500 Years of Reformation

Saint Matthew Lutheran Church is commemorating 500 Years of the Reformation in a number of ways.

Reformation Sunday

Sunday, Oct. 29th 8:30am & 11am

9:45 Adult Forum “African-American Lutherans: Footnotes in History”

Guest Preacher: The Rev. Dr. Richard Stewart

Accused of spending way too much time in front of a computer, I’m not doing retirement well. I seem to be making the office piles smaller, and there is some work that has appeared in a couple of presentations on further work on the history of African Descent Lutherans in America. [The section on ‘Race’ in Dr. Wengert’s latest work has my name on it.] I’ve been doing oral interviews with Black elders in the Lutheran church to capture some of the sideline [not headline] stories of those of us retired or nearly so. On rare occasions [every year] I’ve been asked to lecture at classes at the seminary and I’m advising three Doctoral students. With a three month hospitalization this summer, I’m working on what a new NORMAL should look like as I head into my 73rd year, and 49th year of marriage. My new phrase is “That God is not done with me yet.”

OWLS 500 Years of Reformation: 1517-2017
Thursday, September 7th at 12pm.

Come and rediscover the “main characters” in the Reformation and the things that makes what happened 500 years ago still important for us today. Our favorite retired professor of Reformation History, Tim Wengert, will introduce the OWLS to the basics of the Reformation and entertain questions about its most famous players. Professor Wengert will have just returned from a conference in Wittenberg, Germany, where he gave a talk about Martin Luther’s 95 Theses.

Bring a sandwich – drinks and dessert will be provided.

Evening Bible Study

“Together by Grace: Introducing the Lutherans”
Thursdays, 7:30pm 9/14, 9/21, 9/28

Instead of a Bible study, we’re doing something a little different; that is, looking at the effect of the Word as it unfolded into a little tradition that we now call Lutheranism in the U.S. We’ll look at one section in September “The Faith We Confess” and another in November.

  • 9/14: Lutheranism 101: Culture or Confession?
  • 9/21: Lutherans 202
  • 9/28: Reading the Bible with Martin Luther

We have 15 copies available of “Together by Grace: Introducing the Lutherans,” and ask that people contribute the cost of the book, if possible, which is $11.