Picture yourself sitting among fellow-members of the Ukrainian Lutheran Church in Kiev, listening as the pastor conducts the liturgy. You hear him sing . . . your own name. In fact, in prayer he chants the name of every member of the congregation, every Sunday.
Imagine standing before the altar at Seoul Lutheran Church, about to receive the Lord’s Supper. The pastor distributes the bread/Body of Christ and wine/Blood of Christ . . . wearing white cotton gloves, the traditional Korean formal sign of respect.
See yourself among the worshipers in a Lutheran Mission of Salvation – India congregation, in a cement-block church . . . sitting on the floor, barefoot. Women and children are seated on mats on one side of the church, men and boys on the other. Hymns are accompanied by a bongo drum.
Or how about this? You are at worship in the Lutheran Church in the Andes Mountain community of Huaraz in Peru. Taking your turn . . . you rise to read a portion of a Scripture lesson, grateful the congregation is understanding as you stumble through the Spanish.
World-wide, there’s quite a variety of worship practices among confessional Lutherans – but the same saving faith in our Savior! Jesus said, Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it (Luke 11).
(ELS mission work in foreign lands is conducted by the Board for World Outreach.)
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Steve Petersen – www.worldmissionsouvenirs.com
