News Archive
AGREEMENT
between
Montana Synod Lutherans of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
and
Montana Association of Jewish Communities
PROLOGUE
Montana as every part of the world, is affected by religious and cultural diversity. Different communities of faith may passively tolerate this diversity, or they can actively welcome it as an opportunity to understand different faith traditions, and cooperate in the humane goals of civil life. This opportunity is being engaged enthusiastically by the Montana Association of Jewish Communities and Montana Synod Lutherans of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Lutherans and Jews alike find the basis for this engagement in our shared heritage and belief in one God who as Creator calls all persons to live together in justice and peace, with respect for human and national rights. Our shared heritage dating to Abraham, bearing witness to God’s liberating and blessings actions in history, does not diminish our theological differences—such as beliefs about redemption, the Messiah, the doctrine of God or sacred land—but we experience a new day when condemnations, brutalities and stereotypes can themselves be denounced. We are beginning to talk and walk as equals, with interactions tainted much less by ignorance and claims of religious superiority. Christians are beginning to hear Judaism be defined by Jews, and Jews are beginning to hear Christianity be defined by Christians. We must continue to explore and deepen our appreciation of each other’s traditions and cultures.
In addition, since we live as neighbors in Montana, we have common civil challenges and duties for which Jews and Lutherans can make common cause. We need not share a common creed to share common deeds that enhance human welfare and strengthen the moral fabric of society.
AFFIRMATIONS
Together we affirm that:
* We build on a common heritage of the Hebrew Bible for Jews and the Old Testament for Lutheran Christians.
* The one God calls us to live together in dignity and with selfless respect for the sanctity of ethnicity and religious traditions.
* Our histories, though marred by ethnic and religious animosity and misunderstanding, should and are moving toward mutual concord and cooperation.
* The Jewish and Lutheran people of Montana have been blessed by God with a rich diversity of gifts for sharing and service with each other and all their neighbors.
* Within the territory of Montana Jewish and Christians communities can be enriched by religious and moral cooperation.
OUR PLEDGE
Therefore we pledge that we will:
* In prayer seek God’s guidance for mutual understanding, and for the unity of the whole human family.
* Encourage the congregations of Montana Synod Lutherans and the congregations of the Montana Jewish community to participate in this Agreement with each other.
* Share, study and discuss declarations, reports and resources made available by our religious bodies that promote reconciliation and appreciation toward each other; in particular, issues regarding theology, Martin Luther, the Holocaust, and the Holy Land.
* Try to learn more of historical and theological developments in Judaism and Christianity since Bible times.
* Work together for the common good and for peace and justice as our authentic response to the will of God.
* Invite each other to be present at worship in each tradition, observing official guidelines for such events.
* Agree to review this Agreement periodically, and renew it at a joint service.
We dedicate ourselves to this Agreement and ask the blessing of God upon it and ourselves, that we may be faithful to God’s will and bring glory to God’s holy name.10th day of
Dr. Brian Schnitzer, The Rev. Mark Ramseth, Bishop
President of MAJCO of the Montana Synod, ELCA
Ms. Natalie Fisher, The Rev. Dr. Paul Seastrand,
Vice-President of MAJCO Ecumenical Officer of the Montana
Synod, ELCA
Signed in the presence of representatives of Montana Jewish and Lutheran communities assembled at Great Falls, Montana, on the 10th day of June, 1995.
Montana as every part of the world, is affected by religious and cultural diversity. Different communities of faith may passively tolerate this diversity, or they can actively welcome it as an opportunity to understand different faith traditions, and cooperate in the humane goals of civil life. This opportunity is being engaged enthusiastically by the Montana Association of Jewish Communities and Montana Synod Lutherans of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Lutherans and Jews alike find the basis for this engagement in our shared heritage and belief in one God who as Creator calls all persons to live together in justice and peace, with respect for human and national rights. Our shared heritage dating to Abraham, bearing witness to God’s liberating and blessings actions in history, does not diminish our theological differences—such as beliefs about redemption, the Messiah, the doctrine of God or sacred land—but we experience a new day when condemnations, brutalities and stereotypes can themselves be denounced. We are beginning to talk and walk as equals, with interactions tainted much less by ignorance and claims of religious superiority. Christians are beginning to hear Judaism be defined by Jews, and Jews are beginning to hear Christianity be defined by Christians. We must continue to explore and deepen our appreciation of each other’s traditions and cultures.
In addition, since we live as neighbors in Montana, we have common civil challenges and duties for which Jews and Lutherans can make common cause. We need not share a common creed to share common deeds that enhance human welfare and strengthen the moral fabric of society.
AFFIRMATIONS
Together we affirm that:
* We build on a common heritage of the Hebrew Bible for Jews and the Old Testament for Lutheran Christians.
* The one God calls us to live together in dignity and with selfless respect for the sanctity of ethnicity and religious traditions.
* Our histories, though marred by ethnic and religious animosity and misunderstanding, should and are moving toward mutual concord and cooperation.
* The Jewish and Lutheran people of Montana have been blessed by God with a rich diversity of gifts for sharing and service with each other and all their neighbors.
* Within the territory of Montana Jewish and Christians communities can be enriched by religious and moral cooperation.
OUR PLEDGE
Therefore we pledge that we will:
* In prayer seek God’s guidance for mutual understanding, and for the unity of the whole human family.
* Encourage the congregations of Montana Synod Lutherans and the congregations of the Montana Jewish community to participate in this Agreement with each other.
* Share, study and discuss declarations, reports and resources made available by our religious bodies that promote reconciliation and appreciation toward each other; in particular, issues regarding theology, Martin Luther, the Holocaust, and the Holy Land.
* Try to learn more of historical and theological developments in Judaism and Christianity since Bible times.
* Work together for the common good and for peace and justice as our authentic response to the will of God.
* Invite each other to be present at worship in each tradition, observing official guidelines for such events.
* Agree to review this Agreement periodically, and renew it at a joint service.
We dedicate ourselves to this Agreement and ask the blessing of God upon it and ourselves, that we may be faithful to God’s will and bring glory to God’s holy name.10th day of
Dr. Brian Schnitzer, The Rev. Mark Ramseth, Bishop
President of MAJCO of the Montana Synod, ELCA
Ms. Natalie Fisher, The Rev. Dr. Paul Seastrand,
Vice-President of MAJCO Ecumenical Officer of the Montana
Synod, ELCA
Signed in the presence of representatives of Montana Jewish and Lutheran communities assembled at Great Falls, Montana, on the 10th day of June, 1995.
October 27, 2018
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
I write to you with a broken heart – for the lives lost, wounded, and shattered by horrific hatred and violence at Tree of Life Congregation this morning. We join our Jewish neighbors and enter into mourning for all that has been lost. In our grief, God is our comfort. “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18).
From Pittsburgh to Portland, and around the world, Jews are living in fear. Anti-Semitism is on the rise. Public acts of hatred and bigotry against Jews are commonplace. As Christians, and particularly as Lutherans, we deplore and reject this bigotry. “We recognize in anti-Semitism a contradiction and affront to the Gospel, a violation of our hope and calling, and we pledge this church to oppose the deadly working of such bigotry, both within our own circles and in the society around us” (1994 Declaration of the ELCA to the Jewish Community).
We are reminded that hate-filled violence knows no bounds – whether a Sikh Temple in Oak Creek, a Christian church in Charleston, or a Jewish synagogue In Pittsburgh. As people of faith, we are bound together not only in our mourning, but also in our response.
Therefore, in this tender moment of grief, let us reach out to those whose hearts are most broken – our Jewish neighbors. I encourage you to contact your local synagogue, or your Jewish colleagues, friends, and family members, to share your words of care, support, love, and protection. There may be specific acts you might offer to demonstrate your care, such as when the members of Faith Lutheran Church surrounded Congregation Beth Israel of Chico, California, serving as Shomrim, or guardians, as they observed Yom Kippur following a hate crime in 2009.
Such simple acts can go a long way to demonstrate our love, as an extension of God’s love. As we seek to heal the brokenhearted, we are assured that God is near. There is no greater promise in the face of grief.
In peace,
The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton
Presiding Bishop, ELCA
https://www.elca.org/News-and-Events/7952
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
I write to you with a broken heart – for the lives lost, wounded, and shattered by horrific hatred and violence at Tree of Life Congregation this morning. We join our Jewish neighbors and enter into mourning for all that has been lost. In our grief, God is our comfort. “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18).
From Pittsburgh to Portland, and around the world, Jews are living in fear. Anti-Semitism is on the rise. Public acts of hatred and bigotry against Jews are commonplace. As Christians, and particularly as Lutherans, we deplore and reject this bigotry. “We recognize in anti-Semitism a contradiction and affront to the Gospel, a violation of our hope and calling, and we pledge this church to oppose the deadly working of such bigotry, both within our own circles and in the society around us” (1994 Declaration of the ELCA to the Jewish Community).
We are reminded that hate-filled violence knows no bounds – whether a Sikh Temple in Oak Creek, a Christian church in Charleston, or a Jewish synagogue In Pittsburgh. As people of faith, we are bound together not only in our mourning, but also in our response.
Therefore, in this tender moment of grief, let us reach out to those whose hearts are most broken – our Jewish neighbors. I encourage you to contact your local synagogue, or your Jewish colleagues, friends, and family members, to share your words of care, support, love, and protection. There may be specific acts you might offer to demonstrate your care, such as when the members of Faith Lutheran Church surrounded Congregation Beth Israel of Chico, California, serving as Shomrim, or guardians, as they observed Yom Kippur following a hate crime in 2009.
Such simple acts can go a long way to demonstrate our love, as an extension of God’s love. As we seek to heal the brokenhearted, we are assured that God is near. There is no greater promise in the face of grief.
In peace,
The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton
Presiding Bishop, ELCA
https://www.elca.org/News-and-Events/7952
The US elections of 2016 were bitter and divisive. The Church has something to say about how we move forward with the Good News of Jesus Christ. We asked preachers to share with us what they preached on the Sunday after election day. The responses came from across the Synod-from Westby to Wyoming, from Kalispell to Missoula, and lots of places in-between. We even got a sermon from one of our full-communion partners.
As Christians, we are in it for the long haul. We care deeply about our communities, we care deeply about God's world. In our preaching, in our teaching, in our activities and priorities we remember always that God so loved the world, the whole world. Not just us. Not just people who live like us, believe like us, vote like us. All people. We are called to proclaim and live the Good News in these times.
Here is what some of our colleagues have written:
As Christians, we are in it for the long haul. We care deeply about our communities, we care deeply about God's world. In our preaching, in our teaching, in our activities and priorities we remember always that God so loved the world, the whole world. Not just us. Not just people who live like us, believe like us, vote like us. All people. We are called to proclaim and live the Good News in these times.
Here is what some of our colleagues have written:
Interfaith Statement of Support for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
September 19, 2016
We, a coalition of diverse faith traditions, are united across theological lines by a common moral call to affirm and support the dignity of all people and to care for all of God’s creation. We therefore join with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in their efforts to protect their sovereignty, water, culture, lifeways, and sacred sites. They, with so many leaders and peoples of other tribal nations and other supporters, are blocking the proposed route of the Dakota Access Pipeline. The pipeline would send as much as 570,000 barrels per day of Bakken crude oil across the tribe’s ancestral lands and the Missouri River, the tribe’s major source of water.
We applaud the decision on September 9th by the Department of Justice, the Department of the Army and the Department of the Interior, not to authorize construction of the pipeline on Army Corps land bordering or under Lake Oahe until the Corps determines whether its previous decisions should be reconsidered at the site under applicable federal laws. We are also grateful for the Administration’s commitment to formal consultation with the tribal nations on measures to ensure meaningful tribal input into infrastructure-related reviews and decisions and the protection of tribal lands, resources, and treaty rights. We too urge peaceful relations between the peoples at the site that leads to a satisfactory resolution.
We hope that the Corps’ review of all applicable laws includes environmental as well as cultural and historical impacts upon affected tribal nations. We hope the written concerns expressed to the Corps prior to its permit approval of the pipeline, by the Department of Interior, Environmental Protection Agency and American Council on Historic Preservation are duly considered.
We call upon all parties to recognize and account for significant overarching factors within this controversy, including the degree of adequacy of tribal consultation in the past and present of US-tribal relations. We note for example that a central location in this defense of tribal lands and waters – Lake Oahe – did not even exist until the 1960s, when the federal government created the Oahe dam without the consent of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. The dam flooded over 200,000 acres of the tribes’ lands, forcing peoples from their homes, submerging towns, critical natural resources, burial sites, and sacred places.
Further, no pipeline is immune to leaks. In May 2016, an estimated 120,000 gallons of oil & wastewater leaked from a pipeline near the city of Marmarth, North Dakota. 300 oil pipeline breaks occurred in the state in 2012–2013 alone. In January 2015, over 50,000 gallons of Bakken crude oil spilled into the Yellowstone River in Montana. Even with new pipeline construction technology, this could happen across the 1,172 miles of the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Finally, our faith traditions call for action to address the urgent challenge of climate change. The well-being and future of all peoples depend upon our willingness to transition justly and quickly away from fossil fuels and towards carbon free alternatives.
Therefore, we stand with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, other tribal nations and indigenous peoples in support of their children, their tribal sovereignty, natural resources, cultural heritage and sacred places. We applaud the federal government’s decision to halt pipeline construction on Corps land until more thorough reviews of applicable laws and adequacy of tribal consultation are conducted. We pray for a peaceful resolution that brings forth a new and more equitable chapter for tribal nations, and a just transition towards a carbon-free future.
With hope and prayers for our shared future,
Christian Reformed Church in North America, Office of Social Justice
Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach
Disciples Peace Fellowship
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Franciscan Action Network
Friends Committee on National Legislation
Green Chalice, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Interfaith Power & Light
InterReligious Task Force on Central America
Leadership Conference of Women Religious
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
Mennonite Central Committee U.S. Washington Office
Sisters of Mercy of the Americas' Extended Justice Team
Sojourners
Young Evangelicals for Climate Action
We applaud the decision on September 9th by the Department of Justice, the Department of the Army and the Department of the Interior, not to authorize construction of the pipeline on Army Corps land bordering or under Lake Oahe until the Corps determines whether its previous decisions should be reconsidered at the site under applicable federal laws. We are also grateful for the Administration’s commitment to formal consultation with the tribal nations on measures to ensure meaningful tribal input into infrastructure-related reviews and decisions and the protection of tribal lands, resources, and treaty rights. We too urge peaceful relations between the peoples at the site that leads to a satisfactory resolution.
We hope that the Corps’ review of all applicable laws includes environmental as well as cultural and historical impacts upon affected tribal nations. We hope the written concerns expressed to the Corps prior to its permit approval of the pipeline, by the Department of Interior, Environmental Protection Agency and American Council on Historic Preservation are duly considered.
We call upon all parties to recognize and account for significant overarching factors within this controversy, including the degree of adequacy of tribal consultation in the past and present of US-tribal relations. We note for example that a central location in this defense of tribal lands and waters – Lake Oahe – did not even exist until the 1960s, when the federal government created the Oahe dam without the consent of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. The dam flooded over 200,000 acres of the tribes’ lands, forcing peoples from their homes, submerging towns, critical natural resources, burial sites, and sacred places.
Further, no pipeline is immune to leaks. In May 2016, an estimated 120,000 gallons of oil & wastewater leaked from a pipeline near the city of Marmarth, North Dakota. 300 oil pipeline breaks occurred in the state in 2012–2013 alone. In January 2015, over 50,000 gallons of Bakken crude oil spilled into the Yellowstone River in Montana. Even with new pipeline construction technology, this could happen across the 1,172 miles of the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Finally, our faith traditions call for action to address the urgent challenge of climate change. The well-being and future of all peoples depend upon our willingness to transition justly and quickly away from fossil fuels and towards carbon free alternatives.
Therefore, we stand with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, other tribal nations and indigenous peoples in support of their children, their tribal sovereignty, natural resources, cultural heritage and sacred places. We applaud the federal government’s decision to halt pipeline construction on Corps land until more thorough reviews of applicable laws and adequacy of tribal consultation are conducted. We pray for a peaceful resolution that brings forth a new and more equitable chapter for tribal nations, and a just transition towards a carbon-free future.
With hope and prayers for our shared future,
Christian Reformed Church in North America, Office of Social Justice
Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach
Disciples Peace Fellowship
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Franciscan Action Network
Friends Committee on National Legislation
Green Chalice, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Interfaith Power & Light
InterReligious Task Force on Central America
Leadership Conference of Women Religious
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
Mennonite Central Committee U.S. Washington Office
Sisters of Mercy of the Americas' Extended Justice Team
Sojourners
Young Evangelicals for Climate Action
A group of retired pastors met at the Retreat Center at Glacier Camp (Presbyterian) on the west shore of Flathead Lake, September 28-29.
From the Bishop: Gay Marriage in Wyoming and Montana
October, 2014
To the Pastors and Congregations of the Montana Synod:
Grace and peace to you.
I am writing to you about same-sex marriage. As I write, the law banning it in Wyoming has just been overturned, and the Montana case is on appeal. In September we gathered clergy of the Montana Synod for a Convocation that explored various issues related to same-sex marriage. We looked at a Lutheran theology and ecclesiology of marriage, at the 2009 ELCA statement: “Sexuality: Gift and Trust,” and at policies and practices in congregations and synods where same-gender marriage is legal. We also looked at global perspectives.
I want congregations to be prepared as same-sex marriage becomes legal in our states. I want you to have thought about marriage, have discussed it, and not be taken off guard by a change in the law.
I want to share a couple of things with you:
+Congregations make their own wedding policies. The Synod does not do it. The ELCA
does not do it. You do. Many congregations have written policies. You get to decide these
things, within the confines of the law.
+Pastors are not lone rangers. They do not decide to do marriages without consultation
with the congregational leadership. Decisions about what is permissible in the building, what is
permissible outside the building are joint decisions, with the Council, and with the Bishop.
+The First Amendment is alive and well. You cannot be sued if you choose not to do
weddings for same-sex couples. You cannot be sued if you choose not to do weddings for
divorced couples, or non-Christian couples. See #1.
+A marriage involves not only the blessing of the church, but an attestation to the state
that all is in order legally. Therefore, if you are asked to sanction “a blessing by the church but
not by the state,” (sometimes requested for financial reasons), you are potentially participating in
fraud.
+There is nothing in ELCA policy that requires you to do same-sex marriages. And there
is nothing that prohibits it, where the law allows.
In 2009 many congregations were unprepared for the conversations about homosexuality, and suffered as a result. My hope for 2014 and following is that we will be prepared for careful listening and civil conversations about congregational response to changing laws. There are plenty of resources available to you, and my staff and I are willing to talk with you as well.
Blessings to you as you minister to God’s beloved people.
In Christ,
Jessica Crist, Bishop
Pastoral letter on Gay Marriage, Download here
To the Pastors and Congregations of the Montana Synod:
Grace and peace to you.
I am writing to you about same-sex marriage. As I write, the law banning it in Wyoming has just been overturned, and the Montana case is on appeal. In September we gathered clergy of the Montana Synod for a Convocation that explored various issues related to same-sex marriage. We looked at a Lutheran theology and ecclesiology of marriage, at the 2009 ELCA statement: “Sexuality: Gift and Trust,” and at policies and practices in congregations and synods where same-gender marriage is legal. We also looked at global perspectives.
I want congregations to be prepared as same-sex marriage becomes legal in our states. I want you to have thought about marriage, have discussed it, and not be taken off guard by a change in the law.
I want to share a couple of things with you:
+Congregations make their own wedding policies. The Synod does not do it. The ELCA
does not do it. You do. Many congregations have written policies. You get to decide these
things, within the confines of the law.
+Pastors are not lone rangers. They do not decide to do marriages without consultation
with the congregational leadership. Decisions about what is permissible in the building, what is
permissible outside the building are joint decisions, with the Council, and with the Bishop.
+The First Amendment is alive and well. You cannot be sued if you choose not to do
weddings for same-sex couples. You cannot be sued if you choose not to do weddings for
divorced couples, or non-Christian couples. See #1.
+A marriage involves not only the blessing of the church, but an attestation to the state
that all is in order legally. Therefore, if you are asked to sanction “a blessing by the church but
not by the state,” (sometimes requested for financial reasons), you are potentially participating in
fraud.
+There is nothing in ELCA policy that requires you to do same-sex marriages. And there
is nothing that prohibits it, where the law allows.
In 2009 many congregations were unprepared for the conversations about homosexuality, and suffered as a result. My hope for 2014 and following is that we will be prepared for careful listening and civil conversations about congregational response to changing laws. There are plenty of resources available to you, and my staff and I are willing to talk with you as well.
Blessings to you as you minister to God’s beloved people.
In Christ,
Jessica Crist, Bishop
Pastoral letter on Gay Marriage, Download here
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Did you miss the Stewardship workshops in Great Falls and Billings last September? Don't worry! Here is the full Billings workshop recorded at Peace Lutheran.
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Retired Clergy and Spouse's Retreat was on September 29-30, 2014. We met at Spruce Lodge which is the Retreat Center at Glacier Camp (Presbyterian) on the west shore of Flathead Lake. Pr. Ken Olsen presented the program "Religion & Science: On Ignorance in Both Realms". It may have been raining outside but it was cozy inside the lodge with a warm fire and wonderful fellowship.
We have reserved Spruce Lodge for next year--September 28-29, 2015.
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