Christmas Sin Quiz Port Mortem: Pr. Sophie thanks all those readers who submitted responses to the Christmas Sin Quiz. As of this writing, here's how things stand:

Question 1: What kind of sinner are you? Nearly 53% of the respondents declared themselves to be the Chief of Sinners which means either that the real Chief of Sinners voted repeatedly or that there is a multi-way tie for the title Chief of Sinners. 37% of the respondents admitted that they sin about as much as "most people." Since "most people" put themselves in the Chief of Sinners category, this may mean that nearly 90% of the respondents were the Chief of Sinners. However, it must be acknowledged that the popularity of Chief of Sinners may have more to do with Lutheran hymnody than with sinfulness.
Note that one respondent declared his/her sinlessness.

2. Who is more sinful? (Clergy/Lay) More than 75% of the respondents claimed that clergy are more sinful. This response puzzled Pr. Sophie at first. But then she realized that other factors might affect perceptions of relative sinfulness of clergy and laity. See, for example question 3 below in which men are perceived to be more sinful than women by a very wide margin. Note also that in 2009 the ELCA clergy roster was approximately 80% male and 20% female. Pr. Sophie believes this is not a coincidence.

3. Who is more sinful? (Sexual preference) Nearly 71% of the respondents declared that straight men were more sinful; nearly 13% voted that gay men were more sinful; and nearly 6.5% opted for bisexual men as more sinful. Factoring out sexual preference, more than 90% of the respondents held that men were more sinful than women.

4. Who is more sinful? (Partnered/Single) 57% of the respondents voted that single people were more sinful than people in relationships.

5. Sinfulness and ELCA membership Approximately 44% of the respondents saw no connection between ELCA membership and sin, but nearly 56% of the respondents declared that severing and/or maintaining a relationship to the ELCA could be sinful.

6. True or False: If I am diligent, I can become less sinful Slightly more than 81% of the respondents held out little or no hope for self-improvement, but approximately 19% voiced the opinion that sinners could become less sinful. This came as a surprise to Pr. Sophie whose early religious education seemed to center on Isaiah 64:6.

7. Is it a sin to believe something wrong? Again a 25% to 75% split among respondents with the large majority declaring that it is not sin to believe something wrong.
Pr. Sophie infers that heresy may be a problem for church order, but may not actually be sinful. Ironists will point out that responses to this question closely mimic responses to Question 2 (the relative sinfulness of clergy and laity).

8. Is it a sin to be baptized by someone more sinful than you? Here, at last, happy unanimity is ours: all respondents agree that it is not a sin to be baptized by someone more sinful than yourself. This is a good thing given our respondents' opinion that clergy are more sinful than lay people. Pr. Sophie imagines that it is also not a sin to receive communion from someone more sinful than you or to hear the Word of God from someone more sinful than you. Perhaps the sinfulness of the clergy is irrelevant to the work of the Holy Spirit.

9. Can something you do now become sinful in the future? Respondents were almost evenly divided on the question of future sinfulness of present actions: 48% agreed that an action could become sinful in the future while 52% denied this. At issue here, Pr. Sophie believes, is the question of how accurately any of us can be aware of our own sinfulness, particularly when posterity may see faults where we do not. No doubt it's safest to declare yourself to be Chief of Sinners now rather than wait for posterity to make that judgement.

10. Is it a sin to associate with sinners? By a very large margin (approximately 94% to 6%) respondents felt that it is not a sin to associate with sinners.

Can You Hear Me Now?: Paula Schlueter Ross writing for the Lutheran Reporter reports that T-Mobile asked Rev. Dr. Doug Fountain, pastor of Epiphany Lutheran Church in Lake Worth, Florida, about installing a cell phone tower on the church's property. When Pr. Fountain asked, "Could you make it a cross?" T-Mobile representatives responded "We can do whatever you want."
And consequently, Epiphany Lutheran Church now has a 100 foot tall, 30 foot wide gleaming white cross/cell phone tower.
The tower was powered up Christmas week and dedicated on Christmas Eve. According to Pr. Fountain:
We get a beautiful 100-foot-high cross that can be seen from a long way off. T-Mobile gets a cell tower that is appealing to the eye, serves the community, and meets their coverage needs.
The congregation receives about $1,800 in rent from T-Mobile each month. The huge cross is illuminated at night.

Accentuate the Positive: On December 27 about 70 people gathered for worship at St. Francis Lutheran Church in San Francisco to commemorate the anniversary of the congregation's 1995 expulsion from the ELCA. The anniversary has most often been celebrated as the The Feast of the Expulsion but this year St. Francis' church council elected to rename the celebration Feast of Hope. On December 24 the ELCA News Service issued a press release about the name change, though frankly the press release would have been more persuasive had it not also been a vehicle for the latest tally of congregations voting to sever ties with the ELCA.
Pr. Anita Hill of St. Paul Reformation in St. Paul Minnesota preached, and while her remarks were generally hopeful, she made it clear that reconciliation between the ELCA and the people and congregations most affected by the ELCA's 20-year policy of excluding LGBT clergy is not yet a reality. Much difficult work remains to be done.
One favorite moment of the Feast of the Expulsion celebration is the singing of By Paths Untrodden, a hymn written for the occasion in 1995 by Dale Wood (music) and Pr. Michael Hiller (lyrics). We are partial to the third verse:
What are the dangers? Shall we e'en lose You?
What now the perils? Lose ourselves as well?
Way of the Cross, a journey hard yet true,
God's breath on water, now our fears to quell.
May now our strength, your way, be born in us.
At coffee hour following the service a newer member of the congregation mistook our reporter for Pr. Hiller. Our reporter was flattered.

Zion Afloat: In a bold move that must surely have turned Bishop Thorvald "Wally" Noe-Effingway of the Central Great Lakes Synod green with envy, the Slovak Zion Synod's2010 synod assembly will be held July 8 - July 12 aboard the Carnival Glory Dreamliner (a 952 ft. "Conquest" class cruise ship pictured below) as it sails from its point of origin in New York along the coast of New England to dock in St. John, New Brunswick.
In addition to the regular business of the assembly, the synod will observe its 90th anniversary with a Gala Celebration.
According to the synod's web site, the clock is ticking and deadlines for reserving space are fast approaching.
We do not know if the Slovak Zion Synod accepts associate members.

Epiphany Self Esteem: If no one cared enough to give you or your congregation a Central Great Lakes Synod Membership for Christmas, don't be down-hearted. You can still take charge of the situation and give yourself a lifetime, non-transferable membership in North America's most prestigious and least exclusive free-standing Lutheran synod at no cost. Colorful and suitable for framing, Central Great Lakes Synod membership certificates signed by Bishop Thorvald "Wally" Noe-Effingway himself are congenial with a wide range of interior designs. No home or office should be without one.

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