly of faculty, staff, and students eagerly took up the problem. By the end of the evening, Mate-Toth was asking us questions about ecumenism, religion on campus, and the relationship between politics and religion in America. A more comic feature of the evening was its polyglot nature. Mate-Toth's English is quite good after only one year of study. Still, there were times when Mate-Toth, Dr. Brian Turley, and Chaplain Riegel had to draw upon their German, Latin, and Greek as bridges for translation. If you are wondering what "Brot und Bier" is, think of the classic wine & cheese.
Leaving at 6:30 AM, Daniel VanVliet, Sam Chamberlain, and Kevin Shon, accompanied Chaplain Riegel on his annual trip to Gettysburg Seminary for the Luther Colloquy, This year's theme was "Luther, Genesis, and Gender." Three lectures explored questions of theological anthropology, i.e., what is the human creature. As a special treat, lunch was taken at Ernie's Texas Lunch.
Sponsored by the Institute for Luther Studies of the Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg, the Luther Colloquium has been a favorite of both professional and amateur theologians and historians for decades. For more on the Luther Colloquium, click here.
Sext was prayed as usual at the Lutheran Campus Chapel at WVU thanks to Kathy Jasper's leadership.
No, no, the food wasn't bad. It was just wurst--brautwurst and knockwurst, that is--cooked up by the Exec of the Lutheran Student Movement. 11 lbs. of knockwurst and 14 lbs. of brautwurst accompanied by a tub of sauerkraut and plenty of potato salad--now, that's good eatin'. Our catechumens were the guests of honor.
Other Thursday Events
+ Bible Study on 1 Corinthians, 9:00 AM
+ HSC Mass, 12:00 N
+ Mass, 9:00 PM
95
Theses
Shortly before 2:00 PM, four of our men marched into the plaza in front of the MountainLair and publicly read the 95 Theses. Need we say more.
All Saints' Day fell on the same day as All Souls' Day this year. Our evening mass featured those themes associated with the communion of saints being reified in the Sacrament of the Altar as a transhistorical event which unites the church militant and the church triumphant.
We visited the HSC memorial garden for the Rite for Visitation of a Cemetery at 12:00 N. While not found in the LBW (ELCA) calendar, one can find in the Lutheran Worship (LCMS) Calendar the "Commemoration of the Faithful Departed," formerly known as "All Souls' Day." Long before Memorial Day developed in the USA, All Souls' Day was set aside to remember the departed. It is meet, right, and salutary, that we reclaim this day, the church's day, for such commemoration.
