The Lord be with you
Below you will find a communication we have received from the Synod, urging us to have a vigil of repentance in remembrance of the victims of abortion on Saturday, September 12. After communicating with the Church Council, officers and board members of Lamb of God, it has been decided that we will join the rest of the Synod in lifting our voices to God's Throne on the 12th during a candlelight vigil. The service will be at 7:00 pm.
May the Lord of All take pity on our country and bring to an end this great national sin.
Blessings in Christ
Pastor
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Harrison encourages Lutherans to
‘kneel before the Crucified One’ |
“By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and
we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers” (1 John 3:16).
Last month, thousands of people gathered at Planned Parenthood
locations across the United States. Together, they participated in a
National Day of Protest, speaking out against the murder of tiny babies
still within their mothers’ wombs. It is our hope that the media and the
government took notice, and that they will begin a rigorous and honest
look at the horrors that occur each day at Planned Parenthood and, one
day soon, put an end to abortion altogether.
While many of you may have participated in that event, we also invite
all members of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod to take part in a Day
of Remembrance on Sept. 12 — not just at Planned Parenthood locations,
but at your churches, outside your schools, in your homes and by the
gravesides of children who have been aborted.
Why pray? Why take time to remember? Because our Lord has promised us
that He hears and answers prayers! When we pray for the protection of
these little children, when we ask Him to send comfort and peace to
mothers whose choice to abort their children haunts them, when we tell
Him of our desire to care for moms and babies in our midst, and when we
beg Him to help us speak for life, He hears.
And He does not let our prayers go unanswered.
What the world — and places like Planned Parenthood — intends for
evil, God works for good. And He is still at work even now, reconciling
the world to Himself, not counting our sins against us as He made Him
who had no sin to be sin for us. We remember and pray because we are
forgiven. The outcome is already certain.
Through the wood of the cross, joy has come into the world! Death has
been put to death, and Satan’s evil work against the smallest of
children will only continue for a time.
That’s why we pray: Because Christ is risen, and not just for us but
for all people. That’s what we tell those who stop outside our churches
and ask what we’re doing, who yell as we pray outside Planned Parenthood
clinics, who are curious about why we care. We pray because as the
Church, our “message is a call to be reconciled with God,” as the
sainted Lutheran pastor Hermann Sasse reminds us. We “have no other
Gospel than the Gospel of the forgiveness of sins. … What [Jesus] alone
and no other person brought, and still brings, is … forgiveness.”
The days are indeed busy; your various vocations fill your time, as
they should! But pausing to remember the deaths of these babies, to pray
for those who are plagued by guilt over the deaths of their children,
to come alongside women in crisis pregnancies is worth it because each
one of them is of worth to Christ. His forgiveness and His love are
worth it! Reminding the world of the One who died and rose for
10-week-old babies even as He died and rose for 10-year-olds and
100-year-olds is worth it.
On Sept. 12, please join us in a Day of Remembrance. Let us together
kneel before the Crucified One who yet lives, who is working all things —
even death and suffering and hardship — for good. He causes us to pray
and — wonder of wonders! — has seen fit to remember us day in and day
out, no matter who we are or what we’ve done.
We have provided A Vigil of Repentance in Remembrance of the Victims of Abortion and A Sermon in Memory of the Victims of Abortion for your use should you find them helpful when organizing a prayer vigil at your congregation or school.
Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison
President, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
P.S. While we expect more information regarding Planned Parenthood to
be released, we as the Church will simultaneously put forth a concerted
effort to share good news that upholds life, telling the stories of our
Recognized Service Organizations, congregations and individual members
who are working — in big ways and small — to care for the unborn and
their mothers. Please visit lcms.org and the LCMS Facebook page routinely to learn more.
Resources
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