Northwoods Seelsorger

This morning I had the honor of providing the opening and closing prayers for the Memorial Day ceremonies at our local courthouse.  The veterans have asked me to do this now for the third year.  The guest speaker for this event was our state representative Tom Tiffany .  Below is a copy of the prayers I offered. Invocation Almighty God, we gather this day in your holy name, thankful for the freedoms you have protected and preserved through the sacrifice of those who fought and died in our stead.   Make us ever mindful of the high cost in human life required to resist the forces of evil that seek to bring pain and destruction upon the innocent and helpless.   In mercy bring comfort to those who grieve this loss because of the deaths of family and friends; comfort them through the promise of your abiding presence and the assurance of eternal life in your risen Son.    Bless now our gathering in this place, that in honoring our fallen heroes we wo...

The Seelsorger would like to remember in gratitude the many brave men and women who have served this nation in the various branches of its armed forces.  God has graciously used their sacrifices to keep our nation safe and secure from its enemies, so above all our thanks ascend heavenward to the Heavenly Father who has provided such protection. In particular two veterans are remembered here, one being my father, SSG  George S. Engebretson (Ret) , who served this nation for 20 years from the 40's through the early 60's.  His service encompassed two wars, World War II and the Korean; and SMSgt Robert E. McBride (Ret) , my father-in-law, who served this nation for 20 years from the 50's until the early 70's in the U.S. Air Force, encompassing the Vietnam War era.  Both of these men were highly decorated veterans who were immensely proud of their service and of their country.   They have since passed away and their legacy is left to those who remain. Requiescat ...

The date on the inside reads "1970," so my recent purchase of this used copy at my local Good Will store was partly out of nostalgia, and partly out of respect to its author, Dr. Frederick W. Danker.  Earlier in February I posted a brief article on Danker in honor of his recent passing, so this find seemed rather fortuitous. Dr. Danker's legacy still remains, if even in the most unlikely places.  The title is a bit deceptive as far as the average lay reader is concerned.  Chapter headings concern the Nestle Text, the Hebrew Old Testament, the History of the Septuagint, and a wealth of information on grammars, lexicons, Bible dictionaries, various versions of the English Bible, Judaica, Archeology and the Dead Sea Scrolls.  A revised and expanded version of the book is available through Amazon.com .  It appears that this last revision was done in 2003, complete with a CD-ROM (the last revision being 10 years before in 1993), something Dr. Danker could not have...

A couple of articles I recommend for your review that were posted on Lutheran sites but written by non-Lutherans: "24 Hours -Plain as Day" by Dr. Jud Davis of Tyndale College.  He specifically addresses a topic being discussed currently on the ALPB site regarding whether the days of creation were 24 hour days or not.  This article is posted on the Christian News site, but came originally, as far as I can see, from the Answers in Genesis site. Dr. Davis is an ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church of Amercia. " Osteen: 'God Wants to Supersize Your Joy' - So what's wrong with that?" This is posted on the Steadfast Lutherans site.

Tomorrow brings one of those almost forgotten festivals of the church - at least among Lutherans.  A few still hold a midweek service with a small, but dedicated crowd.  A few others transfer it over to the nearest Sunday.  However, the Ascension of our Lord represents a significant event in the Easter season and one worthy of observing, whether on its own appointed day or the nearest Sunday. That said, a challenge still remains. At our circuit pastor's meeting yesterday a retired pastor admitted the difficulty of getting a handle on a clear theme for this festival.  Christmas and Easter, he admitted, were easier to find topics on which to preach.  Now we are familiar with the Creed's declaration that our Lord "ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty" (Apostles' Creed).  Perhaps this lies behind Dr. Pfatteicher's observation that "The Ascension is part of an enthronement festival.  The coronation of Christ the King ...

The Seelsorger has been busy as of late, and admittedly has not been posting on a regular basis.  Spring always seems to bring a number of concerts and recitals, and with two children in the arts we have a few to attend.  Add to this my wife serves as an accompanist for a couple of high school choral groups as well as the community choir.  My son is going to graduate from high school next month and spends the remainder of his free time working at a local grocery store, now that the school musical has ended (which consumed a lot of days this Spring for all of us).  They performed "Beauty and the Beast," a musical based on the Disney production of the same name, and he was privileged to have one of the leading roles - the Beast.  We joked at the time that it was cheap therapy.  He could vent all that rage and anger in a safe environment at no cost to us - except all the flowers and tickets we bought.  He is going to attend the same university as his si...