Christ Lutheran Church in Radford to celebrate Martin Luther Decade with recital, drama
Radford’s historic Christ Lutheran Church, along with Trinity Lutheran Church in Pulaski, will celebrate the “Luther Decade” that ends with the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation in 2017. The public is invited to two events at Christ Lutheran Church, 201 Harvey St. in Radford, highlighting two dimensions of Augustinian monk Martin Luther’s impact: music and the “common good” of society.
A Reformation Organ Music Recital on Reformation Sunday, Oct. 28 at 4 p.m. will feature renowned Radford-area concert organist Tim Brower playing the Katherine Giesen Lowman Organ (built by W. Zimmer and Sons in 1975). Brower will be playing music by J. S. Bach, Dietrich Buxtehude and music from other Reformation-era composers. A reception will follow.
On Sunday, Nov. 4 at 7 p.m., the church will present a Reformation Drama on the little-known role of Luther’s concern for justice and the welfare of society, with the story of the “Community Chest” in Wittenberg, Germany. The drama was written and will be acted out by the Rev. Paul Wee of Washington, D.C. There will be a time for Q&A after the play, as the drama is intended as an education medium not only for its history but for the issue of Luther’s relevance today. A reception will follow.
Wee, who is a Lutheran pastor, scholar and author, was for many decades the associate general secretary of the Lutheran World Federation for Social Issues and Human Rights, a consultant staff member of the United States Institute of Peace and presently adjunct professor of international relations at George Washington University.
In the 1999 Millennium Issue of Look Magazine, Martin Luther, who was also a professor of theology at a small Catholic university in Wittenberg, was identified as one of the five most influential people in Western civilization during the past 1,000 years.
His impact on the course of history and society was multi-dimensional, beginning on All Saints Eve of 1517 when he tacked 97 “theses” on the door of a castle church in Wittenberg used as a public bulletin board. These were points of issue that Luther wanted to debate with the hope of correcting what he considered to be theological errors in the practice of the Roman Catholic Church of his day. Thus was sparked the Protestant Reformation: a major transition in the course of history.
For more information, contact Christ Lutheran Church at www.clcradford.org or 639-2671.
– Submitted by Nancy Brower
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I think it is wonderful that churches in the NRV are participating in this international celebration. As a teacher of theology, I have to fact check this article a little bit, though. Martin Luther issued 95 Theses in Wittenberg (not 97-those had been circulated amongst his friends at an earler date).
Comment by JT — October 20, 2012 @ 10:04 am