Gottesblog

A mother has been charged with criminal contempt of court for having her kids baptized without the consent of her ex-husband. The court ordered that there be court mediation if the parents could not agree on the religious upbringing of the kids; mom wanted them baptized (she's Methodist), dad didn't (he's Presbyterian).

A while back I was puzzling over CSL charging $50 for Bible Studies from profs - I just got this email today from SemPress advertising what sounds like a great product for free download or $10 if you want it shipped to you on DVD. Good for CSL. This is a solid product for parishes that use video Bible Studies from time to time, good publicity for the Sem, and keeps the profs more directly connected to parish reality.

It's not too late to contact any students you may know at Concordia Seminary-St. Louis and encourage them to come to the Opus Dei meeting this evening in the undercroft of the chapel at 7:00pm. We're planning to cover worship in the Confessions and a very hands on look at the ceremonies of the traditional Lutheran Mass.

Father Seth Mierow passes this along for Gottesdienst readers in the Indianapolis area. And you folks in Indianapolis: it's just a short drive to Chicago for the May 1st Gottesdienst Conference at St. Paul in Brookfield. 

I'm scheduled to speak to the Opus Dei student group at Concordia Seminary - St. Louis this Thursday, March 29, at 7:00pm. This will be both a practical workshop on the ceremonies of Lutheran worship and a close look at what Ap. XXIV and FC SD X have to say about how Lutherans worship.

Nothing brings home the division and chaos of the MO Synod's worship practices like filling in for someone else or having someone else fill in for you. Here are some things to consider, garnered from my own mistakes and troubles in this regard.

The Coptic Church has had an interesting history - and no less interesting in recent decades. In reading of Pope Shenouda III's recent death (our condolences to all the bereaved) I found out yet another interesting fact about the Copts: "His successor's name will be chosen by a blindfolded child from among three finalists chosen by community leaders -- a process that could take months."