Two videos are available from the LCMS regarding this issue. The first is presents Pastor Harrison's comments on the birth control mandate. The second is the video of his testimony before the Committee on Oversight and Govt. Reform. I encourage you to view these videos. You may see them on YouTube at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5au8yj2msQ
and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=527spTZiwBU
IRVINE, OCT. 1. The Center for Lutheran Theology and Public Life (CLTPL) has resumed business Thursday, three months after it was closed by the Board of Regents of Concordia Seminary in St. Louis for budgetary reasons, according to the Center’s director, Dr. Uwe Siemon-Netto. CLTPL is now operating out of Concordia University Irvine, Cal., and is legally a ministry of Faith Capistrano Lutheran Church at Capistrano Beach, Cal.
The Center’s mission is to reflect on secular issues from the confessional Lutheran perspective. A non-profit organization, CLTPL offers lectures, articles, broadcasts, videos, and conferences on topics such as the vocation of voters, journalists, politicians, lawyers, soldiers and parents. CLTPL is planning to establish regional chapters at several locations around the United States and abroad. “With our emphasis on the doctrine of calling we intend to propose a healthier alternative to the contemporary ‘Me’ culture in America,” Siemon-Netto said.
CLTPL’s first major event after moving to Irvine will be a lecture series by its director at the University of Calgary in Canada on the priestly roles of voters and journalists in the secular realm, and on “War, Piracy and the Media” at the University’s “Centre for Military and Strategic Studies” on Oct. 6-7. This will be followed by a presentation on the Global Significance of the Music of Johann Sebastian Bach at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Ind., on Nov. 2.
In the spring semester of 2010, the Center’s director, a longtime foreign corrrespondent and editor, will teach an advanced journalism course based on the ethics of the Lutheran doctrine of vocation at Concordia University Irvine.
CLTPL is supported by grants, donations and other offerings that are all tax-deductible. All contributions for The Center should be sent to “Faith Lutheran Church of Capistrano Beach” (FLC); ccontributions should be earmarked for “Center for Lutheran Theology and pulic life” in the memo portion of the checks. The mailing address is as follows: CLTPL c/o Faith Lutheran Church, 34381 Calle Portola Capistrano Beach, Cal., 92624.
The Center’s Concordia University address is: The Center for Lutheran Theology & Public Life, Old Admin Building, Room 312A, 1530 Concordia West, Irvine, CA 92612-3203, telephone 949-854-8002, extension 1335.Center
Nine years from now, in 2017, Protestants will celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation. This is a good time to remember its theological treasures, which differ from earthly treasures in that they multiply when shared. Where the world is concerned, Lutherans have perhaps the soberest message of all Protestant traditions. Like Paul and Augustine, Lutherans know that our secular reality cannot be fixed. They know that it is finite. It will disappear. Until that happens, though, we must roll up our sleeves and manage our fallen world as well as we can, preventing chaos and lovingly serving each other - not by the gospel, which would be impossible, but by natural reason. We are free to act rationally in this world thanks to our knowledge of our redemption in the kingdom of grace. But the gospel has nothing to say about traffic rules, illegal immigration, the price of gasoline, or the deployment or withdrawal of forces to or from the Middle East. The gospel cannot really be associated with any worldly cause. The gospel will illume the Christians' good sense, we hope, and affect their personal comportment to the extent that it makes others curious about their faith. But the
