Q. When is church?
A. Church Services are held every Sunday at 8:30 and
10:30 AM (Holy Communion) and Wednesday during Advent and Lent at 7:00 PM (Vespers). We also have services on
many festival days.
Q. What opportunities are there for children at Gloria Christi?
A. At Gloria Christ we have Sunday School, youth group (affiliated with Higher Things), as well as our Preschool-Daycare. We also offer youth catechism class for those preparing to become communicants.
Gloria Christi also has a youth recreation room with table tennis, foosball, and other games.
Q. What opportunities are there for women at Gloria Christi?
A. Besides serving in their various daily callings in life, as do all Christians, women at Gloria Christi serve on
many boards, the funeral committee, altar guild, choir, quilter's group, and may come to the women's Bible study. Congregational
president, vice-president, and the board of elders (including communion assistants and lectors/readers) are those offices
reserved for qualified and trained men because of their public relationship to the pastoral office and the order of creation
as taught in Scripture. Serving God, whether for men, women or children, is not something chiefly done in the church
building but out in our various vocations in life.
Q. What makes Gloria Christi different from other Lutherans in the area?
A. That depends on where you are coming from. Gloria Christi is presently a congregation of The Lutheran Church
- Missouri Synod. The LCMS differs from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA - whose predecessors include
the ALC, LCA and AELC), as we, on Scriptural grounds, do not have women as pastors, engage in altar and pulpit fellowship
with non-Lutherans, and we also hold the the complete inspiration and errorlessness of the original texts of the Holy Bible,
unlike the ELCA. There are many other differences with the ELCA that are too numerous to detail here.
Within the LCMS our congregation is orthodox (confessional) or as some might say, "conservative" or "traditional." This
means that we do not necessarily agree with everything going on in every other LCMS congregation, especially in the drift
some have made toward being more like the ELCA or toward being general protestants or charismatic. We hold the Lutheran
Confessions, as found in the Book of Concord, to be the correct exposition of the Word of God and use them as our guiding
documents. All Lutheran congregations say this. We strive to be very serious about this in teaching and practice.
Not all congregations would seem to be so serious about this matter.
This may sound like we honor the confessions more than the Bible. We do not. We understand and confess that the Bible is
the sole source and norm for all of our doctrine and life. But we also understand that the Lutheran confessions are the true
exposition of the Bible and contain the wisdom of our forefathers. They have been normed by the Scriptures and are therefore
useful for study and contemplation.
Our congregation is also highly sacramental. The center of our life together is the Divine Service of the Word and
the Holy Supper of Christ's body and blood. The Lord's Supper is offered every Sunday. Because we
are so fervently dependent upon, and thankful for, Our Lord's bodily presence and gift in the Holy Communion, we strive to
be reverent and appropriately traditional in our ceremonies, which have continuity into better times in Lutheran history.
It is also because we believe in the Bodily Presence of Our Lord in the Holy Communion that we practice what is called
"closed communion." We understand our communion with Christ in the Sacrament of the Altar to be not only a personal act of
worship and piety but also a public confession of fellowship and unity. We recognize the danger not only of an unworthy communion
but also of making a hypocritical confession. We do not commune at Christian altars whose public teachings are different from
ours. We do not make light of differences in doctrine.
At Gloria Christi, we are not followers of the latest fads or trends in Christian bookstores or radio. Despite
our preference for the old, we use, mostly, modern English. We do use some recently composed hymns, though they are
of a more traditional, liturgical style. The blessed Reformer Martin Luther is our main teacher after Our Lord through
the apostles and prophets, but we do not embrace or agree with everything he said nor think that he was all-wise or without
error. We do also honor and respect many other Lutheran church fathers as well as church fathers before the Lutheran
Reformation, especially in the early church.
Words you generally don't hear applied to Gloria Christi are liberal, modern, charismatic, faddish, pietistic, Reformed,
or low church. We are centered in Christ our crucified and risen Lord and the Gospel of forgiveness and justification
by grace alone through faith alone.
Q. Who should come to church at Gloria Christi?
A. Everyone is invited attend worship with us at Gloria
Christi. We want the whole world to hear the Gospel of Jesus and know that they are forgiven and saved in Him.
Q. Can I receive Holy Communion at Gloria Christi?
A. You can if you are currently a confirmed member of a
congregation of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod and hold the Christian faith in unity with the Lutheran Church. Please
introduce yourself to the pastor before coming forward for Communion (before the service). Others should speak to our
pastor if they are interested in becoming a communicant in our congregation. Instruction is available in order to become
a communicant.
Q. Do you use a screen for the words during worship?
A. No. At Gloria Christi, for most services we use mainly the hymnal, Lutheran Service Book, along with a bulletin insert with the Scripture readings, Introit, and Gradual. We desire that the cross and
altar are the focal point of the sanctuary, so that our eyes are fixed on Christ. We also desire that the sanctuary
be different from our living room at home or other places where we look toward a screen. As those who worship
the Son of God who has become a man and uses tangible earthly elements to deliver His grace (water, bread, wine, book), we
desire to reflect that through continuing to use a good Lutheran hymnal and solid printed pages, rather than something which
can be switched off and on.
Q. Why does the pastor sometimes read the Gospel
from the middle of the congregation?
A. On festival days the Gospel book is carried in procession
to the middle of the nave (where the congregation sits) where it is read. This ceremony signifies the incarnation of Christ,
His coming down out of heaven to be among the people and to save them and the missionary movement of the Gospel from Jerusalem
to the ends of the earth. The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us (John 1:14). A certain amount of
traditional ceremony and awe is due when we are in the presence of the Lord who dwells among us.
Q. Why does everyone sing or chant most everything?
A. Because
we are in the presence of Christ, every action is elevated to a higher and more beautiful level. Poetry, especially when it
is sung or chanted is the way in which we elevate speech above the common or mundane. (This is why people sing love songs,
for instance.) What is sung is not ordinary or simply for amusement.
Chant,
as a kind of combination between singing and speaking, serves to de-emphasize the idiosyncrasies of the person conducting
the liturgy or assisting and helps to emphasize the mystical and sacramental unity and communion between Christ and His Bride,
the Church. In this way also, chant serves as a kind of vocal "uniform" like the basic liturgical vestments
or even the clerical shirt and collar. Theologically speaking, personality doesn't then matter much from
one pastor to another so long as the Gospel is preached purely and the sacraments are administered according to Christ's institution
(Acts 2:42; Augsburg Confession VII). Chant helps convey this uniformity in office and the transparochial nature
of the church's ministerium.
When
both pastor and congregation chant their respective parts of the liturgical dialogue the simple fact of the liturgy as
a dialogue is made abundantly more clear. The dialogue or conversation takes place in the same
mode or genre, if you will. It is rather odd when the pastor speaks his parts and the congregation
sings theirs. Imagine an opera or a musical conducted in such format. Or imagine a conversation in
daily life like this!
Likewise, chant helps to emphasize that the Divine Service
is heaven coming down to earth in the means of Christ's grace (Revelation 4,5; Isaiah 6:1-7; Acts 2:42;
I Corinthians 11; Luke 22:27). It communicates the divine mystery of this transaction of the means
of grace and faith. Chant clothes and elevates the words that are spoken so that the message is the
main thing, rather than the personality quirks of the messenger (see I Corinthians 1,2). For we do not preach
ourselves but Christ and Him crucified. This vestment for the voice adorns the liturgy with the joy of song in
a way that also accommodates the characteristics of regular speech. The Lord's presence is a cause
for rejoicing in song, even in this gift's delivery. And yet this is to be in such a way that it is not
entertainment, but a high and holy encounter with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords who condescends to be with His redeemed
people. In short, chant carries benefits from both song and speech in one form.
Q. Why isn't Contemporary Christian Music used in
services at Gloria Christi?
A. We don't use CCM music for lots of reasons. It is generally
music that focuses more on the emotions and entertainment than on the Gospel, on the Christian more than the Christ, that
mirrors the culture of this world rather than the culture of Heaven, that claims to praise Jesus but does not really do so
(praise is always about telling what Jesus has done), that focuses on the individual's internal piety rather than on the Faith
that saves. Contemporary Christian Music comes out of the background of Pentecostals, charismatics and Baptists, and
does not fit biblical, Lutheran teaching and practice. Those nominally Lutheran churches which indulge in this sort
of music eventually lose their Lutheran heritage in teaching and practice. This is why we prefer the solid Lutheran
chorales as the core of our hymn repertoire.
Q. Does Gloria Christi ever use instruments other
than the organ?
A. Yes! We have had people play trumpet, trombone, flute,
and many other instruments in worship. We encourage you, if you play a suitable instrument, to make use of your talents here
by playing during a service. Our choir director, working with the pastor, would love to hear from you and help with music
selection.
Q.
Why does the pastor wear those robes (vestments)?
A. Vestments help cover the man and proclaim Christ. Vestments
are a sort of uniform, indicating that the person wearing them is not acting as a private citizen, but as one who has been
given a certain role and authority to act in it, almost like a police officer's uniform or a military uniform. Here the office
is that of speaking and giving the Gospel in the stead and by the command of Jesus. The white alb covers his person, the stole
indicates the pastor's ordination into the office of the holy ministry, and the chasuble is a special vestment for Holy Communion
services. The asistants (elders, acolytes) also wear a basic white alb since they are serving to assist in the liturgy
as well.
Q. Why do the musicians and choir perform from the
back?
A. Music is used in the Church to beautify the worship and
assist the congregation in singing the praises of God. Music is never used in church simply for the sake of entertainment,
or for personal glory. The musicians perform from the back so as not to take center stage but rather to give Christ all glory
and keep the focus on Him and on the altar where He gives Himself to us.
Q. Why do many at Gloria Christi make the sign of the cross at various times?
A. Although Roman Catholics make the sign of the cross, they do not have a monopoly on the practice.
The sign of the cross is not a uniquely Roman Catholic practice. It is shared by Christians who
maintain something of historic Christian piety and liturgical practice. As pointed out above, the sign
of the cross is a practice continued by Luther, and prescribed by him in the Small Catechism and other writings.
The basic meaning of the sign of the cross is
derived from Holy Baptism (hence Luther’s connection with the Triune invocation of God’s name). In
the Baptism Liturgy the pastor makes the sign of the cross “both upon the forehead and upon the heart”
to mark the candidate for Baptism as “one redeemed by Christ the crucified.” Hence the
sign of the cross is a way of remembering one’s Baptism into Christ the crucified and the blessings that come through
Him (Romans 6). That is its most basic meaning and that is how Lutherans interpret it in an evangelical
(Gospel) way. Since it is neither commanded nor forbidden, Christians may or may not use it in freedom.
However, it is not something to be condemned. St. Paul the Apostle exhorts us to “pray without
ceasing.” The sign of the cross assists our prayer in a physical way so that we may remember
that Christ is our help in every time of need and that we are baptized into Him. Sometimes a physical gesture or postures help
us to focus our mind for what is at hand and upon God’s Word. Bowing, kneeling, folding one’s
hands, not to mention the sign of the cross, help us to focus our body and soul for prayer and worship, especially in the
context of the Divine Service of Word and Sacrament, but also in our personal and family prayers.
Q. Where can I learn more about Gloria Christi's
way of worship and beliefs?
A. Speak to Pastor Frahm. He loves to talk about liturgy
and worship. Gloria Christi's way of worship is the way of worship known historically among Lutherans in better times, and
the general way the church has worshipped and received the Lord's gifts through the centuries. We value our continuity
in doctrine and practice with the faithful church throughout the ages. These days it would seem that the traditional
liturgy has become alternative worship!
Q. What is Gloria Christi's teaching on the various moral issues of the day?
A. Very briefly: Gloria Christi is unreservedly and strongly pro-life because that is the teaching of
God's Word and it is in accord with sound reason. We believe in protecting the life of the unborn and of the elderly,
and ill (we are against euthanasia and assisted suicide). We are also against EMBRYONIC stem-cell experimentation as
this destroys human life. We also believe sexual relations belong only between a man and a woman who are married
to each other in a life-long commitment. On the basis of Scripture we believe that homosexuality (behavior and desire)
is sinful. Related to this Gloria Christi also holds to a six day creation of the world by God's powerful Word.
