Becoming Lutheran

 There are 1.7 million members of the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod, according to the latest statistics that I have seen.  Those members worship in 5,826 congregations.  I have worshiped in four of them.  That's a really small sample size, but even so, what I've found in those four congregations is some variety of worship practices. In our two local congregations where I've worshiped, Holy Trinity in Chenango Bridge, my home church, and Grace Lutheran in Vestal, the worship is according to the Lutheran Service Book.  Grace uses projection screens, but other than that, the worship in the two congregations is similar. At Immanuel Lutheran Church, in Madison, Wisconsin, the worship is similar to our local congregations, but at Calvary Lutheran Church in Silver Spring, Maryland, it's a whole different story.  In fact, the worship at Calvary is even closer to Anglican worship, my previous tradition, than the other three churches.  The following is from an...

 As far as I know, on November 26, 2019, I worshiped in a Lutheran church for the second time.  The first time was at a Lutheran church in Gainesville, Florida.  I was a member of a presbyterian church (PCA) at the time.  I had read some about Martin Luther and some of Luther's writings, and I was curious about the Lutheran tradition.  There are three Lutheran churches in Gainesville, and I'm not sure which one I attended.  It was an evening service of installation of a new pastor.  Honestly, the service made no impression on me whatsoever. I recall the thoughts of a musician with whom I played in the U.S. Army Signal Corps Band.  He said he was a Lutheran because the Lutheran service had the most music in it.  That doesn't strike me as the best reason to become a Lutheran, but his observation is correct, in my experience. On November 26, 2019, I worshiped at Grace Lutheran Church in my hometown of Vestal, NY.  The worship was according ...

 I am a cradle Episcopalian who has recently been received as a pastor in the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod.  It's been a long road, but I am thankful to be part of the LCMS.  Allow me to give you a bit of my journey. I grew up in New Jersey, attending three Episcopal Churches.  After three years in the Army, I completed college, got married, and started seminary at Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry.  I served four churches in the Episcopal Church.  The final church I served left the Episcopal Church in 2006 and became part of the Convocation of Anglicans in North America.   After serving that church for over 21 years, I retired and started attending an LCMS congregation.  About four and a half years later, I am in the process of becoming the pastor of the LCMS church that I attend. Part of becoming Lutheran has been relearning theology.  Part of becoming a pastor in the LCMS has been a process called Colloquy.  It is a way th...