October 2013 – A Seminarian’s Letters Home

To the membership of Circle of Faith Parish:

Greetings to you all from Evanston, IL! The school year is well underway now. Harvest is beginning, and the leaves are starting to turn. We are entering another season of the year, that of fall. We are also drawing closer to that landmark day for Lutherans, Reformation Sunday. Soon, red will adorn our altars, our vestments, and our clothing as we recall that day when Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses to the door of Wittenberg’s Castle Church, unwittingly beginning what we now know as the Reformation.

A few years from now, in 2017, the ELCA will join with Lutherans around the world marking the 500th anniversary of the posting of the theses. Between now and then, in prayer, in song, and in the constant proclamation of the good news, we will remember Luther, Melanchthon, and the many others who staked all they had to preach the message they had found in Scripture, the message that God’s grace is a completely free gift to all of us, a gift that has no price tag, and no strings attached. That grace is still here among us today, marked on us in baptism, and in Christ, is making us all anew. That is the message we share each Reformation Sunday. For that, and for all the ways in which God continually acts to reform us all here and now, thanks be to God.

As we travel toward Reformation Sunday, let us pray for God’s blessing, using these words:

Almighty God, gracious Lord, we thank you that your Holy Spirit renews the church in every age. Pour out your Holy Spirit upon your faithful people. Keep them steadfast in your word, comfort and protect them in times of trial, defend them from all enemies of the Gospel, and bestow upon your church your saving peace, through Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. [ELW, Reformation Sunday]

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Your fellow member and pilgrim,
Carl P. Rabbe, M.Div.