We had a wonderful day at Christ Lutheran Church in Platte Woods, MO, yesterday at our latest regional Gottesdienst conference! Many thanks are due to both pastors, the organist from a neighboring parish, and many others who made the day possible. Dr. Eckardt's paper exploring the distinction between the natural will, the renewed man in Christ, and how that relates to the forms of worship popular in American Evangelicalism was fascinating. In the afternoon we looked at ceremony in general - what it is, why the Confessions say we use the ceremonies we do, etc. - as well as the specific ceremonies of the Easter Vigil and how they bring the drama of Lent to its climax. And then we were off to Fr. Froiland's home where his bride graciously hosted the gathered guests with Boulevard beer (Kansas City's own) and great conversation.

You might say that the aim of these regional Gottesdienst conferences is to create the day of prayer and study that you wish your Winkel or general pastors' conference always was. More information on our next regional conference will be forthcoming soon - it's scheduled for Tuesday, May 3 in Chicago.

+HRC