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Join us virtually for the Dorothy Zelenko Memorial banquet:

Www.Facebook.com/Lutheranforum

Executive director greetings and Special presentation 1:45
Rev. Dr. Dien Ashley Taylor 2:45

Events will be recorded.

Tickets are still available to join us in person in Bronxville, New York.

In addition, we will be livestreaming the speaker portion of the event on https://www.facebook.com/lutheranforum

You should be able to access the livestream even if you do not have a Facebook account. The Facebook livestream will also produce a recording that can be viewed on demand following the event.

On October 1, 2022, from 1-5 pm the ALPB will remember long-time treasurer Dorothy Zelenko with a memorial banquet at JC Fogarty's, 60 Kraft Ave. Bronxville, NY. Fogarty's is within walking distance of the Bronxville Metro-North stop.

The Rev. Dr. Dien Ashley Taylor, Pastor at Redeemer Lutheran Church in the Bronx, and First Vice-President of the Atlantic District, will be our event speaker as we remember Dorothy and honor the pioneering work that she and Fred Schumacher did in bringing to fruition For All the Saints..

The menu will include appetizers, salad, a choice of chicken marsala, salmon, sliced steak, choice of apple pie, or ice cream, cash bar. The price is $30.

Please make your reservation by calling Donna Roche at 607-746-7511.

The ALPB is looking for contributors to our quarterly theological journal - Lutheran Forum and our monthly Forum Letter.

Topics should be in keeping within the broad evangelical and catholic scope of the ALPB mission:

https://alpb.org/about-us/


To inquire about submitting an article, you can reach out directly to me or any of our editorial staff:

https://alpb.org/contact-us/

Pr. Sauer, are editors/board looking for particular topics, practical or academic, research or opinion pieces?

We are not. If it doesn't fit the particular theme of an issue it can always be held for future issues. Most issues will have a diversity of topics. All of this is to say - if you have an idea that you have been waiting to flesh out into an essay - pass it on.

Off and on I've caught glimpses of Ukrainian chaplains without any explanation. They are dressed in uniform with a broad, bright Orthodox stole over. Anybody know more?

Peace, JOHN

This article from pre-invasion Ukraine describes the role of Military Chaplains.

https://risu.ua/en/102-chaplains-officially-serve-in-the-armed-forces-of-ukraine_n123998

Their chaplain corps seems to have officially been established as a part of the Ukrainian military in 2021. Until then they had served as volunteers outside of the military structure. Here is an article on its establishment (translated from Ukrainian). Many of the details sound familiar...:

The corresponding bill 4626 "On the Service of Military Chaplaincy" at a meeting on Tuesday in the second reading was supported by 291 people's deputies.
This is reported by Ukrinform.

"This law regulates relations in the field of realization of the constitutional right to freedom of outlook and religion of servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard of Ukraine, other military formations formed in accordance with the laws of Ukraine, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, as well as determines the legal and organizational principles and principles of the Military Chaplaincy Service," the document says.

The service of military chaplaincy is formed as a separate structure within the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard, other military formations formed in accordance with the laws of Ukraine, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, the type of which depends on the scope, nature and complexity of measures to meet the spiritual and religious needs of their military administration body, uniting, military unit, military educational institution, institution and organization. In a military unit at the level of a separate battalion, the functions of the Military Chaplaincy Service can be performed by one military chaplain.

The relevant military chaplaincy services are subordinated directly to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Commander of the National Guard of Ukraine, the heads of other military formations formed in accordance with the laws of Ukraine, the Head of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.

The maximum number of the Military Chaplaincy Service may not be less than 0.15% of the maximum number, respectively, of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard, other military formations formed in accordance with the laws of Ukraine, the State Border Guard Service.

A military chaplain can be a citizen of Ukraine who is a cleric of a religious organization registered in Ukraine and received a mandate from the governing center (management) of the relevant religious organization for the right to carry out military chaplaincy activities.

A mandatory requirement for the position of military chaplain is the presence of higher theological education (this norm begins to operate 5 years after the entry into force of the law).

A person who is restricted by law in connections, military units and units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard, to other military formations formed in accordance with the laws of Ukraine and the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine cannot be a military chaplain.

Information about a person who became known to the military chaplain during the implementation of military chaplaincy is confidential.

The military chaplain has the right not to answer questions about the facts and circumstances that became known to him during the confession.

In order to properly organize the satisfaction of the spiritual and religious needs of the personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard, the State Border Guard Service, other military formations formed in accordance with the laws of Ukraine, the introduction of appropriate quotas of confessional representation is envisaged.

It is planned to create as advisory bodies interfaith councils on military chaplaincy under the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

https://risu.ua/verhovna-rada-uhvalila-zakon-pro-sluzhbu-vijskovogo-kapelanstva_n123874

It is now D+21, three weeks. Some professional military analysts say that the Russian forces have reached their culminating point, that is where they can go no farther. It seems likely to me. That for lack of re-supply (food, fuel, ammo) and the morale of soldiers. Reportedly the Chinese have been asked for MREs (Meals Ready to Eat). If true it's a sign of being way behind the plan as well as poor planning in general. Internal Russian government corruption may be a factor too. There are reports of Russian soldiers deserting their vehicles. Ukrainian forces are commandeering or otherwise capturing them. Putin then joins all the friends of Ukraine in contributing security assistance (weapons).

It is unfortunate that a major counterattack cannot be mounted. This would be the time. Hit'em when they're down. The no fly zone is not a good idea. Technically it's questionable if the Polish fighters are compatible with existing Ukrainian ground equipment (electronics). Furthermore, the enormous atrocities are coming mostly from ground based artillery or rockets and not from planes. Then the primary restraint is fear of escalation into WW III and Russia introducing weapons of mass destruction.

We must avoid that. Eventually the collapse of the ground forces might bring some kind of cease fire and negotiation toward settlement. I would hope that it is one that can be agreeable to Ukraine.

In the meantime, pray for the soldiers on both sides and for the leadership of Ukraine.

Peace, JOHN

John,

Admittedly I am biased, but the experience of the Russian military, especially their unbelievably poor logistics (as one of my grunts put it- "I will never make fun of a POG again") and indiscriminate and imprecise bombing, sheds light on how remarkable our military behaved over the last 20 years of war. Reportedly, Russia has lost more of its Soldiers in 2 weeks than we did in a 20 year multi-front war. The consistent precision of US strikes and regard for innocent human life stands in stark contrast to the way Russia is operating. To be sure the US had its share of mistakes, but compared to the daily carnage we are witnessing in the Ukraine, I have gained a newfound appreciation for the professionalism of the American Military at a time when many on both sides of the political aisle are comfortable speaking about its decline.

May wiser heads within the Russian military prevail and bring this to an end.

Paul

The ALPB is looking for contributors to our quarterly theological journal - Lutheran Forum and our monthly Forum Letter.

Topics should be in keeping within the broad evangelical and catholic scope of the ALPB mission:

https://alpb.org/about-us/


To inquire about submitting an article, you can reach out directly to me or any of our editorial staff:

https://alpb.org/contact-us/

Early this morning, on my Facebook page, I posted the below review of Randy Boyagoda's 2015 biography of Richard John Neuhaus.  Observations about the ALPB are included.

* * *
Neuhaus edited the American Lutheran Publicity Bureau's Forum Letter for years until he became Roman Catholic.  The New York City area-based ALPB is a lackluster pan-Lutheran group that can barely if at all articulate why it continues to exist.  The ALPB is pretty lukewarm doctrinally (AND IT'S NOT GOOD TO BE LUKEWARM – Revelation 3:16). Several other ALPB leaders joined Neuhaus in becoming Roman Catholic.  Like Neuhaus and First Things, ALPB can have its moments, but not very often.  It's barely hanging on.  Membership in churches can increase or decrease for good or bad reasons, but the member numbers of ALPB-influenced Lutheran churches have been dropping like a rock and figure to continue to do so.

As the current Executive Director of the ALPB, I am happy to respond to your criticism and use it as an opportunity to expound on who the ALPB is.

For many folks, this message board seems to be the public face of the ALPB. That is not the case. We provide it as a forum, but it is not our primary mission, nor does it define or reflect our identity. Many of the participants here are not subscribers to ALPB publications.

On to some specifics:

1. You can find an articulation of why we exist here: https://alpb.org/about-us/ Outgoing ALPB Board President John Hannah and Incoming President David Benke both expand on that articulation in the latest issue of Lutheran Forum.

2. We are not New York City-based. The majority of Board members now come from outside of New York City. Our "headquarters" is in upstate New York. The executive director (me), lives in California.

3. Can you provide some specifics of where the ALPB advocates for "lukewarm" doctrine? Admittedly, the focus of the ALPB in recent years has been on liturgical, ethical, historical, and devotional resources so perhaps we are not addressing your particular doctrinal concerns. From my perspective, the poor praxis of modern American Lutheranism is at the root of much of American Lutheran decline and why our publishing focus has been geared in that direction, as opposed to focusing on the politics of the church which dominated the Neuhaus era.

4. Some of our more prominent spokespeople have gone to Rome... and some have gone East . . .  And others have joined the various churches of the Augsburg confession through the resources of the ALPB. We will welcome allies in an evangelical and catholic renewal to the faith wherever they may be found.

5. I am not sure how you measure decline (or success) but we are proud to have the financial support of hundreds of small donors from across the Lutheran spectrum, and even some outside of it (you can read their names each year in our listing in Lutheran Forum). Lutheran Forum also remains the largest independent Lutheran journal in the United States.

6. I am not sure how you measure ALPB-influenced churches. I love data, so if you have some that helps us assess our impact (positive or negative) on the state of American Lutheranism I would love to see it.

Finally, and I will post this in its own separate thread, we are always looking for contributors to Lutheran Forum, Forum Letter, and our book publishing ministry.

Peter - I should offer my thanks to you. We took your idea and are using it to conduct our Bible Study at the U.S. Army's historic Moffett Field Chapel. We are starting with the classic Old Testament stories which we purchased on on a book by book basis.

The benefits have been manifold:
1. As a Military Chapel we have a diversity of denominational attendees. All agree that basic Biblical knowledge is critical for their children.
2. The simplified format for Sunday School allows it to continue even as we rotate different chaplains and leaders into the mix on CALANG drill weekends.
3. The simplified format allows us to have the older kids play an active role in instructing the younger kids. It builds community and reinforces basic Biblical knowledge in our teenagers.
4. It has been an outreach to the community - people like "free gifts".
5. It allows us to throw some funding to our church publishers 

It is a rare speech today that can unite the British Parliment, but listening to MP Tom Tugenhadt passionately speak of his own experiences in Afghanistan does just that. It echoes so many of the sentiments I have heard from veterans in these last few days. His talk of patience, and forever peace have existential echoes that remind me of the way the church used to view the world, before our culture of immediacy took over..

It is almost 8 minutes, but we'll worth the listen.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=B1eLbcDRZIE

From my foxhole this is entirely a pastoral issue. This is a massive humanitarian crisis that impacts the faith life of Soldiers I serve and the countless Veterans of this war that are in our parishes. It also impacts the real lives of Afghanis who are currently threatened. This will no doubt have implications for our Lutheran humanitarian agencies. I have tried not to be overtly political - this is not about party. However, political decisions have real world ramifications for real people and there are significant theological dimensions to that.

The church will always be engaged in issues the world defines as "political". Discussing the ramifications of those issues and the church and her minister's response is a far different thing than the overly simplistic  political posturing and name calling that more often than not kept me and many others away from this board..

This discussion strikes me as being of a different character all together than the political ones that have been shut down in the past - but perhaps I am too close to it to be objective.

.

And the theological import or input of or for all of this is....?
(Now laughing at how, not so long ago, when the discussion got contentious, a thread deemed "political" was shut down.)

One possible explanation is that General Officers in today's military not only need to lead they need to be nimble politicians as well. There were unilateral decisions made at the executive level that went against the advice of our intelligence services and some of our GO. I haven't heard of many who favored pulling out of Afghanistan in the strategic way that it was done. Their reasons for not speaking more clearly or forcefully about their concerns remain their own and charity prevents me (though not a number of my Soldiers) from assigning motive.

Having served as a Flag Officer I have seen the pressure that is placed on senior military leadership. They will give honest advice to the civilian authorities behind closed doors. But because the President is the Commander-in-Chief and the Pentagon civilians appointed by him represent the President, they cannot and will not be insubordinate privately or publicly. Do not expect the GOs and FOs to speak contrary to the elected President. You will not hear their own thoughts and opinions that they may have told the President.

The military of the United States has been and will be under the control of those elected by the people of the United States.

Thank you. You articulated more clearly the sentiment I was trying to provide. Of course, those who are at the lower echelons often don't place the best construction on that silence.

Fair enough. But it remains true that most Americans really only have access to information by which to form an opinion based on media accounts. And as recently as few weeks ago experts were saying this wouldn't happen. The expert class might have their reasons for being disingenuous, but the general populace is rational, sane, and responsible to assume they're listening to propaganda. Yet many persist in seeing such people as crackpots, loonies, and dangerous extremists.

I don't disagree that most Americans form opinions based on the information they have. That is understandable.  What I was trying to express was frustration at the narrative that the Afghanis gave up on their own country, and the horrible implication (one that I know you did not make) that they somehow deserve the Taliban or wanted the Taliban.

Many of my Soldiers are now angry at our government because they appear to have abandoned the Afghanis who fought along side of them to what will likely be death for them and death or abuse for their families. It cuts to the core of Soldier identity that comrades are never left behind. Maybe our state department and the troops that are back on the ground will yet find a way to evacuate the 10s of thousands of our partners and their families that remain, but right now in my circles I am not hearing a lot of optimism. How we treat them impacts not only the confidence that our present and future allies have with us, but impacts the confidence that our own troops have in our government to do the right thing when things go wrong. It is hard to overstate how poor Soldier morale is right now among those who served in Afghanistan, and it is only partly about the question of "what did I go over there for".

[the quickness of their collapse is not terribly surprising.]

I also bristle at criticism of the Afghani national forces. As I mentioned, they lost over 40,000 Soldiers in the last half-decade while fighting on behalf of their nation. It was not as if they all of a sudden became cowards. One of the great under-reported stories of this debacle is that the US not only pulled out our troops, we pulled out our civilian contractors. The Afghans who had been fighting with us for the last 20 years and leading the fight the last 7 had relied heavily on US superior air support, as they had been trained. With the removal of our contractors, many of whom whose job it was to keep the aircraft flying, we removed both the strategic air advantage the the Afghani's had over the Taliban, and left them to fight in a way that they had not trained. Given those factors the quickness of their collapse is not terribly surprising.

I agree with the assessment that an army trained to operate with air superiority cannot be expected to survive for any length of time without it. But the problem is that what you are saying here in the part I've bolded goes squarely against the word of the generals, state department personnel, and the administration, all of which have expressed being terribly surprised by how quickly the Afghan army collapsed. How do we explain all the confident assurances that this wouldn't happen and all the expressions of shock and dismay that it did?

One possible explanation is that General Officers in today's military not only need to lead they need to be nimble politicians as well. There were unilateral decisions made at the executive level that went against the advice of our intelligence services and some of our GO. I haven't heard of many who favored pulling out of Afghanistan in the strategic way that it was done. Their reasons for not speaking more clearly or forcefully about their concerns remain their own and charity prevents me (though not a number of my Soldiers) from assigning motive.

The Lutheran Reformation (evangelical catholic renewal) had its Melanchthon, the ALPB's contribution to the evangelical catholic renewal of pastoral and lay piety through For All the Saints had its Dorothy Zelenko. It is impossible to overstate Dorothy's importance, as a pious laywoman, in creating a significant shift in the way that praying the daily office has come to be viewed by pastors and laity alike. Her influence can be felt even beyond the impact of For All the Saints as its success highlighted the great craving in the church for deep and meaningful means of curating the spiritual life and inspired other publishers to publish their own daily offices.

It is a testament to her humility that her behind the scenes work and care for the ALPB should go so unnoticed by those outside of the daily operations of the ALPB. She probably would be uncomfortable with these platitudes. I am uncomfortable that it took her passing for me to express them publicly.

May she rest in peace and may light perpetual shine upon her.