Design: Anna Furlong
THE MASK
COPYRIGHT © 2012 LFM-CLTPL
FAITHFULMASKS.ORG
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COPYRIGHT © 2012 LFM-CLTPL
FAITHFULMASKS.ORG
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A PUBLICATION OF THE CENTER FOR LUTHERAN THEOLOGY & PUBLIC LIFE - LEAGUE OF FAITHFUL MASKS
THE
MASK
Summer 2011
News
From
The
Masks
From
The
Masks
With music, dancing, laughter, wine and a meaty meal grilled by a former LCMS district president, the League of Faithful Masks started a new local chapter at Faith Lutheran Church (LFM) at Capistrano Beach, California. more>
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All photographs: Arthur Maurer
Dancing for the Masks in Faith Capo's patio
Grilling for the Masks in LFM T-shirts:
former LCMS district president Rev. Loren Kramer and attorney James Lowe
former LCMS district president Rev. Loren Kramer and attorney James Lowe
A first birthday cake baked especially for
the new chapter of the Masks was a gift
from Debi and Kurt Winrich
the new chapter of the Masks was a gift
from Debi and Kurt Winrich
The League of Faithful Masks (LFM) encourages the formation of as many independent regional chapters as quickly as possible. A good frolicking party is always an excellent beginning. Serving one’s neighbor out of love is by definition a joyful exercise, not a nuisance. more>
Playtime for the Faithful Masks at Faith Lutheran in Capistrano Beach
(Click on any picture to go to our photo gallery)
(Click on any picture to go to our photo gallery)
On Oct. 5, there will be another German Day at Concordia Irvine organized by LFM. This time it will be a Celebration of Entrepreneurship. For details, please click on the banner on top of this page.
Read in the Wall Street Journal Britain’s Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks on the moral disintegration since the 1960s. He is describing the “Me” culture. The rabbi and LFM are fighting the same foe.
In two radio interviews, Dr. Siemon-Netto explored the spiritual dimension of the construction of the Berlin Wall, which he covered as an AP reporter 50 years ago. To hear these interviews, please click on "The World and Everything on It” and KFUO
In El Paso, TX, in July, Dr. Siemon-Netto was the keynote speaker at the annual convention of the Augsburg Lutheran Churches, a confessional group that broke away from the ELCA. Click on the button, “Uwe’s Blog,” on top of this page for his two El Paso lectures on vocation and his recent columns.
Riot Epilogue:
The Masks that Weren’t
By UWE SIEMON-NETTO
If you wonder what God’s Masks are all about, look at the reverse we observed in horror across the Atlantic: Those violent, rioting, looting kids in English cities weren’t Masks, neither were apparently their parents who had failed to bring them up properly, nor those cowardly cops who intervened only gingerly, and the lawmakers who had rendered the police impotent.
Why is it safe to surmise that these people were no divine Masks? Because in their low-life fashion they only had themselves in mind, not the good of their fellow man. But were there also Masks present in this outrageous scene? Indeed there were; you saw them: those clean-cut young people who selflessly moved into the martyred neighborhoods to clean up the mess louts had caused.
There could not have been a starker reminder of the need for our civilization to return to the Christian doctrine of vocation than this event. On a theological note, these ghastly scenes confirmed Luther’s insight, Der Pöbel hat keinen Verstand (the rabble does not possess reason). Evidently participation in gangs leads to a suspension - or at least a numbing - of natural law, which in this context means the universal moral code that according to St. Paul God has written upon every human being’s heart, including the hearts of non-believers.
The Masks that Weren’t
By UWE SIEMON-NETTO
If you wonder what God’s Masks are all about, look at the reverse we observed in horror across the Atlantic: Those violent, rioting, looting kids in English cities weren’t Masks, neither were apparently their parents who had failed to bring them up properly, nor those cowardly cops who intervened only gingerly, and the lawmakers who had rendered the police impotent.
Why is it safe to surmise that these people were no divine Masks? Because in their low-life fashion they only had themselves in mind, not the good of their fellow man. But were there also Masks present in this outrageous scene? Indeed there were; you saw them: those clean-cut young people who selflessly moved into the martyred neighborhoods to clean up the mess louts had caused.
There could not have been a starker reminder of the need for our civilization to return to the Christian doctrine of vocation than this event. On a theological note, these ghastly scenes confirmed Luther’s insight, Der Pöbel hat keinen Verstand (the rabble does not possess reason). Evidently participation in gangs leads to a suspension - or at least a numbing - of natural law, which in this context means the universal moral code that according to St. Paul God has written upon every human being’s heart, including the hearts of non-believers.
Drs. Jo & Quy Ly
Clarinetist Alice Gallagher
Pianist Elysia Brewer
Lananh Nguyen & the Star Band
LFM chair David Atkinson
Faith Capo chair Dale Brant
Helpers: the iTrust Kids
Dr. Jo & Ruth Denault
Gillian & Uwe Siemon-Netto
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