Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference

 

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

Archives for October 2022

Dates and Location for the 2023 CELC Convention

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The CELC Planning Committee along with Seoul Lutheran Church has finalized the dates and location for the 2023 international CELC convention.

God willing, the convention will be on Tuesday, June 6 through Thursday, June 8, 2023. Participants will be expected to arrive on Monday, June 5, and to leave on Friday, June 9. These dates are slightly different from what was originally planned due to the availability of the venue.

The location will be the Olympic Parktel in downtown Seoul. This hotel was constructed in 1990 to commemorate the successful hosting of the Summer Olympic Games in 1988, and it is part of the expansive Olympic Park. See the website here.

If you are part of a CELC member church, it is time to plan who will represent your church at the convention. Each member church is encouraged to have two voting delegates. Visitors and guests are also welcome.

Information about costs and travel assistance will be shared later this year. Registration will take place online in January 2023.

The Planning Committee is eagerly looking forward to this convention and is thankful for the help of Seoul Lutheran Church. The last in-person international convention of the CELC was in Germany in 2017. How wonderful it will be if God allows us to meet in person again to enjoy Christian fellowship with like-minded believers from around the world and to build each other up in our faith in Jesus! 

Please share this email and the information about the convention with anyone you think might be interested. 

ELS Holds Annual Convention

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ELS Officers (left to right): Rev. Michael Smith, Vice President, 
Rev. Glenn Obenberger, President, and Rev. Craig Ferkenstad, Secretary.

The Evangelical Lutheran Synod (ELS) held its annual convention from June 26-30, 2022 at Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato, Minnesota, USA. The convention essay, “Lord, Keep Us Steadfast in Thy Word” was delivered by Pastor S. Piet Van Kampen.
 
The new president of Bethany Lutheran Theological Seminary, Rev. Timothy Hartwig, was installed during a special Sunday service. Videos of the convention, including the installation, are available at www.vimeo.com/lutheranism.

Elections were held for the positions of President and Vice President. Rev. Glenn Obenberger was elected president after completing the term of Rev. John Moldstad, Jr., who was taken to be with his Lord in Heaven in January 2021. Rev. Michael Smith was elected as Vice President of the ELS.

The Evangelical Lutheran Synod was pleased to receive greetings from many of our friends in the CELC. The fellowship that we share as brothers and sisters in Christ is truly a treasure.

Submitted by Rev. Paul Fries, ELS Communication Director


Essayist Rev. S. Piet Van Kampen


Installation of Rev. Timothy Hartwig as President of Bethany Lutheran Theological Seminary
In Trinity Chapel at Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato, Minnesota

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.”

Recording of the Ninety-Five Theses

Ninety-Five Theses for the 21st Century