Most Catholics in the south sympathize with what was once strong Protestant denominations like the Episcopal Church and the Lutheran Church and Presbyterian Church. Somehow through democratic processes and anti-Christian, anti-Christ ideologies these denominations gave into the culture warriors wanting to take the Church away from the moral truths of the Judeo-Christian foundations of the Church. They've succeeded wildly and are seeing their ultimate desire come to pass the disintegration of this particular type of Christianity for something truly bogus.
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When the Rev. Patrick Darnell was installed Sunday as the new pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in North Augusta, it ushered in a new era for the church.
MIKE ADAMS/SPECIAL
New
pastor Patrick Darnell (right) says a prayer for 90-year-old Idale
Williams during communion at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in North
Augusta.
Since it formed in 1952, the church has been affiliated with the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the largest Lutheran body in the
country.
On Sunday, alongside Darnell’s installation, the church formally joined the North American Lutheran Church.
It is part of the church deciding who they are and what they believe and standing on it, Darnell said.
The church’s former pastor, the Rev. James Glander, retired in 2013 after 16 years of service.
In the interim, the congregation began to feel discord with the Evangelical Lutheran Church.
“About 10 years ago, the inner workings of the many churches here in America started having some pretty major changes,” Darnell said.
He said more and more leadership positions were being filled by academics, and fewer by ministers and those trained in theology.
“What happened was over time, the character of the church started to change,” he said.
He said more than social issues such as homosexuality, the church was questioning whether Jesus is the son of God, whether there is such a thing as a Holy Spirit, whether the scripture is truly an authoritative text, and whether there are other ways of getting into heaven, among other issues.
The church had become very open and welcoming, as it should be, but at the expense of what makes the people who they are, he said.
“What has happened with a lot of churches, such as ourselves – the Presbyterians, the Episcopalians, a lot of us – have had a problem with some of those things creeping in, and so some of us have said we’re going to take a stand,” Darnell said. “We’re going back to those things that have identified us not just as Lutherans or Episcopalians or Presbyterians, we’re going back to those things that we learned from Christ. We’re going to look at what the church really is and we’re going to honor God.”
A reform movement resulted in the formation of the North American Lutheran Church in 2010. It has sonce grown to more than 370 congregations, according to the NALC Web site.
“When you have a church that has been doing the same thing for years and years and years, one of the things that happens is you let other people do your faith for you. You become lax in faith. I think that’s where this church stood up and said, ‘We want to really understand who we are, what makes us tick, why God created us,’ ” Darnell said. “That’s huge. That’s something that churches really don’t do like they should.”
Holy Trinity was accepted into the North American Lutheran Church in May.
A little more than two months ago, members of the congregation saw videos of Darnell’s sermons on YouTube and asked him to interview for the pastor’s position.
He was in Birmingham, Ala., at the time, and had served in churches in Nashville, Tenn., and in California.
His goal is to reach out to Christians in the community who don’t attend church and to reach those in the community who do not know God. He wants to create a fellowship of pastors of all denominations who have a heart for honoring God for support and mutual personal growth. And he wants to honor the heritage of the Lutheran Church.
“This church is going to be incredibly welcoming of anyone who comes here. If there are people out there who really want to understand their faith, we don’t have all the answers, but we do promise that we’re going to walk with you and help you try and find it.”
It is part of the church deciding who they are and what they believe and standing on it, Darnell said.
The church’s former pastor, the Rev. James Glander, retired in 2013 after 16 years of service.
In the interim, the congregation began to feel discord with the Evangelical Lutheran Church.
“About 10 years ago, the inner workings of the many churches here in America started having some pretty major changes,” Darnell said.
He said more and more leadership positions were being filled by academics, and fewer by ministers and those trained in theology.
“What happened was over time, the character of the church started to change,” he said.
He said more than social issues such as homosexuality, the church was questioning whether Jesus is the son of God, whether there is such a thing as a Holy Spirit, whether the scripture is truly an authoritative text, and whether there are other ways of getting into heaven, among other issues.
The church had become very open and welcoming, as it should be, but at the expense of what makes the people who they are, he said.
“What has happened with a lot of churches, such as ourselves – the Presbyterians, the Episcopalians, a lot of us – have had a problem with some of those things creeping in, and so some of us have said we’re going to take a stand,” Darnell said. “We’re going back to those things that have identified us not just as Lutherans or Episcopalians or Presbyterians, we’re going back to those things that we learned from Christ. We’re going to look at what the church really is and we’re going to honor God.”
A reform movement resulted in the formation of the North American Lutheran Church in 2010. It has sonce grown to more than 370 congregations, according to the NALC Web site.
“When you have a church that has been doing the same thing for years and years and years, one of the things that happens is you let other people do your faith for you. You become lax in faith. I think that’s where this church stood up and said, ‘We want to really understand who we are, what makes us tick, why God created us,’ ” Darnell said. “That’s huge. That’s something that churches really don’t do like they should.”
Holy Trinity was accepted into the North American Lutheran Church in May.
A little more than two months ago, members of the congregation saw videos of Darnell’s sermons on YouTube and asked him to interview for the pastor’s position.
He was in Birmingham, Ala., at the time, and had served in churches in Nashville, Tenn., and in California.
His goal is to reach out to Christians in the community who don’t attend church and to reach those in the community who do not know God. He wants to create a fellowship of pastors of all denominations who have a heart for honoring God for support and mutual personal growth. And he wants to honor the heritage of the Lutheran Church.
“This church is going to be incredibly welcoming of anyone who comes here. If there are people out there who really want to understand their faith, we don’t have all the answers, but we do promise that we’re going to walk with you and help you try and find it.”
2 comments:
Unfortunately, Protestant reform movements are, ultimately, failures. It is better for a Protestant to believe things that are in closer alignment with Catholicism than not, but we still need to evangelize, or ecumenise--I guess--as the case may be.
If you have ever seen a Lutheran "high" Mass (a rare bird, indeed), a Catholic would feel right at home there. I think they elevate the Host at a different point, and there are some other small differences.
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