Here is a touching picture from the first Sunday School in a new WELS world mission field in a Muslim nation in South Asia, submitted to the CELC president for use in a CELC news brief. For security reasons, the name of the country and the name of the person who shared the picture cannot be shared. The country is roughly 1% Christian, and the believers are experiencing great persecution. Still the believers are showing love to those who persecute them, and many adults and children are learning about the love of Jesus.

As we hold the 34 churches of the CELC in our thoughts and prayers—churches whose names we know and freely share—we can also remember our fellow believers in countries that we can’t openly speak about on the internet. How wonderful to know that the good news of Jesus is spreading also in places like that.

To our Brothers and Sisters in the CELC,

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42).

It is a pleasure for me to inform our brothers and sisters of the CELC about the 94th synod convention of the Evangelisch-Lutherische Freikirche. God willing, it will take place from June 10–12, 2022, in Chemnitz, Germany. Vice president Rev. Jörg Kubitschek (Saalfeld) will present the synodical essay. His paper will focus on “The relevance of a Lutheran Confessional Church in a pluralistic environment.” 

In 2022 our synod looks back on a history of 145 years under God’s blessings. It was founded by the first conventions in 1876 and 1877. Our first president came out of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. His name was Friedrich Ruhland. He was born in Germany, but left his homeland for confessional reasons. In 1873 he accepted a call to St. Johns in Planitz and Trinity in Dresden. 

The time when the ELFK was founded seems to be quite similar to our time today. From its beginning, the ELFK stood faithfully on the inspired Word of God and the Lutheran Confessions in a pluralistic environment. But it is alone God’s grace and work. May he continue to give us strength and power to hold on to his Word and the Lutheran Confessions. May he give us faithful called ministers in the future and may our congregations continue on this way on earth to our heavenly home. For this reason we come together for our 94th synod convention in 2022. 

May God be with you and bless your work in his kingdom.

Your brother in Christ,
Rev. Michael Herbst
ELFK President
 

 

           
                       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

Dear Friends in Christ,

Greetings from Christ Evangelical Lutheran Ministries (CELM) of India.

We have a Lutheran seminary in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India to teach God’s Word and to train our workers. On Friday, March 25, 2022, we had a graduation service, and by the grace of God eighteen students graduated. All of them studied over seven years in God’s Word and were equipped for the ministry work.

Out of the 18 students, 14 of them belong to Telugu states (Andhra Pradesh and Telangana) and 4 of them belong to North India (Madhya Pradesh, Chattishgarh, and Uttar Pradesh). 

These men are very talented and learned God’s Word to preach in their communities. All of them have congregations, and they have gone back to their congregations for full time gospel work. They were all very happy when they received their certificates and also some gifts from WELS (such as laptops for their continuing education).

Please pray for our new graduates that God may use them in his kingdom work.

Submitted by Rev. Prasad Babu

                                    Photo of the graduation service

Cross in the new sanctuary at
St. Paul’s Lutheran Church
Lake Mills, Wisconsin USA

 

As I travel in Lutheran circles, I am intrigued to see the different ways that the cross of Jesus is presented.

Very commonly the focal point of Lutheran churches is a crucifix—a cross with the body of Jesus represented as suffering and dying (the corpus). This was the practice among the earliest Lutherans, and it certainly fits with Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 1:23: “We preach Christ crucified.”

Many Lutheran churches have a bare cross, without any figure of Jesus. Some would say that the emptiness of the cross is a subtle testimony to Christ’s resurrection. Historians note that the bare cross was a common symbol in the Christian Church before the crucifix became popular.

A third possibility is the Christus Rex—a cross with a robed, triumphant Jesus. With this symbol, both the crucifixion and the resurrection can easily be taught.

No doubt we each may have our own personal preferences in this regard. My home church has a bare cross. In my college classroom I have hung a crucifix. I recently saw a beautiful Christus Rex in a new WELS church.

What we all can agree upon, however, is that the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ together provide the indispensable and marvelous foundation of our Lutheran Christian faith. By his death on the cross, Jesus paid the penalty for the sins of the world. By his resurrection, Jesus shows that the payment was accepted and that are ours are truly forgiven. The gospel necessarily includes both events.

Recall how Paul summarized the gospel: “What I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

Whatever church calendar you are following, this is the time of year when we are commemorating the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus in a special way. I pray that the good news of salvation in Jesus will resound in all the churches of the CELC, and that it will give hope and comfort to you and all who hear.

As for news in the CELC, the Planning Committee has established dates for the international convention planned for 2023 in South Korea. We expect to begin the first session on Friday, June 2, 2023 at 8:30 am. The convention will end with an excursion on Monday, June 5. Look for more information in the coming months. Of course, all of this is God willing, as disease and war are ongoing concerns in our world today.

God bless your Holy Week and Easter worship.

Thomas P. Nass
CELC President