Today was a lackluster day, and I haven't done anything blog-worthy, so how about another Spring Valley side-trip? As I've said before, if you find this dull and a waste of your time, so be it. Go look around on another blog or buy something on E-bay.
Today's topic is Being Lutheran, which I wasn't and still am not. As a recovering Catholic, I have nothing at all against Lutheranism, but if you've read any of Jon Hassler's books, particularly Grand Opening, you know that some Lutherans and Catholics choose to walk on opposite sides of the street rather than work out their God-and-Virgin-Mary differences. In Grand Opening, they shopped at different grocery stores. Go figure.
Here is Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Spring Valley, MN, as it looks today (except for an addition that I didn't include in the photo, wanting to preserve the look of the 1960's). The church is not black and white, but the photo is. Diane Highum's family lived right across the street, so I imagine they waited until the bells started ringing on Sunday morning before running over to make it for the start of the service.
Back in the 1960's when Our Savior's was new and St. Ignatius was old (torn down and a new church built around 1969; see current photo of St. Ignatius in right-hand column of this very blog), my Lutheran friends had lots of questions about Catholicism. I didn't have too many questions about Lutheranism, because I figured Martin Luther answered them all when he went around nailing things on doors a few centuries back. My Lutheran friends wanted to know why Catholics worship the devil and a lot of other things I realize I shouldn't blog about, having to do with illicit relationships between nuns and priests. They learned these things at Sunday school, or so they said. In catechism classes, my Catholic friends and I were asked to "renounce Satan and all his evil works," so I was pretty darned sure we didn't worship him.
Cindy (who went to the Methodist church) will have to help me with this one, but as I recall it was our financially better-off friends and classmates who were members of Our Savior's congregation. My only evidence is that Luther Leaguers used to go to Bible camp and Luther League conventions and we didn't leave town for anything. We had summer vacation catechism with nuns imported from Rochester, though.
Today's topic is Being Lutheran, which I wasn't and still am not. As a recovering Catholic, I have nothing at all against Lutheranism, but if you've read any of Jon Hassler's books, particularly Grand Opening, you know that some Lutherans and Catholics choose to walk on opposite sides of the street rather than work out their God-and-Virgin-Mary differences. In Grand Opening, they shopped at different grocery stores. Go figure.
Here is Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Spring Valley, MN, as it looks today (except for an addition that I didn't include in the photo, wanting to preserve the look of the 1960's). The church is not black and white, but the photo is. Diane Highum's family lived right across the street, so I imagine they waited until the bells started ringing on Sunday morning before running over to make it for the start of the service.
Back in the 1960's when Our Savior's was new and St. Ignatius was old (torn down and a new church built around 1969; see current photo of St. Ignatius in right-hand column of this very blog), my Lutheran friends had lots of questions about Catholicism. I didn't have too many questions about Lutheranism, because I figured Martin Luther answered them all when he went around nailing things on doors a few centuries back. My Lutheran friends wanted to know why Catholics worship the devil and a lot of other things I realize I shouldn't blog about, having to do with illicit relationships between nuns and priests. They learned these things at Sunday school, or so they said. In catechism classes, my Catholic friends and I were asked to "renounce Satan and all his evil works," so I was pretty darned sure we didn't worship him.
Cindy (who went to the Methodist church) will have to help me with this one, but as I recall it was our financially better-off friends and classmates who were members of Our Savior's congregation. My only evidence is that Luther Leaguers used to go to Bible camp and Luther League conventions and we didn't leave town for anything. We had summer vacation catechism with nuns imported from Rochester, though.
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