Happy Birthday to Our October Celebrants!

This month, we give thanks to God for the lives of our brothers and sisters celebrating their birthdays in October. May your special day be filled with joy, love, and blessings from above. We pray that the year ahead brings you strength, peace, and many reasons to rejoice.

“The Lord bless you and keep you.” — Numbers 6:24

Here is the list of our October birthdays:

October

4 – Ha Na Lee

7 – Wayne Cross

12 – Kathleen Stoll

13 – Carol Ruxton

26 – Harper Hutson

27 – Tanya Benzon

31 – Rolly French

The last Sunday in October is often celebrated as Reformation Sunday in many Lutheran churches.  It is an opportunity to give thanks for the faithfulness of our spiritual ancestors and also to reflect on how we need to continue to be a reforming church in order to live out the love of Christ in an ever-changing world. This letter from the bishops of our sister denomination (ELCA) in the USA outlines some of the priorities of a reforming church in our days and time. 

This year, we will also take this opportunity to commemorate the 1700th Anniversary of the Nicene Creed. 

The Council of Nicaea in 325 affirmed its faith in the triune God in a creed, whose definitive form was agreed at the Council of Constaninople in 381 as the “Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed.” This is the wording used by millions of Christians worldwide when they affirm their faith week-by-week in what is often referred to simply as the “Nicene Creed.” (See blog post by Jim Berger also in this newsletter to learn more about the history of the Nicene Creed.) 

As part of our commemoration, we will sing Martin Luther’s paraphrase of the Nicene Creed, known to us as We All Believe in One True God, ELW 411. No doubt, it has a somewhat difficult chant melody. It will be easier to fit the words with the notes if you first read through the text. This will give you an idea of the theme and poetic flow as well. At the church service this Sunday, Oct. 19, before you leave the sanctuary open your hymnal to ELW 411 and read through the three verses.  Perhaps also take the time next week to read and study the hymn.  You may be surprised at the understanding you gain beyond the surface, so that when you sing it on Reformation Sunday you will have a more meaningful experience. 

This year marks the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD and the Nicene Creed it produced. This council was the first of many efforts to attain consensus in the church through an assembly representing all Christendom. The key issues in contention were 1) the divinity of God the Son, and 2) his relationship toGod the Father. The remarkable thing about the creed this council produced is that it was supported by nearly all of more than 220 bishops who had gathered from across the Roman world at the request of the Roman emperor, Constantine. While this was not the earliest Christian creed or statement of faith, it has been remarkably widely accepted. Currently more than 98.5% of all Christians are members of churches that accept the Nicene Creed.

There were two main ideas about the nature of the Son of God and his relation to the Father: One party, led by bishops Alexander and Athanasius of Alexandria, in Egypt, taught that Jesus as God the Son was eternally generated from the Father. Their view was opposed by Arius, a priest and theologian originally from North Africa (Libya), who with his followers asserted that the Father alone was eternal, and that the Son was created or begotten by the Father, and thus had a defined point of origin and was subordinate to the Father.  Emperor Constantine became aware of the controversy between Alexander and Arius and wrote a letter to the two, urging them to end their dispute and to reconcile. This attempt at reconciliation was not successful and consequently Constantine called for a council that met in Nicaea. Constantine, in addressing the opening of the council, exhorted the Bishops to unanimity and concord" and called on them to follow the Holy Scriptures. He did join in the debates of the council, but did not see himself as a voting member as he was not a bishop.

A statement of faith based on earlier creeds was drafted (by a smaller committee), and each line was debated by the council. All but two bishops subscribed to the final form of the creed as adopted. In the Council of Nicaea, one specific creed was used to define the Church's faith clearly, to include those who professed it, and to exclude those who did not. The initial Creed of Nicaea was extended and slightly modified by the subsequent First Council of Constantinople in 381 that produced the creed we use today. Adoption of this creed by the whole church was a complex process requiring several centuries, but it is now affirmed by nearly all Christians.

Here is a link to an excellent comparison between the creed of 325 and the creed of 381
that we use today.

Image: Icon depicting Constantine the Great, accompanied by the bishops of the First Council of Nicaea (325), holding the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed of 381.

Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicene_Creed
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Council_of_Nicaea

Onsite Flu Vaccine Clinic

An onsite Flu Vaccine Clinic will be held following the worship service on Sunday, October 26, in the Conference Room, starting at 11:30 a.m.

Thank-you to those who have sent in their registration by email. There will also be a sign-up sheet circulating this Sunday for you to indicate what additional vaccines you would like to receive. 

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC), together with Canadian Lutheran World Relief (CLWR), has issued an urgent call for prayer following news of the beginnings of a peace deal between Israel and Hamas. 

In letter released October 9, ELCIC National Bishop Larry Kochendorfer and CLWR Interim Executive Director Michael Pryse invite members to pray, “that this fragile window for peace will hold and become the foundation for a lasting, just peace for all Israelis and Palestinians.”