Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference

 

How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! (Psalm 133:1)

Ordination and Commissioning in Brazil

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                       Rev. Godoy receiving a stole from Rev. Villares
                              with Rev. Cherney in the background

In a service held April 3, 2022, in his parents’ home in Dom Cavati, MG, Brazil, Rev. Denício Godoy was ordained and commissioned as a missionary of the Igreja Luterana de Portugal (ILP) to Brazil. The rite of ordination was conducted by ILP president Rev. Artur Villares. Rev. Kenneth A. Cherney, Jr., the WELS Europe Team representative to the ILP, brought greetings from WELS and participated in the laying on of hands. 

Rev. Godoy first reached out to Rev. Villares six years ago when he became troubled by the direction of the IELB (Igreja Evangélica Luterana Brasileira, an LCMS daughter church) and began seeking a more solidly confessional affiliation. He finished his studies at the IELB seminary in São Leopoldo, RS, but declined to take a call into the IELB’s ministry. Subsequently, he was received into fellowship with the ILP via colloquy. Rev. Godoy has an active online presence where he translates and shares WELS materials. 

After the service, Rev. Godoy, Rev. Villares, and Rev. Cherney worked on refining Rev. Godoy’s aggressive outreach plan, which has been approved by the WELS Europe Team and sent on to the WELS Board for World Missions. It calls for a joint effort between WELS and the ILP to plant two new congregations (one in Dom Cavati and another in Governador Valadares, a much larger city to which Rev. Godoy has moved with his family) and to greatly expand the ILP’s online presence in Brazil. The goal is to identify “inquirers,” provide them with information and materials, and follow up on those that seem to present the best opportunities for church planting.

Submitted by Rev. Kenneth A. Cherney, Jr.


                                       Poster with the family of Rev. Godoy

The Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference

The Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference is a worldwide fellowship of Lutheran church bodies, committed to the teachings of the Lutheran Church found in the Book of Concord of 1580. Established in 1993 with thirteen churches, the CELC has grown by God’s grace to include thirty-four church bodies today.

Every three years, representatives from CELC churches gather for fellowship and theological study at an international convention. Regional meetings are held in alternate years. These gatherings provide spiritual encouragement for confessional Lutherans who often find themselves quite isolated. Visitors are always welcome at these gatherings

Joint work of the CELC includes the writing of The Eternal Word: A Lutheran Confession for the Twenty-First Century, which testifies to the unity of doctrine enjoyed by CELC churches. The CELC also has a commission to help coordinate and improve theological training in CELC churches.

Speaking about the heart and core of the CELC, former President Gaylin Schmeling wrote:  “The CELC stands ready to give answer to the confident hope of salvation in Christ that is within us. It is a refuge for those seeking confessional homes and a beacon shining the light of the Gospel in a sin-darkened world. Here the central truth of the Reformation, justification by faith alone, continues to be proclaimed. We are declared righteous by nothing we do or accomplish, but alone on the basis of Christ’s redemptive work which is counted as ours through faith in the Savior. He accomplished salvation for all on the cross and announced it to all by His resurrection, declaring the whole world righteous in Christ. This treasure is brought to us personally through the means of grace and is received by faith alone in the Savior which is worked through those very means of grace.”

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