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Frequently Asked Question Index
Can I visit Amazing Grace Lutheran Church even if I'm not a member? Yes! Many people worship regularly at Amazing Grace without being members. You or your friend will be able to do everything in worship that members can do--come forward for Communion, join in hymns, prayers and responsive readings, and experience the Word of God. No one person is the host at Amazing Grace. We are all guests, and God is the host. We would be glad to have you and your friends as guests alongside us. Why do you have circles around the altar at Communion? I don't know what to do up there. When we gather around the altar to receive Communion, we form a circle as a symbol of what it means to be together in a church community. The altar is a table at which a family--the church family--joins together in a meal. The meal is a banquet rather than a buffet. By forming circles and passing the bread to each other, we express our commitment to care for and serve each other. Sometimes people are anxious to "do the right thing" when they are in the circle. The main thing is to remember that Communion is not a matter of knowing the secret formula or the password. It is a matter of receiving bread and wine--the real presence of Jesus Christ--in faith and trust. That being said, when the bread is passed around, each person usually says, "The body of Christ, given for you," as they give the next person the loaf of bread. Break off your own piece, pass it to the next person, and then wait for the pastor and the communion assistants to reach you with the wine and grape juice. There will be individual glasses with wine and juice, and a common cup of wine, for you to choose from. After all have been served, the circle joins hands and the pastor will say a concluding prayer. For more information about worship at Amazing Grace, please see our Worship page. What do the letters ELCA stand for? ELCA stands for Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The ELCA was created in 1988 when the Lutheran Church of America, The American Lutheran Church, and the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches merged. You can learn more about different Lutheran churches and our history as the ELCA at our Lutherans 101 page. Why does the ELCA have the word "evangelical" in its name? The word "evangelical" can have a number of meanings in modern-day U.S. society. Prominent evangelicals identify these four criteria with identification as an "evangelical": a belief in the inerrancy of the Bible, the conviction that salvation comes through faith in Christ rather than good works, the condition that individuals must accept Jesus as adults, and the universal responsibility of all Christians to evangelize. Evangelicals are more likely to value a "personal relationship with Jesus Christ" and an individual spirituality. However! In Europe, especially in Germany and Scandinavia, the word "evangelical" (in German, evangelisch) is a more general term that refers to churches adhering to beliefs of the Reformation (the European church upheaval of the 1500s initiated by Martin Luther and others). Today Germany has two words that we translate as "evangelical": evangelisch, meaning "Protestant", and evangelikal, which is closer to the meaning common in the United States. The ELCA is definitely the former. Some individual members are the latter as well. Our use of the word "evangelical" is a way of maintaining a link to our heritage as a Reformation church--a church that is always reforming. What does the word "Lutheran" mean? "Lutheran" was the name given to the followers of Martin Luther--a Catholic priest and monk who sought to reform the Catholic church in the 1500s and call it back to preaching God's unconditional love and acceptance (that is, grace). You can learn more about Lutherans on our Lutherans 101 page. How does Amazing Grace welcome families with young kids? During the school year, our middle service is geared towards families with young children, with a less formal style, greater emphasis on teaching, and more background information on the readings and themes for the day. Younger children begin the Sunday School hour at this service, join in songs and prayer, and then leave for their Sunday School classes while parents are invited to stay for worship. We also offer nursery care for children under six years old during the 11:00 service, and the 10:30 service during the summer. Our nursery is equipped with a bathroom, rocking chairs, toys, games, books, videos, extra diapers, and a changing table. Parents whose children become restless in worship are welcome to bring them to the nursery and sit with them as needed. There is no nursery service available during the 9:45 service, as a Sunday School class uses the nursery space for their classroom. What does the Lutheran church say about baptism? Lutheran Christians believe that God claims us, gathers us, and sends us into the world. Baptism is about all of those things. God claims us. God has chosen the waters of baptism to say to us that we are claimed, called, chosen, saved, born again. God’s word to us is the word, Yes! God claims us before we can accept God. God says yes to us before we say yes to God. For this reason Lutheran Christians believe that baptism can happen in infancy, childhood, adulthood, or old age. God gathers us. God uses the waters of baptism to make us part of the body of Christ, the church. As baptized Christians we find ourselves joined with one another as sisters and brothers. God binds us together with bonds that cannot be broken through disagreement or difference of opinion. In this we witness to the unity in diversity that is the Kingdom of God. God sends us into the world. God moves in the waters of baptism to make of us missionaries in the world. Baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we now play a role in “the great commission,” making disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19). Sent by God we venture into bad news corners of the world, preaching and teaching the good news (gospel) of Jesus Christ. Baptism is a matter of death and life. In the waters of baptism we die to sin and are raised to new life. Marked now with the cross of Christ forever, we live out God’s amazing yes in God’s amazing world. Yes! To summarize: In baptism we are marked with the cross of Christ forever. We are claimed, gathered, and sent for the sake of the world.What does the Lutheran church say about divorce? In 1982, a predecessor of the ELCA, The American Lutheran Church, adopted a statement on marriage, divorce and remarriage. It reflects current ELCA opinion reasonably well. Some selected sections: "Divorce is never God’s intention for our marriages...Divorce needs to be seen realistically as the breaking of an order of God, the public and legal recognition of an already broken marriage, the culmination of a process of alienation." "If after careful consideration the marriage relationship is deemed beyond repair, and the effects of continuing the marriage to be more destructive of the welfare or persons than divorce, the decision for divorce may be recognized as a responsible choice, the lesser of several evils in a fallen world. Recognizing that each party generally bears some responsibility for the failure of the marriage, a decision for divorce may be made in reliance upon God’s grace." "The church must seek to deal in an evangelical rather than a legalistic manner with the problems of divorce and divorced persons. Divorced persons will be fully included in the life of the Christian church, which expresses God’s spirit of love and forgiveness. These persons should not become the victims of gossip, ostracism, or undue attention. They need rather to be brought to feel anew the bonds of human fellowship and the sense of God’s continuing presence, so that their divorce, unfortunate though it may be, may lead toward a more mature Christian life. They continue to be part of the Christian community of Word and Sacraments." "Remarriage of divorced persons is neither forbidden nor automatically endorsed by The American Lutheran Church. The second marriage of divorced persons may result in a new union which faithfully witnesses to God’s purpose for marriage. Such remarriage will more likely result, however, if persons carefully consider the dynamics which led to the dissolution of a previous marriage. There should be a willingness to acknowledge one’s own failures in a spirit of forgiveness toward all involved, and to work at correcting whatever personal characteristics may be detrimental to a marital relationship. Legitimate obligations to any children and to the former spouse must be fulfilled. When such is the case, the church can add its blessing to the remarriage of divorced Christians." "...In the case of remarriage of divorced persons, pastors should discuss with the divorced person whether he or she has come to an understanding of the failure of the former marriage. If the pastor, in clear conscience before God, is convinced that any particular couple is not ready to enter upon a responsible marriage, that pastor should be supported by the congregation in refusing to perform the desired marriage." How can I become a member of Amazing Grace? It's pretty simple. If you live in the Anchorage area, come worship with us for a while and see how you like it. If you decide that you'd like to become an official member, talk to Pastor Larry. We don't have a formal class to go through; instead you might meet one-on-one with Pastor Larry once or twice or as many times as you decide you need to. He will arrange for you to be recognized as a new member in front of the congregation one Sunday and will make sure you get the "coveted membership packet." However, you are welcome to continue worshiping with us without becoming an official member. If you are moving to Anchorage and want to transfer your membership from another Lutheran church (or from a church we are in full communion with--see Lutherans 101 for details), ask them to send the appropriate paperwork to us at 10830 Elmore Road, Anchorage, AK 99516. © 2005 Amazing Grace Lutheran Church (or the author, when listed). All rights reserved. |