Presidents Letter for May WELCOME, WYOMING!! Next week a landmark gathering will take place as the pastors of the Wyoming District meet with the pastors of the Atlantic District right here in New York City! The purpose of this enterprise, which takes place over four days, is for the pastors to dialog about issues of doctrine and practice that unite us, and that divide us in the Missouri Synod. The perceptions may vary from one geographical zone to the next. The wide open spaces of Wyoming, with a state population of 600000, will be juxtaposed with the densely populated neighborhoods of New York City. The incredible mosaic of racial, ethnic, religious and cultural diversity as experienced in New York will be compared with the more straightforward populations of Wyoming, where over 95% of the inhabitants are Caucasian (which, by the way, is the same percentage as the membership of the Missouri Synod). Well be staying together at an airport hotel near LaGuardia. Well tour Ground Zero and Wall Street. Well eat Chinese in Chinatown. Well head over to the thriving hipster neighborhoods of Brooklyn, and there share Holy Communion. Well be at four Atlantic District congregations for gathering and sharing - True Light, NYC; St. John the Evangelist, Brooklyn; Our Saviour, Bronx; and Immanuel, Whitestone. Well have plenty of time to gawk and talk and kibbitz and pray and sing and share. Well even have opportunity to take in a Subway Series game at Citi Field - who could ask for more! But underneath it, and undergirding it all, is the desire to foster true Christian fellowship - KOINONIA, as it is called in Greek. This then is a SPIRITUAL endeavor, for Koinonia is in II Corinthians 13:14 the assignment and the sign of the Holy Spirit among us. Rev. Dr. Herbert Mueller, First Vice-President of the LC-MS , will lead the Koinonia Project process with over 120 pastors from the two districts. Gathering in small groups, we will process the issues, with Bible studies on demeanor and attitude and manner of speech as well as on specific items of doctrine and practice. Pray with me for a rich blessing of the Holy Spirit to be poured out upon the group. Pray for good weather; for arrangements that work; for health and safety for all involved. Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed - Hallellujah!
Posted on: Tue, 06 May 2014 15:11:59 +0000
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