Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference

 

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

Christmas Greetings from the CELC

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What is the best Christmas song? According to one United States poll, the most popular Christmas song is “All I Want for Christmas Is You” (1994) by Mariah Carey. The most iconic Christmas song is “White Christmas” (1947) by Bing Crosby.

How the real meaning of Christmas is lost for many people!

For a Christmas song that presents the real meaning of Christmas, I suggest the following by our confessional Lutheran hymn writer Paul Gerhardt:

All my heart again rejoices
As I hear far and near sweetest angel voices.
“Christ is born!” their choirs are singing
Till the air everywhere now with joy is ringing.

Hear! The conqueror has spoken:
“Now the foe, sin and woe, death and hell are broken!”
God is man, man to deliver,
And the Son now is one with our blood forever.

See the Lamb, our sin once taking,
To the cross, suffering loss, full atonement making.
For our life his own he tenders,
And his grace all our race fit for glory renders.

Come, then, banish all your sadness!
One and all, great and small, come with songs of gladness;
We shall live with him forever
There on high in that joy which will vanish never.
(Christian Worship, 329:1,2,4,6)

What we celebrate at Christmas is God’s marvelous plan of salvation, which makes it possible for sinners like us to be reconciled to God and to live with him forever. This plan of salvation involves God becoming one of us in the person of Jesus—all so that Jesus can later die on the cross, taking the punishment of sin that we deserve. 

Here is a true reason to “rejoice” and to “banish all sadness!” Our eternal salvation has been accomplished by the grace of God who sent his own Son to earth as our Redeemer. On behalf of the CELC Planning Committee, I wish you and your church a blessed celebration of the birth of our Savior. May the good news of the gospel put joy in your hearts.

I also can share a few pieces of information about the CELC.

The dates for the 2026 international CELC convention have been set. God willing, we will meet in Lusaka, Zambia on Friday, May 29, 2026, through Monday, June 1, 2026 (arrive on Thursday, May 28 and leave on Tuesday, June 2). Mark your calendars, and look for more information in the new year.

The Global Theological Education Commission is planning an online conference for CELC theological educators on January 31, 2025. The registration form can be found here.

As announced earlier, we are looking for invitations to host the 2029 international convention. If your church is interested in being considered as the host, please let the CELC president know by September 2025.

God bless your Christmas and your new year.

Submitted by Thomas Nass, CELC President

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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