Did your church mention the 500th Reformation Anniversary?

Basil the Great said:

I went to an UMC Church today and not only was nothing said about the 500th anniversary, but not a word was said about the Reformation period! Besides that, we did not even sing Luther's famous hymn, A Mighty Fortress is Our God. How about the rest of you?

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I asked the same question in the Lutheran forum and I did not receive much of a reply their either. People do not seem to be very interesting in church history.

I think we are due for another reformation.

Our sermon today was about the Reformation.

Both our sermons yesterday were on the reformation, as well as last Wednesday.

Last night we had a powerful sermon on the doctrine of justification by faith.

The just shall live by faith.

Since we are not a product of the Reformation, no mention made.

It's unfortunate your church did not have a Reformation commemoration. The Reformation was very significant in shaping the modern world, including modern approaches to religion.

Our sermon was about Jesus, particularly referencing Deuteronomy 6:1-9, Leviticus 13:9-18, Isaiah 58, and Matthew 22:34-36.

Yep. Info in the church bulletin, and also incorporated into the sermon (e.g. what the 'protest' in 'Protestant' is historically about, and what it means for us today).

TheGoodLight said:

Yep. Info in the church bulletin, and also incorporated into the sermon (e.g. what the 'protest' in 'Protestant' is historically about, and what it means for us today).

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What does it mean for you today?

Basil the Great said:

I went to an UMC Church today and not only was nothing said about the 500th anniversary, but not a word was said about the Reformation period! Besides that, we did not even sing Luther's famous hymn, A Mighty Fortress is Our God. How about the rest of you?

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I mentioned it in my Sunday sermon. But remember, Methodism isn’t directly connected to the Lutheran reformation. We are a branch off of Anglicanism. So, how much time should one Church spend on another Church’s history is matter of opinion.

I picked up a Catholic daily Devotional monthly guide, because the cover had "500 year anniversary of Reformation" on it -- it was full of articles about Christian Unity -- I was impressed

I went to a non-denom Bible Church last sunday -- the Reformation anniversary was indeed mentioned

It is true what Circuitrider said - Methodists are not direct children of the Reformation -- it was just a coincidence in time that Henry the 8th couldn't get yet another divorce from the Pope; and declared his own Church of England - not the most spiritual reason to form a new church, just happenned to be going down at same period as Reformation

Wesley was Anglican and Methodists sprang from that

the UMC missed its chance if it wanted a split -- could have split on the 500th anniversary of the Reformation - that would have been a sad statement, so I am glad UMC has not split

500 years of division between Catholics and Protestants is quite enough;
a thousand years of division between Orthodox and Catholics is more than enough

I am currently in a place where the nearest UMC church is an all-black congregation, i may try it out anyway -- (I'm just a white man)

I've been to a Brethren Church and the non-denom Bible Church

I hereby declare all Christians unified.

circuitrider said:

I mentioned it in my Sunday sermon. But remember, Methodism isn’t directly connected to the Lutheran reformation. We are a branch off of Anglicanism. So, how much time should one Church spend on another Church’s history is matter of opinion.

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The Anglican Church IS a branch of the reformation. The founder of the Anglican church was Archbishop Cranmer, He was a Calvinist. He just used Henry the VIII to get his way. The C of E described itself as Calvinist not Lutheran in the early days. Now it is all sorts.

David Kent said:

The Anglican Church IS a branch of the reformation. The founder of the Anglican church was Archbishop Cranmer, He was a Calvinist. He just used Henry the VIII to get his way. The C of E described itself as Calvinist not Lutheran in the early days. Now it is all sorts.

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Very true. I did a paper on Cranmer in college, one of my better papers I think. Truly a major personage in the reformation.

When I was a kid in the Methodist church, Reformation Sunday was a big deal... sometimes. It just depended on the pastor, I guess.

Those in the UMC who came from the EUB side of our church have a more direct line to the Reformation. One of the churches I serve did observe Reformation Sunday. I briefly mentioned it in the sermon.

The Sunday before Reformation Sunday my pastor mentioned Luther and his 95 theses in the sermon. And then the Sunday after Reformation Sunday we sang a Mighty Fortress.

David Kent said:

The Anglican Church IS a branch of the reformation. The founder of the Anglican church was Archbishop Cranmer, He was a Calvinist. He just used Henry the VIII to get his way. The C of E described itself as Calvinist not Lutheran in the early days. Now it is all sorts.

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The founder was the King of England who couldn't get a divorce. And, as you pointed out Cramner wasn't a Lutheran. So again, we aren't quite a descendant of the Lutheran Reformation though connected to reformation theology in general. We descend from a Church that broke with Rome for its own reasons that didn't have much to do with Luther and Calvin.

Also, John Wesley removed the Calvinist elements from our Articles of Religion before he sent them to the American Methodists. So, Methodists (with a few unusual exceptions) have not been Calvinists either.

We do now have a full communion agreement with the ELCA, which has caused some UM churches to give a bit more recognition to the holy days of sister Churches.

FireDragon76 said:

When I was a kid in the Methodist church, Reformation Sunday was a big deal... sometimes. It just depended on the pastor, I guess.

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All Saints Day is now the bigger deal in the UMC in many churches. It does depend partially on the pastor. But also the denomination recommends the celebration of All Saints.

Historicus said:

Those in the UMC who came from the EUB side of our church have a more direct line to the Reformation. One of the churches I serve did observe Reformation Sunday. I briefly mentioned it in the sermon.

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True Historicus! I've yet to serve in a church with EUB roots. So, some of those differences haven't come up for me.

chevyontheriver said:

What does it mean for you today?

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Matters of sociohistorical context were mentioned (e.g. the medieval Catholic church isn't identical to the modern Catholic church). I used to go to a service in a different denomination that was a bit nasty toward Catholicism, which is part of why I wasn't comfortable remaining in my old denomination.

I appreciate a church that can peacefully mention and explain theological differences and why we have different perspectives on faith, without needlessly antagonizing others. I am rather enjoying that about my UMC experience.