Reformation Sunday

 On this Sunday I had been planning to attend an Anglican service, but my partner Paul said to me: "On Reformation Sunday?" Yes, in the wide variety of Christian denominations, there is a difference between being Protestant and being Reformed. So I changed plans and attended the ELCIC Lutheran church in my area (you can't get more reformed than that!)

The congregation I visited holds two services on Sunday mornings, a 9:30 English language service and an 11:00 German language service, so the congregation I met was about half the community. I panicked a little when I saw the sacrament of Communion in the order of service, having experienced closed communion (for members only) in the LCC Lutheran denomination.  I asked one of the congregation and she quickly assured me "everyone is welcome." 

Like the Anglican Church in Canada, the Lutheran church is generally more liturgical than many United Churches, so I found my self flipping between the bulletin and the service book. There were a few times when they launched into something that everyone said together and I didn't have the service book at hand, so I was just carried along by their voices. While I appreciate inclusive language and progressive theology, I found it was okay for me just to rely on their faith at that moment, without having to dissect it. 

With the congregation worshipping in two languages and no easy supply of German speaking Lutheran clergy in Canada, this congregation has an initiative with the Lutheran church in Germany, where Germany appoints clergy to provide ministry in Ottawa for a six month period. The preacher had very good English, and seemed very comfortable leading worship with the community.

For the sermon, the preacher did a first-person retelling of Katharina von Bora's life and faith, as if we were reading over her shoulder while von Bora wrote her autobiography. From the strict discipline she endured in a convent (from the age of 5) to her escape with other nuns who also longed to leave religious life.  Her struggle to remain independent after leaving, and not get "married off" like her companions. The decision to propose marriage to Martin Luther, a partnership she felt would ensure her intellectual freedom, at least. Finally, finding true freedom in service to others, and following Jesus according to her reading of the gospel.  

The scripture for the day, Romans 3, is a passage heavy with concepts of justification and righteousness, the law and sin. The preacher's storytelling approach was the perfect way to welcome us into a very difficult passage, and to connect it to our own questions of freedom and right relationship in the 21st century. Perfect for Reformation Sunday!



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