The annual St. Mark Conference was held on Monday, April 25 and Tuesday, April 26 at Our Saviour Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Baltimore.  The Conference is hosted by the Rev. Fr. Charles McClean, Pastor of Our Saviour.  Presenters were the Rev. Dr. John Stephenson (Professor, Concordia Theological Seminary, St. Catherines, Ontario), the Rev. Fr. Roy Axel Coats (Pastor, Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, Baltimore), and the Rev. Fr. Charles McClean. 

From the Conference brochure:  “The first half of the Twentieth-century Lutheranism was a time of cultural upheaval as traditional customs and ideas were constantly challenged and changed.  This is especially true in the Church.  Yet during that time the Church was also blessed with a number of very gifted theologians who in different ways tried to counter these trends.  Three of these were the Rev. Frederick Roth Webber, the Rev. Dr. Hermann Sasse, and the Rev. Dr. Arthur Carl Piepkorn.  Their work helps us better understand the problems of today and how best to face them with wisdom and integrity.”

Mass was celebrated both days, Fr. McClean presiding.  Fr. Mark Braden (Zion Detroit) preached at both Masses.  Fr. Brian Westgate (Redeemer Evangelical-Lutheran Church, Oakmont, Pennsylvania) served as Conference Organist.  Fr. McClean presided at Solemn Vespers on Tuesday, Fr. Noah J. Rogness (Immanuel Evangelical-Lutheran Church, Alexandria, Virginia) served as Preacher.  Mr. Paul Techau of Our Saviour served as Kantor at all Services.

The Mass on Monday was for the Feast of St. Mark, Evangelist.  The Solemn Litany in Processional preceded the Mass, the Lutheran Common Service.  The setting for Mass on Tuesday was the Bergen setting of the same Common Service.

Fr. Stephenson presented a paper in two parts.  The first was entitled “Hermann Sasse and the Third Reich”.  The second was entitled “Sasse in Retrospect”.

Fr. Coats presented a paper entitled “Introduction to the Life and Work of Frederick Roth Webber.

Fr. McClean presented a paper entitled “Hermann Sasse and Arthur Carl Piepkorn.”

The Conference ended with a panel discussion in which all the presenters participated.

Fr. Coat’s paper included a good number of remarkable quotes from F.R. Webber, including this one from his Studies in the Liturgy (Erie, Pennsylvania: Ashby Printing Company, 1938. 173-174):

“The glorification of man, and of human relationships, has had a profound effect upon the doctrine and liturgy.  This heresy flourished in the days of Renaissance and of Rationalsim, and has reached its zenith in our day.  This shifting of stress from Christ-centered to man-centered worship is the father of all modern heresies. 

This glorification of man puts human reason not the Lord, upon the throne.  It causes men to deny those parts of the Scripture which they cannot understand, and makes them picks and choosers of doctrine.  It prompts them to deny the mysteries of the Virgin Birth, Baptismal Regeneration, the Atonement, The Real Presence and the Resurrection, for these are beyond human understanding.  The spirit of glorification of man denies sin, for sin dims the glory of man.  It denies sola gratia and universalis gratia, and finds in man a cause of his own salvation.  It stresses salvation by works.  It makes the outward performance of a ritual, or the hearing of a sermon, or the receiving of a Sacrament, a work of merit.  It thinks of the Eucharist as a gift which man offers to God rather than a gift of God to man.  It exalts the words which man speaks above the words which God speaks, hence it regards prayer as more important that the Word and Sacraments.  It is the basis of all unionistic worship.  It ignores the Church Year with its press upon the Saviour, and sets up a church year entered upon man and his achievements.  It sets aside the preaching of sin and grace, and stressed the preaching of human relationships.  It believes in salvation by slogans.  It gives publicity to men rather than to the Gospel.  It is the foundation of the social gospel heresy, for it would save the political and social fabric, which has no soul, and ignore the individual, who has a soul.

This glorification of man, so characteristic of liberal theology, has had its effect upon the liturgy.  The liberlist is ritualistic, but he selects a ritual which places man in the foreground rather than God.  It causes men to prefer hymns that speak of men’s thoughts and feelings rather than hymns of praise to the Saviour.  It substitutes exhibition anthems and solos for congregational prayer and praise.  It glorifies its Good Friday cantata and its Easter musical program, rather than the doctrinal significance of these things… Unless we drive out this most malignant of all heresies, it is useless to think of doctrinal or liturgical purity.”