Lutheran Service Rituals

During the Lutheran service the symbols I visualized and rituals I experienced were new and interesting, but also some were recognizable. I noticed that frequently throughout the service the Pastor referred to the people as “sinners.” The Pastor stated during the “confessions and forgiveness” portion of the service, “As an ordained minister of the Church of Christ, and by his authority, I therefore declare to you the entire forgiveness of all your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” According to the program, this is the part in the service when the Pastor blesses the congregation and absolves everyone of their sins. The congregation then responds with, “Amen! Thanks be to God!” This is identical to the …show more content…
During the service the Pastor sat down, and a lector approached the podium. He explained that this was the time when we would be learning about the “three lessons of the day.” These three lessons I think could relate to the American society because no matter who you are, you could listen to the lector and analyze what he is saying in whatever forum you wish. The first lesson was recited from that of Psalm 32: 1-5, the second lesson was from Romans 10:5-13, and the third lesson was from 1 John 1:5-10. These “lessons” reminded me of the ritual in the Catholic church in which we listen to readings from the Bible. After the lector read the lessons, he then started saying church announcements. I thought this was an peculiar place in the service to say the announcements. I thought this deterred off from the message that the lessons were intended to teach. He mentioned that there was a blood drive going on after the service and everyone should donate to help out those in our nation who need the plasma. I thought this one another instance when the Lutheran church was relating to the larger American society because it is helping out others outside of the church