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Mount Saint Michel (Again)

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This week we are taking a break from our series on “Compact Congregations,” as both of us have been traveling. I’m recently returned from Pewaukee, Wisconsin where I attended the annual gathering of the Lutheran Deaconess Conference, whose membership is deaconesses trained by the Lutheran Diaconal Association, founded in 1919. One of the highlights of our annual gathering is hearing the stories of diaconal ministry by those celebrating a major anniversary of their consecration as deaconesses. It’s always inspiring to hear how God has been at work, often leading us to unexpected places and serving the church and the world in ways we could not have imagined.

Kent has been in a more exciting location, Paris, attending the 2025 Congress of Societas Liturgica, where he presented a paper, “Lectern, Pulpit, and East Axis: Liturgical Developments in American Lutheran Churches in the 20th Century.” Societas Liturgica, founded in 1965, is “an association for the promotion of ecumenical dialogue on worship, based on solid research, with the perspective of renewal and unity.” Since he was in the neighborhood (and perhaps inspired by my post from last year), Kent is making a pilgrimage to St. Michel after the congress was over.

Today’s banner photo is from within the monastery complex and depicts the legend surrounding the establishment of this location as a pilgrimage site in a stone-carved relief. The Archangel St. Michael (identifiable by is his armor and wings) appeared to an eighth-century bishop in a dream and instructed him to build a chapel in his (St. Michael’s) honor on this rocky outcrop off the coast of Normandy (on the left side of the carving).

Like my deaconess sisters, Bishop Aubert and, later in its history, Benedictine monastics were called to an unexpected mission, serving God in a unique place and in unimagined ways.

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To read last year’s post, click here.
Photos by Rhoda Schuler (June 2024)

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July 7: Registration Deadline for Kent’s Workshop on Adult Faith Formation

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Dr. Kent Burreson’s workshop on the adult catechumenate, part of Concordia Seminary’s Prof Insights Series, will be in Vesper, Wisconsin. Located in central Wisconsin, Vesper is 30 miles west of Stevens Point. The workshop is hosted by Trinity Lutheran Church.

Deadline: MONDAY, JULY 7
Dates of the workshop:
Starts Monday, July 21at noon; ends at noon on Wednesday, July 23
Cost: $150.00

To register for the workshop, click here.

To learn more about the workshop, click on the video link.

Jackie and staff with book

Our Book IS Now Available!

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On June 9, one of my former students from Concordia University, St. Paul, DCE Jackie Druckhammer, texted me today’s banner photo. Her pastor had pre-ordered copies of our book for the church staff at St. John Lutheran Church, Vancouver, Washington. Pictured from left to right are DCE David Schrampfer, Pastor Brian Larson, and Office Administrator Erin White.

Kent and I are thrilled not only to have the book published but also to see it in the hands of church professionals, for they are the primary audience of our book. Part I of the book describes the adult faith formation process at four Lutheran congregations. As we wrote in the introduction, “We tell these inspiring individual stores of faith formation and present the missional mindset of congregations in the hope that the creative power of the Spirit will spark imaginative thinking among pastors and other church professionals, and lay leaders” (10).

Our own “author” copies arrived a few days later, as the photos, below, show.

Prof Insights

Workshop by Kent: July 21 – 23

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We’re pleased to announce that Kent will be leading a workshop on the adult catechumenate next month in Vesper, Wisconsin, as part of Concordia Seminary’s Prof Insights Series. Located in central Wisconsin, Vesper is 30 miles west of Stevens Point. The workshop is hosted by Trinity Lutheran Church.

Cost: $150.00

Dates: Noon, Monday, July 21 through noon on Wednesday, July 23

Registration deadline: July 7

Treasures Old and New: A Workshop on Adult Faith Formation

This workshop addresses the missional challenges pastors and leaders in the LCMS face in a “post-Christian” context. It introduces a model of adult faith formation based on early church catechumenal practices. Participants will explore new ways to form disciples, shape Christian identity through the Bible and sacraments, and foster hospitality in congregational life. Focused on a broader approach to adult faith formation, this workshop emphasizes faith formation as a flexible process rather than a “new program.” Stories from three exemplary parishes will show how faith formation practices can revitalize parish life and engage the entire congregation in shaping the faith of new Christians.

For more information, click here.

To register, click here.

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A House of Catechesis and Prayer for All Nations: Presenting at the 2025 CSL Multi-Ethnic Symposium

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Rhoda and I had the joy of delivering the opening plenary at the 2025 Multi-ethnic symposium of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, entitled, “Learning From Each Other: Catechesis That Raises Up Multiethnic Leaders for the Kingdom.” Our paper was titled “A House of Catechesis for All Nations: Formation through a Contextualized Catechumenate.” In the picture above you see next to Rhoda and me the two pastors of Salem Lutheran Church, Springdale, Arkansas, Brandon Martin and Adam Gless, and members of their congregation. We researched their catechumenate in February and that research contributed significantly to our presentation. If you are interested in the symposium presentations, they will eventually be available at Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary | Concordia Seminary – Saint Louis Research.

Christus Rex award

Congratulations to Rev. Dr. Maxwell E. Johnson

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I just returned home from the 2025 Institute of Liturgical Studies (ILS), held at my and Kent’s undergraduate alma mater, Valparaiso University. It was my honor to introduce the recipient of the Christus Rex Award, Max Johnson, pictured (center) with ILS Director and VU Campus Pastor Jim Wetzstein (left) and moi (right). Max, like Phoebe named in Romans 16:2, “has been a helper of many and of myself as well.” Early in my graduate school days, Max encouraged me to boil down my master’ thesis to article length and helped get it published. Thirty some years later, he graciously agreed to write a foreword for Kent’s and my forthcoming book, Journey to Jesus.

The book is now available for pre-order! Click here for the link.

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Field Trip to Explore Multicultural Ministry

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We (Kent and Rhoda) will be presenting the opening plenary address at Concordia Seminary’s Multiethnic Symposium, May 6-7, 2025. Our concern to have concrete, firsthand data coalesced with the desire of a pastoral team in Springdale, Arkansas, to have outside “consultants” visit and make recommendations for strengthening congregational faith formation across generations. It was a match made in heaven and came to pass through the work of the Holy Spirit and a generous grant from the Mid-South District of the LCMS.

On Saturday, February 22, we arrived in Springdale and received a warm welcome from Pastors Adam Gless and Brandon Martin, who serve the bilingual Salem Lutheran Church. During our four-day visit we worshipped with the congregation; broke bread with congregational members; attended Bible studies and faith formation gatherings for adults and for youth and their parents; and interviewed a variety of members.

And yes, there was time for relaxation and fun, as the banner photo and gallery of photos indicate. Those who know Kent will not be surprised to see him under the banner of Rendezvous Junction Brewery. A thoughtful colleague, he made Adam and Brandon aware that my beverage of choice is wine, that, according to the Psalmist, “gladdens the heart” (Ps. 104:15). The bartender “poured”—squeezed is more accurate—a generous glass of rose from the “dregs” of the bladder of the (un)boxed wine. One can see the seriousness with which each of the guys approached the flights of beer as they hunched over the beer rating apps on their cellphones. As we parted after a sumptuous breakfast Thursday morning, the four of us gave thanks to God for our time together; we pray our research will be a blessing for the people of Salem Lutheran and for the church at large.

To learn more about our findings, we recommend attending the Multiethnic Symposium. Click for more information.

Rating each flight sample: There’s an app for that!
There’s no beer in heaven, so they’re drinking it here.

Banner photos by anonymous, friendly person at table next to us at brewery. Gallery of photos by Rhoda Schuler.

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Christmas Greetings from Kent & Rhoda

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Christmas greetings to our subscribers from the Annual Meeting of the North American Academy of Liturgy (NAAL), which we both started attending in the late 1990s as graduate students. This year’s gathering is at our Alma Mater, Valparaiso University, where worship at the Chapel of the Resurrection fostered in both of us a love of graceful and grace-filled liturgy. Attending NAAL is a time for scholarly discussions with other academics and practitioners as well as a time to enjoy the fellowship of others who share our conviction that liturgy is not an end itself but the primary means through which the faithful encounter Jesus Christ in the proclamation of the Gospel (in preaching, liturgy, and song) and through participation in the sacraments.

Here we are at our Alma Mater! In between Kent and me is Noel Snyder from the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship. Noel and other staff at CICW have reviewed our book manuscript, so over dinner and adult beverages, we had a lovely chat about the long process of our research (funded by CICW) and the writing of our book, now in the hands of our publisher, Wipf & Stock. It will be part of a CICW series on Christian worship.

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Banner photo (by Rhoda Schuler, June 2024):
Adoration of the Magi, textile; back yoke section of a cope in the Cathedral Treasury, Cologne, Germany.

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A Conversation with the Co-Authors of “Lay Me in God’s Good Earth”

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This week Rhoda interviews Kent and his other research partner and co-author, Dr. Beth Hoeltke, about their book Lay me in God’s Good Earth. The authors discuss how they got drawn into the topic of natural burial, the Christian lens of the book, and the expansive approach of the book, which encourages pastors and lay Christians to think proactively about end-of-life decisions as well as funeral practices.

To view this four-minute video, you must be logged into a Google account.

In addition to seven chapters, the book includes numerous resources for those interested in exploring the various facets of natural burial:

  • A burial planning guide
  • Cost comparisons for natural burial, conventional burial, and cremation
  • Resources about caring for the body at home and for burying naturally
  • A list of state funeral boards and licensing agencies for the District of Columbia and 48 states; Alaska and Hawaii are listed with “No state funeral board.”

The book is published by IVP; click here to order the book!

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Banner image: Modern mosaic depicting Jesus’ mother, Mary Magdalene, and other women preparing Jesus’ body for burial as Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus look on. Wall mounted inside the entrance to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem.

Photo by Rhoda Schuler, March 2023.

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New Book on Green Burial and “the Art of Dying” by Burreson & Hoeltke

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The package arrived a couple of weeks ago; clearly, it was a book, but I had no recollection of ordering a book from IVP. It was with great delight that I discovered I had received a pre-publication copy of Lay Me in God’s Good Earth: A Christian Approach to Death and Burial, by Kent Burreson and Beth Hoeltke. I took a photo and texted it to Kent, saying “It just arrived!!”

The authors write, “With this book, we hope you will consider the route of natural burial, which can provide intimate care of your body both before and after death” (3); they conclude the introduction lamenting that “the church has largely lost its ability to teach the art or theology of dying” (5). Both theological and practical, this book seeks to do both. Chapter 2 lays the theological foundation for natural burial by emphasizing the Christ’s resurrection as the foundation of Christian hope and linking the resurrection of the body to God’s promise to renew creation.

Kent and Beth critique both the commercialization of the funeral industry and the move toward “the spiritualization of Christian funerals and burials”; the antidote is recovering “a living eschatology and faith in the hope of the resurrection and eternal life” (61).

They provide a clear articulation of the four “core practices” of natural burial (21-22):

  • Elimination of embalming
  • Burial in a biodegradable casket or covering
  • No use of vault in the burial
  • Burial in ground that encourages natural decomposition and return to the earth

Most helpful are these encouraging words: “Engaging even just one of the four core practices … moves toward practices that reflect a Christian understanding of death and resurrection” (24).

Later chapters discuss appropriate Christian funeral practices, encourages family involvement with the body after death, and lays out options for “walking alongside our loved ones in the final journey that leads to death” (115). A lengthy appendix provides “A Burial Planning Guide” (161-179).

Lay Me in God’s Good Earth is accessible to lay readers and is written to break down the barriers in our culture that has made open discussions of death, dying, and funeral wishes verboten topics.

Banner Image:
Fresco depiction the resurrection of Christ, Sv. Sava, Serbian Orthodox Church

Photographer: Orjen, 16 June 2009

By Orjen – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7085844

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Resurrection_Fresco_Saint_Sava.JPG

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