Like WheatT Arising Green: How the Church Grows and Thrives

(Excerpt) The theme for the 1991 Institute of Liturgical Studies is taken from the hymn Now the Green Blade Rises. This wonderful Easter hymn, No. 148 in The Lutheran Book of Worship, concludes each stanza with the refrain, Love is come again like wheat arising green. The resurrection of Jesus is portrayed as grain which sprouts from seed. The imagery comes from the Gospel of John, from a saying of Jesus, the whole context of which is instructive

Identity and Witness: Liturgy and the Mission of the Church

(Excerpt) The text for this lecture is a provocative aphorism which I owe to Stanley Hauerwas. In a 1987 presentation at Trinity Seminary, he said: The church has missionary power in direct proportion to its liturgical integrity. I cite this because Liturgy and Mission are often perceived as unrelated, if not actually opposed, to each other.1 Manuals and exhortations on evangelism often do not relate the Church\u27s mission of evangelization and conversion to the administration of Holy Baptism. Programs and advice on outreach which focus on inviting persons to the Sunday gathering of the Church often do not assume that what t~kes place at the Sunday gathering is the Holy Eucharist. For many advocates of the Church\u27s mission, liturgy belongs to the task of nurture, and attention to nurture must be balanced by attention to nurture. Liturgy is thus viewed as an inward focus, and the fear is that too much attention to liturgy makes the Church narcissistic

Holy Communion Is an Artifact of the Future

(Excerpt) A bit of reminiscing seems appropriate on this anniversary occasion.2 The Institute of Liturgical Studies was founded by true pioneers in the liturgical movement. The blessings granted to that movement in terms of its achievements are awesome. I don\u27t know if anyone counted such things in the 1940s, but in the decade in which the Institute of Liturgical Studies was founded there were not a hundred congregations in all of North American Lutheranism where there was a weekly Eucharist

History and Dogma in Christology

Careful examination of a recent convention resolution of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (Resolution 2-16, “To Affirm Historicity of New Testament, Denver 1969) provides a basis for the author\u27s discussion of the way in which church bodies can best prepare doctrinal statements and of the proper role of historical investigation and dogmatic formulations in the process of framing the church\u27s Christological confession

The Gospel and the Smalcald Articles

The Smalcald Articles (hereafter abbreviated as S. A.) provide us with an excellent focus for the problems and possibilities which the 16-century confessional documents pose for 20th-century Lutheranism. The fact of our historical distance from the 16th century confronts us with the most obvious problems

The Treasure of the Church

If being on the cover of Time magazine is the status symbol of our age, then Martin Luther has it made. The issue of March 24, 1967, carried his picture, painted by Time cover artist Lucas Cranach the Elder. There\u27s not much left in the status department, except perhaps being named Man of the Year or being belatedly canonized. The latter has been seriously suggested, but the former won\u27t happen. This is 1967, not 1517. Religion could hardly be called decisive in national or international affairs. A protest against the sale of indulgences would be meaningless. Poor Tetzel couldn\u27t give them away, let alone sell them. There is a sense, therefore, in which the Reformation is locked in history. The observance of its anniversary might then seem to have little more than antiquarian interest for Reformation buffs

Levels of depression in transgender people and its predictors: Results of a large matched control study with transgender people accessing clinical services

Background Depression is a serious disorder which significantly impacts wellbeing and quality of life. Studies exploring mental wellbeing in the transgender population are mostly limited by small, non-homogenous samples and lack of matched controls. This study aimed to address these limitations and explore depression rates in a large sample of transgender people, compared with matched controls from the general population, as well as factors predicting depression in those taking cross-sex hormone treatment (CHT) compared to those not. Methods Transgender individuals (n=913) completed a measure of depression, measures which predict psychopathology (self-esteem, victimization, social support, interpersonal problems), and information regarding CHT use. Participants were matched by age and experienced gender with adults from the general population who had completed the measure of depression. Results Individuals were categorized as having no, possible or probable depressive disorder. Transgender individuals not on CHT had a nearly four-fold increased risk of probable depressive disorder, compared to controls. Older age, lower self-esteem, poorer interpersonal function and less social support predicted depressive disorder. Use of CHT was associated with less depression. Limitations Participants were attending a national gender identity service and therefore represent only a sub-group of transgender people. Due to the cross-sectional design, longitudinal research is required to fully confirm the finding that CHT use reduces depression. Conclusion This study confirms that non-treated transgender individuals have an increased risk of a depressive disorder. Interventions offered alongside gender affirming treatment to develop interpersonal skills, increase self-esteem and improve social support may reduce depression and prepare individuals for a more successful transition

Transgender and anxiety: a comparative study between transgender people and the general population

Background: Anxiety disorders pose serious public health problems. The data available on anxiety disorders in the transgender population is limited by the small numbers, the lack of a matched controlled population and the selection of a nonhomogenous group of transgender people. Aims: The aims of the study were (1) to determine anxiety symptomatology (based on the HADS) in a nontreated transgender population and to compare it to a general population sample matched by age and gender; (2) to investigate the predictive role of specific variables, including experienced gender, self-esteem, victimization, social support, interpersonal functioning, and cross-sex hormone use regarding levels of anxiety symptomatology; and (3) to investigate differences in anxiety symptomatology between transgender people on cross-sex hormone treatment and not on hormone treatment. Methods: A total of 913 individuals who self-identified as transgender attending a transgender health service during a 3-year period agreed to participate. For the first aim of the study, 592 transgender people not on treatment were matched by age and gender, with 3,816 people from the general population. For the second and third aim, the whole transgender population was included. Measurements: Sociodemographic variables and measures of depression and anxiety (HADS), self-esteem (RSE), victimization (ETS), social support (MSPSS), and interpersonal functioning (IIP-32). Results: Compared with the general population transgender people had a nearly threefold increased risk of probable anxiety disorder (all p < .05). Low self-esteem and interpersonal functioning were found to be significant predictors of anxiety symptoms. Trans women on treatment with cross-sex hormones were found to have lower levels of anxiety disorder symptomatology. Conclusions: Transgender people (particularly trans males) have higher levels of anxiety symptoms suggestive of possible anxiety disorders compared to the general population. The findings that self-esteem, interpersonal functioning, and hormone treatment are associated with lower levels of anxiety symptoms indicate the need for clinical interventions targeting self-esteem and interpersonal difficulties and highlight the importance of quick access to transgender health services