500 years of Lutheranism
2017 marked the 500th anniversary of Lutheranism
500 years of anything is pretty special. It means something has been around, held on to, and been important for an incredibly long time.
BUT in 2017 Lutheranism took a major NEW BEGINNING:
BUT in 2017 Lutheranism took a major NEW BEGINNING:
- Yes, we celebrate "GRACE": for 500 years the point of Martin Luther and Lutherans has been and will continute to be God's grace freely given in Jesus, the work of God's Holy Spirit leading us to trust in God's grace which frees & saves us now and forever, and the fullness of that grace given in God's Word and sacraments.
- BUT, most of all, we now "commemorate" the Reformation with the Roman Catholic Church! We celebrate that God's Holy Spirit is stirring in new ways all around the globe just as powerfully as 500 years ago. This time it is uniting us as church, again powerfully transforming individual lives, and centering us in God's grace and mission = both as individuals and as the collective people of God.
Resources about Lutheranism
- One of the simplest introductions to Lutheranism is "Baptized We Live". You can order it here, or contact Grace and we'll give you a free copy and gladly guide you through it.
- Martin Luther's Small Catechism
- Martin Luther designed a Small Catechism and included prayers in it so that in the simplest and briefest of ways it could lead and grow faith in people. Read here for a deeper explanation of this.
- 50 things you may not know about Martin Luther
- A Handbook for the Catechetical Class by Joseph Stump was one of the earliest English translations and texts used in confirmation classes in the United States
- The Book of Concord of 1580 contains the writings of Martin Luther and other earlier Lutheran reformers that defined the purpose of this reforming movement
Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogues
International dialogs are occuring between the Vatican and the Lutheran World Federation
- From Conflict to Communion - is the latest summary of the goals of these international dialogs. There are five imperatives that now are to guide Lutherans and Catholics.
- Declaration on the Way - is the latest summary of the goal of these dialogs in the Untied States.