This year marks the 500th anniversary of the Reformation and the congregation of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church (GSLC) is planning a year filled with special community outreach celebrations to share the good news across the Northern Neck.
The Reformation, led by Dr. Martin Luther, fundamentally shook the medieval world and provided the principals at work in most of today’s Christian theologies found in virtually every nation, reported GSLC evangelism chairman Susan Hudson.
The first event, a GSLC celebration of Black History month, is the showing of “The First Rosa,” a movie that tells the life of Rosa J. Young. The movie will be shown at 2 p.m. February 18 at the church, 1717 Hampton Hall Road, (Rt 202), Callao. Born to an ordinary life in an ordinary town in rural Alabama, Rosa Young was anything but ordinary. With a passion for helping others, educating children and sharing the gospel, Young accomplished extraordinary things for her community and the kingdom of God, said Hudson.
Young was instrumental in founding and promoting 30 Lutheran elementary schools and 35 Lutheran congregations in Alabama’s ‘Black Belt.’ Her legacy is unparalleled as an educator, confessor and church planter for Christ and his church as many of her students moved north during the Great Migration and founded churches throughout the county.
Since refreshments will be provided at the movie, call 453-6913 with numbers for planning purposes.
Beginning at 9 a.m, February 19, pastor Bruce Alkire’s worship service will be “Commemoration Luther-Doctor-Confessor,” to be followed by coffee and refreshments. At 10:30 a.m., chaplain Mike Ramming will lead a Bible class, “Luther’s Life-Never Can Tell What the Lord Will Do.”
“The sermon and bible class will highlight the connections of Luther’s leadership and the Gospel’s influence to what we enjoy today in the hopes of raising our awareness of basic Protestant religious witness, ministry and heritage,” said Hudson.
Martin Luther (1483–1546) was born into a society ripe for change. Renewed interest in Greek and Roman learning at the universities was opening young minds while wide spread corruption was present across most levels of the state and church. This led to the authority of the Roman Pope’s control over European countries being challenged by princes and theologians alike. When Luther entered the Augustinian Monastery in Erfurt, Germany, he was driven to find acceptance with God, but his failure to understand the true nature of God’s righteousness kept that acceptance out of reach.
As a university professor, Luther eventually found a gracious God in Christ. This liberation opened a fresh understanding of Scripture to him, and he joined others in successfully challenging the doctrine, practice and hierarchy of the church. Luther’s attempt to defend his writings resulted in his being branded an outlaw of the Holy Roman Empire. In hiding he translated the Bible into German and published his views. Out of Luther’s spiritual struggles came “The Reformation” and a theology which spread across the western world under the banner of “Scripture Alone, Grace Alone and Faith Alone.”
